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My 1986 Subaru Leone GL Wagon!


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Okay, I changed the two u-joints in the rear driveshaft and reinstalled it only to be rewarded with some unpleasant low speed vibration. Noticed the front propeller shaft also has a u-joint to replace in it. Now that I have the service manuals I see no information on how to actually replace the u-joints or driveshaft orientation! I guess Subaru just wanted the mechanics to replace the driveshaft if there was a problem.

 

At any rate, if anyone can take a picture of their GL's driveshaft so I can make sure it gets put in right I'd appreciate it. There's a little subaru sticker on it so that would be a good part to take a picture of.

 

The drive shafts are not serviceable, the joints are staked in and the only way to replace them is to grind the staked portions out, since there are no snap rings or circlips that hold the joints in. (If you didn't have to do any grinding, it's possible the previous owner had a remanufactured drive shaft put in or something to that effect, since a replacement shaft from Subaru is about $400) Take the shaft out and make sure the joints all move freely, if they don't, you might have gotten a cup in too tight (You can usually knock the center part of the joint outwards to seat the cups against the clips) I don't remember if those shafts come apart in the center or not, if they do, and you took it apart in the center, take it apart, rotate the rear section of the shaft one quarter turn with respect to the front section and reassemble it and see if your vibration goes away, you probably just got the sections out of phase. Also make sure all of the bolts in the shaft are identical, and that you don't have a missing washer or something, since that will cause a vibration.

 

As for upgrading to power windows and locks, all the wiring for the power windows and locks is there, up under the dash. You will need to get the harnesses for the doors, door panels, regulators, power lock actuators, etc... but all the body wiring is there.

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We did grind the little knurls out and I used the special u-joints from Rockford Products made for this car. It wasn't too bad getting them installed.

 

Forgot to mention just as a quick test we put the car on the lift and sure enough even without the rear shaft installed with the car in 1st gear and the 4wd engaged at a low speed the whole car was vibrating. We could see the upper driveshaft shaking a LOT so I have a feeling its u-joint is shot.

 

Figured with a new u-joint it would be good. I want to replace the mounts while I have it apart again since they are worn out too.

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Thanks for the pics, I have always wanted to mount a pushbar to my Ea-82 wagon. Pretty much you have to hack up the bar to make it fit.

 

I am curious how the previous owner did it.

 

Does the bar mount to the 4 bolts that hold the engine crossmember in? From the pictures it looks like the bar has been chopped at the radiator area.

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... smells like a DL except for the headlights and gauge cluster. ...

 

Well... Just for Share information that might help to Understand: Subaru did Launched the "Loyale" Body in Year 1982 (Japan Only, Then Rest of the World in 1985) as Far as I Know; and they Offered Different Drivetrains for it, according to the Markets...

For Example: Here those "Loyale" Bodied Subies, came with as Little as 1.3L Engine FWD Sedans, then 1.6L Engine and 1.8L (Usually EA81) and Just the "Luxury" models got the 1.8L EA82 and EA82T...

Here the Dealer Sold the GL Basically in Two Main Configs: the GL with "Power Everything" Was Just 2WD and the GL with "Manual Everything" Was 4WD... Both at the Same Price! ... :eek: ... I Don`t Know Why, but I Believe that People at Subaru did their Market Research, maybe they found that the 4WD ones where used mainly for Rough Driving in Very Bad Road Conditions, while the Luxury ones where used just for City Driving...

But Customers were able to Choose their Own Config Too:

 

I ended up with the most basic GL as well. I know a guy with a DL that has power steering! :eek:

 

They was Able to Choose Power Steering, A/C, etc... Money is the Key...

 

So your Subie Seems to be Like a "Basic" GL ... Just like the ones for our Latin American Market ... as the EA81 Engined Loyale that GD Saw, those are Common Here, even EA71 and some EA63...

Kind Regards.

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Noticed there was a coolant leak... but no puddles or drips on the ground... so that means... HEAD GASKET TIME! The driver's side head gasket is seeping a bit of coolant into the combustion chamber. Oh well, something new to learn. It looks very easy to change them out on this thing.

 

Going to wait a bit and also get new motor/transmission mounts for the job as well as a few other things here and there. She'll be brought to tip top shape physically and mechanically over the summer.

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... HEAD GASKET TIME! The driver's side head gasket is seeping a bit of coolant into the combustion chamber. Oh well, something new to learn. It looks very easy to change them out on this thing.

 

Nice lookin wagon, you should be a pro at head gaskets by now, Im assuming you own a K car by your name. IIRC its easiest to do the h/g with the engine out of the car on EA82's.

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Just for the sake of arguement towards GD, not all GLs came with power door locks. I have 3 GLs on my place that do not have power door locks, and one has manual steering. And they came from the factory that way. I do have a GL with power locks, and both the GL-10s I have had power locks. But my point is not all GLs had power locks or power steering. Those things were options.

 

Oh and I like that wagon, EA82 wagons are my thing :banana:

-Bill

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We did grind the little knurls out and I used the special u-joints from Rockford Products made for this car. It wasn't too bad getting them installed.

 

Forgot to mention just as a quick test we put the car on the lift and sure enough even without the rear shaft installed with the car in 1st gear and the 4wd engaged at a low speed the whole car was vibrating. We could see the upper driveshaft shaking a LOT so I have a feeling its u-joint is shot.

 

Figured with a new u-joint it would be good. I want to replace the mounts while I have it apart again since they are worn out too.

 

Also, check the center carrier bearing. When that went out on mine, it made horrible vibration (like a square wheel or something) at less than 10mph, and very little above that. It was only $100 for a whole replacement driveshaft (used) from superrupair so I didn't mess with replacing parts of it.

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I've had a GL with manual windows and manual door locks, too. 1987 CA model (SPFI). All the rest I've seen had the power windows and locks though. Hmmmm

 

On the coolant... it might be just an intake manifold gasket, if there is no sign of the coolant in the oil or the oil in the coolant. Alot easier than doing the heads. I've done the heads in the car on an EA82, and aside from the difficulty seeing what you're doing, it's doable.

 

Z

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A compression test might show if it's a head gasket or an intake manifold gasket. Otherwise, it's not that hard to pull the intake manifold and check (though, if it's been leaking around the bolts, you run the risk of breaking off some manifold bolts that have rusted in place.... and then it becomes not an easy task to pull it and put it back on...)

 

Z

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Okay, I'll pull the intake manifold and replace the gaskets for it. Today I was looking at it under the hood and it seemed the intake gasket was flaky on the driver's side. Poked at it and I could pull little strands of goo stuff off of it... so I definitely think it's shot.

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