Subaru Jim Maple Ridge

I am driving an '87 XT Turbo with a 4sp auto right now. I'm not sure what the rules are, but as soon as you say it can't be, along comes the contradiction. The way to tell about the speeds is the shifters, or if already out, the top of the bell housing is flat on a four speed. The best way to tell the ratio, as previously mentioned, is to check the backside of the rear diff, hopefully the sticker is still there.

Soak it with penetrating oil then hit it sideways with a sharp chisel, being careful not to mark the crank.

Is the Loyale a standard or auto? If auto, is it 3 speed or 4 speed?

I have some mid engine 2WD auto dune buggys to build first, but the amphibious 8 wheeler sounds very worthy. If you don't mind, I think I'll use your idea. And to think I was going to build a Chaser for snow blowing.

Usually cracks are visible between the valves. No sense looking for new ones until you know that you need them both. I probably have 30 left side heads kicking around just because the right side is always hotter.

Would it not make more sense to use a single transmission with a pair of chaincases? You would be able to choose your gear ratio and steer like a tank if you wanted. You would also be able to position your motor and tranny anywhere you want and either frontwards or backward.

Loyale is Loyale, almost all parts are interchangeable from '85 to '94, with the exception of carbs and rear seat belts. If you get stuck for any parts I'll help you out. Listings often reflect production dates rather than actual model years. Most '94 models were probably built in '93.

Your 'dimulator' is right beside your 'kerfluffle valve', it's the thing that looks like a dollar sign. It's function is unknown, because after buddy fixes it, nothing has changed.

Does one of your neighbors own a hose?

All of the fuel should have been removed. You can do this by running a +ve jumper to the blue wire going into the fuel pump, and taking the fuel line off at the motor. After the tank is pumped dry, put in a couple of gallons of fresh fuel and pump it through as well. After that, replace the fuel filter and put in fresh gas. The old fuel has turned to varsol and will barely burn if you lit it with a match. You can't just throw in fresh gas and hope to dilute it. The old fuel is heavier and just lays in the bottom of the tank. Every time the pump sucks some of that crap up, the motor will stumle and your plugs will foul and flood from the unburned fuel. Even if your motor has cracked heads or blown gaskets, it should still run fairly well until it warms up. Unless you have compression exiting through the rad, the fuel problem should be taken care of first.

Replacing the governor is easy, take off the cover and slide it out. If the drive gear is worn, try to look in at the input shaft. If the input shaft is also worn, replacing the governor will only be a temporary fix. Replacing the input shaft is major, and it is much cheaper to just find a good used tranny. As your problem is quite common with high mile autos, check the replacement tranny before you even buy it.

Did you put on two tires or four?

Best way is to find a used turbo unit. They aren't worth fighting with. Those autos had a prblem with the governors on the input shaft. It is on the passenger side of the tranny above the CV, behind the cup-shaped cover held on by three bolts. When you pull out the governor, you'll likely find the driven gear worn in the middle. Again, just find a used one.

The proper seal is CR (Chicago Rawhide) 14738. The distibutor drive gear is on a moon key, it should push straight back in. If it has come out too far, you will have to remove the distributor, line up the drive gear, push it back where it belongs. Replacethe distributor per the manual after you get the front pulley back on.

The most common cause of excess noise and difficulty engaging or disengaging 4WD, is that the tires are different sizes, either not equal pressures or mismatched entirely. All four should be identical tires at the same pressure.

Can't help thinking vacuum leak. TPS or plugged exhaust. Turbos hate vacuum leaks. and it could be as simple as a bad oil fill cap. A bad TPS doesn't necessarily show a code. You should also check for ground at the MAF. My 87T caused me a pile of grief with that one. I still haven't had time to trace a harness to find out where the connection is, I just re-grounded mine to the shock tower. Lastly, while unlikely if you have enough flow to show black put the back, a plugged catalytic can make any motor run badly.

Thanks for telling us what year and model you are dealing with, but if you could pose the questions more coherently, we'll do more than throw out lame quesses.

When a turbo craps out, you lose power, your throttle tries to freeze up, life sucks. Follow the advice already given, replace it and don't look back.

Hill holder actually only locks the left rear brake, preventing roll back. It also replaces the return spring, holding the release bearing from riding on the pressure plate. Once the clutch pedal height is set, tighten the hill-holder adjustment until you can just see daylight between the spring coils, about the space of a dime, slightly less if you live in a hilly area.

Sounds like somebody wired the low beams as daylight running lamps, or your car was factory that way. Don't worry, lots of people don't bother to tell us what year or model we are dealing with, just expect us to make wild guesses and waste space. Doesn't sound like you have a problem anyway, DRLs are just a safety thing, like seat belts, bumpers, signal lights etc.

Is your car a 2WD or 4X4, did you put in the right clutch? 80 thou on a flywheel is not out of line. I doubt that a 4X4 plate could be with a 2WD pressure plate unless the unit is for an '83 or '84. It sounds more as if you had the clutch cable too tight, not allowing the pressure plate to squeeze the clutch plate. Loosen the clutch cable right off, so that you can feel looseness on the release lever with your fingers. Try to drive like that. As long as the clutch is not slipping, tighten the clutch cable adjustment until the pedal height is up to the lowest you are comfortable with, bearing in mind that pedal height increases as a clutch wears. When you are happy with the pedal height, tighten the hill-holder adjustment until you can slip a dime between the coils of the spring, a little less if you live in a hilly area.

You can actually drive it for quite a while if you don,t go on long trips or go where you really need a good heater. You can put in a 180' thermostat, but pull the rattle pin and drill the hole out to 5/16" or 3/8". You should also remove the small rubber ring on the rad cap. This will allow any compression entering the cooling system to bleed off the top without accumulating and displacing all of your coolant. The best way to go would be to find a good used motor locally and put it in. Sounds like you should have replaced your rad when you did the heads. Cracked heads are only a symptom, the problem is a faulty cooling system. If you answer, specify your motor, there could be a member close to you that has one for you. Good luck.

The one difference you might find, presuming that the mill you are putting in is a MPFI NA, is that the distributor has only two 2 wires instead of four, don't ask me how the ECM senses crank angle; I'd like to know that myself. Newer SPFI mills all have four wires, so do all turbos, I don't know.

If you suspect wear or front-end damage, all you have to do is go to a reputable front-end shop; they will diagnose your problem for free and quote you on the necessary repairs, all at no cost to you. Out of fairness to them, I would only suggest that you check for the obvious first. You've had lots of suggestions so far. Good luck.

Steering vibration could be caused by worn wheel bearings, loose ball joints or tie-rod ends, bent rims or unbalanced tires. CV joints are not likely to cause a vibration except under load. Did the problem develop slowly or just started? Touch a curb or lose a wheel weight?