GLMadness

Hello, I am finally getting around to getting the '85 GL I bought a year ago running. The person I bought it from said that he was driving down the freeway when it started to blow a lot of black smoke and lost power. He got off on the next exit and by the time he came to a stop it wouldn't run. Now it will turn over fine, but not fire. 1 or two of the cylinders make different sounds when it is being turned over. I am trying to figure out if I should just put a JDM in it or if it is worth doing an in-frame repair. Thanks for the replies. GLMadness

I have a '85 GL turbo. It runs decent, but when I engage the push button 4wd button the dash lights come on but the 4wd does not engage. Any rudimentary ideas? The Haynes manual has absolutely zero references about the 4wd. I am still a couple of months away from having a facility to be able to put it in and work on it. Anybody know someone in the spokane area that knows what they are doing on these older cars (aside from the dealer)? Thanks. Nater

Hello All, Just wanted to say thanks for all the info I have already been able to glean from this forum after only 3 hrs. of browsing. I have been looking for an older subaru GL wagon or legacy for the last few months. My workhorse was a 1994 Dodge 3/4 ton PU with a V10. It works well for my contracting needs, but the gas mileage is killing me. Last week I picked up twin '85 Turbo GL Wagons. They are truely twins, same year, color, options, everything! One is ugly but runs, the other is in great shape body wise, but the motor is a non runner. I am leaning towards getting a JDM off ebay and swapping it out in the non-runner. Then doing a complete rebuild of the blown motor. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Could you guys run down the pros and cons of a JDM, and maybe the pros and cons of a home rebuild? I have been driving 3/4 ton and larger trucks almost exclusively for the last 8-10 yrs, and this little wagon is quite fun to drive! Thanks in advance. Nate