jdemaris

I've had what sounds like the same problem with three of my Loyale wagons and also my 89 Justy 4WD. With every one of them, the problem was the fuel pump. I now carry a spare. Biggest problem for me was getting the old one out. I live in the rust belt of Central New York State, and usally the cheap little steel plate that holds the fuel pump in is pretty well rotted out. I tried a few NAPA el-cheapo replacement pumps, and they would not hold up to salted roads and rust. I finally spent the extra money and bought an O.E.M style pump (still from NAPA) and it's held up much better. For reasons I can't explain, I haven't had a fuel pump go in any of my injected vehicles, yet the pump doesn't look to be of any better quality than those used in the carbed vehicles. Who knows? I wish they had the pumps in inside tank.

I noticed mentions about the AC not being used in the winter. I don't get it. All my older Loyale wagons automatically use the AC whenever the windshield defroster is used. Same goes for all my Chevy and GMC trucks. I thought just about all modern autos, that have AC, use it automatically in the defrost mode in order to dehumidify the windshield. Are Foresters different?

I've had the same experience as Giles. I live in central New York State and I don't think you'll find rusiter Subarus anywhere else. My upper field is full of Loyale 4WD wagons that, more or less, broke in half they got so rusty. Since salt and rust is big issue, the biggest problem I have with removing ball joints is the clamp-bolt that holds the body of the ball joint in. Usually, the bolt will break if I don't heat it with a torch. When doing so, a lot of care must be used in order not to damage the driveshaft boot. I usually put a metal shield on it. Once the bolt is out, I hammer a small chisel into the opening that will spread the housing a bit. As far as the other end goes, i.e. the tapered stud that is threaded, a small "puller" works fine. Note, although I called it a puller, it actually pushes the stud out. Pickle fork works fine to, but will damage the ball joint (which is usually not an issue). If it's really stuck, get the pickle fork jammed into it so there's tension on it, then, . . . either heat it a bit . . . or take two hammers and rap on both sides of the casting holding the stud . . .i.e. both hammers' aiming at each other. The shock will usually release it. I reassemble all parts with Never-Seize. Makes things much easier the next time. My Subaru fleet: 12 4WD Loyales wagon in my field (1985-1993) along with an 88 Justy 4WD. I just junked two 84s with the pushrod engines. Also, on the road, an 87 4WD Loyale wagon automatic, a 92 Loyale 4WD wagon 5 speed, and an 89 4WD Justy. In my barn I have complete drivetrains from four 1985 Loyale 4WD wagons with the hi-low. I really miss having a wagon on the road with the hi-low. Snow gets deep coming up a steep hill, I have to slip the clutch to get going from a stop. Never had to do that with the dual-range. Also have some full-size 4WDs; 83 diesel Blazer, 86 diesel Blazer, 87 diesel Suburban, 89 diesel Suburban, 69 Dodge Power-Wagon and a 94 AWD Astrovan. Hate to admit it, but the Subarus will go places the big vehicles won't when things are real slippery. Same goes for stopping. And . . . the Justy will go places the Loyale wagons won't.

Thanks for the info. All my Loyale automatics are 4Wd not AWD. The place I bought clutches from calls the transmissions Jatco M41s. My 87, 92, and 93 all have the same trans. I see in a parts catalog that the Loyale with a turbo has extra clutch plates for the 4WD. I'm not sure I know how a perfect running 4WD drive with an automatic is supposed to behave. My service manual states that it is designed to slip at low throttle (i.e. high engine vacuum). Taking that into consideration, and also . . . the fact that it's easy to drive around with the 4WD accidentally on without knowing it. With the sun shining, it hard to see the indicator light. And, if the clutches slip, a person might not notice that the cars is in 4WD. With a standard shift, I think anyone would notice since there is no slip, except, perhaps at the tires and the drivetrain growls on pavement. So anyway, I can see how these clutches get burnt out. After putting new ones in, I can now hear them chatter if I engage 4WD on a hard road and turn. I turned up the pressure to the clutches by removing the modulator, and taking out the original acutating rod which was 1.375" long. I made a new one out of a drill bit to a length of 1.425 and the 4WD works much better.

The place I've been buying the u-joints from over the years provides instructions on how to knock the staked joints apart. Doing it there way will also push our the stake marks (I guess). But, as I mentioned previously, I don't do it there way. I find it quite easy to torch out the joints by cutting out the middle. Then I knock the caps in, instead of out. So, once apart, the stake-marks are still untouched and have to be removed. I have a drill bit that fits perfect and works quite nicely to make a rough cut, but I don't recall at the moment what size. I then touch it up with a die grinder. The removal does not have to be pretty or precise, but does need to be relatively smooth. If it's not, the rubber seals on the new replacements joints will get cut. I've thought about buying a large amount of the replacement joints from Rockford because I've had the feeling they might discontinue them. That, due to lack of sales. For some reason, although they advertise, few people seem to know about the joints, and the old generation Subarus are disappearing (at least around here). Once they've seen a few winters here, they turn to rust and the rear springs break through. I keep buying Loyales down south and bringing them up here but they're getting hard to find in decent shape. I've got eleven 4WD wagons and two Justys in my field right now - all of which I had to stop driving due to rust. Every one of them still ran when I stopped using them; kind of a shame. The salesman at Rockford offered to sell me new u-joints at a large discount if I bought a large amount. I didn't want to do it at the time. A friend of mine owns a NAPA store, and he was thinking about stocking them, but for some reason it never happened. Even the local Subaru dealer was sending people to me for information on the joints, but they refused to use them at the dealership since they are not official Subaru parts.

More comments. I see at: http://www.staugustinefwd.com/ the following is stated: "For example "Staked-In Replacement U-Joints" will take you to cost effective alternatives for previously non-serviceable driveshafts on BMW, Datsun, Mazda, Subaru, Toyota, and others... Yes, those shafts costing up to $1,000 can now be serviced by St. Augustine FWD at considerable savings! See our Staked U-Joint section for more information and a chart of current availability." They show a link to: http://www.staugustinefwd.com/RWD/Staked/staked.html It shows the catalog for the "non-replaceable joints" along with a picture, catalog, and dimensions.

I was in a hurry with my last posts and hadn't read through all the comments relating to rear driveshafts and u-joints. I've been a mechanic for over 40 years and have rarely encountered something that was not repairable. Sometimes a little researchg needs to be done. The Subaru driveshafts are not high-technology and are not uncomon. Many foreign built cars as well as as a few domestic cars have the staked in joints. The shafts do NOT need ANY machining to replace the joints. Anybody who's having their shaft machined is, more or less, throwing their money away. If anyone wants photos, let me know. My email address is jdemaris@capital.net There are several companies that sell the joints, but I've bought mine from Rockford Driveline. 430-10 for Loyales and 430-9 for Justys. I paid $12 apiece, but I think their prices have gone up. They want me to buy a coulple hundred dollars worth and become a dealer, but I don't want to get that involved. There's a picture of the replacement joint (for a Justy) at http://www.rockforddriveline.com/Shopping/430-9.asp Their instructions advise you to drive the old joints apart. I like to cut them with a torch. It's messier, but faster and easier. I file out the old stake marks and hone them a big so the seals on the new u-joints aren't damaged. So . . . I don't follow the directons precisely. So far, I've replaced the joints in five of my Loyale 4WD wagons (1985, three 1987s, and a 1992). Also done it with my 89 Justy 4WD and my 1979 and 1981 280ZXs.

I don't need to prove anything. Heck, I'm driving a couple of Loyales and a Justy with driveshafts I rebuilt. Forget NAPA. Rockford Driveline sells the u-joints and they come with full instructions. http://www.rockforddriveline.com/ for the homepage, to be more specific go to http://www.rockforddriveline.com/Shopping/Cars_Subaru_07.asp Loyale uses a part # 430-10 There catalog says years 1990-93, but they're the same back to 1985. Their phone # is 800-728-7237. I've got a stack of the joints sitting on my shelf.

I've been driving 4wd Subarus for years, but until recently only had stick-shift. Now, I've got two Loyale 4WD automatic wagons, and I consider them the worst Subs I've ever owned. Gas mileage stinks, and to my surprise - so does the 4WD engagement system. Stick shift Sub. has a positive engagement 4Wd; i.e. it's either in or it's out. Automatic is different. Uses a dinky little clutch pack in the rear of the transmission that receives oil presure from the trans. pump. It is designed to slip a little, especially at low speed (high engine vacuum). Anybody out there an expert on these things? I'm not, although I've been a mechanic most of my life. I replaced the burnt out 4WD clutches on my 87 and 93 Loyale wagon. Basically a 1 hour job and $25 in parts. I then experimented a little in an attempt to make them fully engage with no slip. I discovered that the 4WD is much stronger when the transmission modulator gets zero vacuum (which is like being at full throttle). I'm tempted to put a vacuum switch on the dashboard. In the mean time, I experiment further by adjusting the modulator for higher pressure. This is done by installing a longer actuating pin. Easy to make from an old drill bit. Got both wagons working well in 4WD mode now, but curious if any one else has jerked around with these "bad" Subarus. By the way, my 87 and 93 Loyale wagons both get around 17 m.p.g. on the highway in winter driving. My 92 Loyale wagon with 5 speed stick gets 27 m.p.g. and my 85 with 5 speed gets around 25. Of course, better yet, my crappy little 89 Justy 4WD with 5 speed gets around 34 m.p.g. and runs like a little rocket. A crappy rocket perhaps, but a rocket just the same. One more comment on the 3 speed automatic Subarus. I bought two to them cheap because both owners were told that they needed transmission rebuilds. Neither one would go into high gear. After a little research, I fixed them both in an hour. Seems these transmissions are prone to suffering from stuck governor valves. Open the hood, pop the spare tire out, and the valve comes right out. Take it apart, hone it a little with emory cloth, clean it up, and all works well.

I disagree with post stating that the rear driveshaft u-joints are not replaceable. I changed many of them in my Loyales from 1985 to 1993. Yes, they are staked in from the factory, just as many other cars are including my 1979 Datsun 280ZX. The old joints pop out just fine, and the new replacements are held in place with inboard snap-rings. I buy them for $12 apiece. I've also repaced them in my 87 and 89 Justys. Different part #, but still $12 apiece. I've met people that have junked their cars because they were told the rear shaft had to be replaced. It's a fairytale.

The 87 has been tuned as much as possible. New timing belts, plugs, several intial timing settings tried. Runs fine, spark plugs burn very clean, just bad on gas. Even took the carburetor of another 87 wagon I junked this spring due to rust and tried it on this car - as an experiment. The one I junked got 23-26 m.p.g. but was a 5 speed stick. This car still got the same lousy mileage it got with its original carb. It's kind of baffling, but I'm new to Subarus with automatics. Coming to the conclusion that I never want another. The 4wd drive only working partially is a real problem, and not something I ever had to think about with standard shift. My 85 and 86s had 5 speeds and hi-low ranges, which I need around here. When I starting driving an 87 5 speed without the hi-lo, it got problematic. Going up a steep hill with a foot of snow, and then have to come to a stop for something, and then try to go again - barely had enough power to get going without slipping the clutch. Geared too high. So . . . since I was unable to find another with a hi-lo range, I decided to try automatic. Big mistake. Totally different drive system to the rear wheels. Best I can figure, with the automatic, it's pretty easy to be driving in 4wd and not realize it. With the sun shining, you can hardly see the indicator light on the dash. The hydraulic clutch pack slips enough that it's not real noticable, and easy to burn out. With a standard shift, if accidentally put into 4wd on pavement, you know it right away. I was telling my postmaster about my automatic/4wd probems since she just got a 94 Loyale automatic 4wd wagon for mail delivery. She hasn't driven her's in the winter yet. I tried her car out on a wet field, and sure enough, her 4wd doesn't work either. So, that's three I found so far. It MUST be a common problem.

I've been driving 4wd Loyales for years and they've been great. Usually run then until they get so rusty the rear springs break though the wheel wells. I've got a dozen wagons up in my personal junkyard that all met that fate. Anyway, my question. All my Subaru 4wds were stick shift, but now I've got two automatic wagons - an 87 and a 93. Worst Subarus I've owned. Gutless, fuel mileage stinks, and the 4wd barely works in either. Have to revv it up to get any power to the rear wheels. I'm assuming the hydraulic clutch pack tends to burn out for the rear-drive in these automatic transmissions. Question is, can I access the clutch pack and replace it witout removing the transmission? Also, about the fuel mileage. All my stick-shift wagons averaged around 22 m.p.g in cold weather with four deep lug studded snow tires in a mountainous area and would get up to 26 on the highway. These automatics I have now are awful. Cold weather, I average around 16-17 m.p.g. Seems rediculous. My big Chevy diesel Suburban does just as well. Anyone else experienced this? I can't figure where the fuel goes; what goes in must come out, right? No tank leaks, no visible exhaust smoke, no excess heat anywhere . . . where the heck does the gas go?