rickssubie

I used it Friday, sucked in thru a vacuum hose and all, ect, ect. So far nothing noticable. But I want to see if it'll let me go back to using regular grade gas without sounding like it's full of marbles. If it'll do that, I'll be a happy camper!

Finally looked over at the Rockforddriveline web site. Now THAT looks like the way to go. I may just give that a shot. At least if I do decide to sell the Subie, the 4-wheel will be working. I just happen to be a machinist by trade, so could do a little modifying if needed. You guys have been very helpful. Thanks!!

Hmm. Ok. But that was the whole reason I yanked it out in the first place, it was shaking fairly bad. Took it out, and the joints have "flat" spots in them. And as far as going to a junk yard, not so sure I'd get anything any better on a car this old, at least around here. I used to work at a junk yard, and know what I'd be up against. But thanks guys! You've given me some thoughts. 'preciate it! I'm just at a cross roads with this thing. It's just starting to have enough issues to make me wonder if I want it anymore. I just don't enjoy working on old cars like I used to. (Getting old I guess). And I won't pay shop rates to have someone else to work on anything this old. I've actually kept it more than twice as long as I had intended when I bought it 6 years ago. It was just supposed to be short term until I could buy a new Subie. But it just won't completely die!

They guy told me U-joints were available, but didn't advise me to try it myself. I've replaced countless U-joints thru the years, so I ain't new to that. But how the heck do you maintain the balance without any solid stops? That staking isn't going to do it for you. Hmmm. The rest of the stuff, yeah, not THAT big a deal. Thanks for the info on the check engine light though. Hadn't heard that before. I'll have to reconsider, I guess. Especially as I'm not really in a position to buy anything else right now. Don't want 2 car payments at the same time.

Ok. May be time to retire this thing after all. Just went down to the local driveline shop today. They say they can't rebuild my driveshaft, but have a source who sells rebuilt ones. Complete unit, front and rear shaft w/carrier bearing goes for $368! No way! The car can't be worth that much in the first place, can it? It's got a nearly mint body, and a real nice interior. But leaks oil out the front oil seal pretty bad, A/C is all but kaput, valves clatter at idle(has 177kmiles), power windows are pretty weak, check engine light is on 50% of the time(says EGR valve, which I've replaced), have to run mid-grade gas in it(assume carboned up bad)and now this. Is there a better way with these drivelines? Or am I stuck? Anybody want a cheap Loyale?

I hear ya, but it's kind of an apples to oranges comparrison(sp?) You're dealing with commercial constant use issues. We're dealing with 30 miles a day. If I had a fleet of, say, taxis in New York, I may go to synth. But I think we're on the same page. A few guys over at the Benz forum did do the oil analysis thing. It did show less suspended metal particles and all. But just how many thousands of miles would you need to put on your car before you saw any real appreciable diff? I think that's where synth oil nearly becomes a moot point in real world daily driving. I read alot of the articles "they" posted, saying how wonderful synth oil, and how evil dino oil is, in a auto engine. Still didn't really convince me. I think it's a draw for us "normal" use drivers. Cars are built to better tolerances(I'm a machinist, to, BTW), and that has made more difference to engine life than about anything. That, and better materials(remember the 'ol Vega?).

I sat down and did the math awhile ago, and found that even the "longer interval between oil changes" arguement fell apart. Synth oil is so over-priced, that over the course of say 100k miles, even going twice as long between oil changes you loose. Then stop and figure out how long the average person keeps a car. Let's say you keep a car for 100k miles. Either oil, changed regularly, will keep any engine in fine shape that long. So the only one that MAY benefit from synth oil, will be the next owner(s). So, what's the point? BTW, I do use Mobil 1 in my Lexus GS300. But only for one reason. That particular engine is known to sludge up on top of the cylinder head for some dumb reason. But everybody over at the Lexus forum says that synth oil will prevent that from happening. So, ok, fine. I'll use Synth in it. It only gets driven maybe 7k miles a year anyway, so that's just one oil change a year. Oh, and I'm an ex-Mercedes owner. I won't buy a new one. I've only had old diesels, which were built like a tank. And, BTW, the only japanese cars that get a thumbs up "over there", are Subies. They tore me apart when I bought the Lexus!

the eternal debate. We have these over and over again over at the Mercedes forum. Everybody drags out their test results, charts, articles, web sites, baseball bats, chains, brass knuckles and goes at it. I have yet to see proof positve either way. I had my dad's old '67 Ford pickup that he bought new, with close to half a million miles on it, with the original engine. It never had anything but Penzoil dino-oil put in it. Was good enough for dad, it's good enough for me. But whatever floats yer boat, I say.

Yeah, I replaced the PVC valve soon after I bought it. Front plugs were nearly white, back ones were nasty(or was it the other way around?). My Check Engine light is on about 50% of time, and the code showed something about PVC solonoid. Solonoid checked out ok, but the PVC valve itself was a mess. It ran better for awhile, then light started coming back on, and it went back to knocking. I've just lived with it since. Mid-grade gas seems to keep it fairly happy, but I just would like to get it right. I'm at a cross roads with the thing. I'd like to replace it. It's getting tired. Body is still mint, I.E. no rust. Interior is clean. But the A/C is in it's last gasp, power windows are nearly kaput, I hear that right front inboard CV joint clattering again(why DO they hang the cat-convert right under a CV??!!). But it just keeps chugging along, getting 30 MPG, and is awesome in the snow( I've since moved to N. Utah) So.......:-\

Thanks! I have heard of that stuff on another forum. Forgot about it.

Haven't been on here for a long time. Bought my '92 Loyale some 5 years ago with 136k miles, joined the forum, and haven't had enough issues to need help. It now has just shy of 177k. awesome little car! Anyway, I've pretty much always had to run mid-grade gas in it all along, or it knocks and pings and rattles. Did a tune-up, with not much change. I'm thinking it just must be carboned up bad. Tried additives, which help in the short term. Is there a good way to blast the thing out? Or do I just need to yank the heads and scrape away? BTW, it gets driven an easy 30 miles a day on a nice flat hiway at 55-60.

All I can see from my house are stupid trees and more trees. Could see Pilchuck if a few trees went away:D A Mt. baker run, eh? Lesdoit!:cool:

You guys are making me think(dangerous:lol: ) I'm a CNC programmer at a small machine shop, and we're always looking for some widget we can make and sell. I'll look into it and see if it would be realistic to machine them(covers) and sell at a decent price. I'd love to have a set of my own, so would be willing to absorb all the cost of programming and tooling up myself. May take awhile to get it going here, but stay tuned.

Agreed. All you guys that just hammer 'em in make me cringe. Bad for a precision bearing. Spend a few bucks and have them done right. Take off the steering knuckle and have them pressed in.(BTW, been a machinist for going on 20 years, so I'm not just some guy spouting what he THINKS he knows;) )

I'd like to drop the ride height of my '92 4X4 Loyale(I don't plan on taking it 4-wheeling). Will the shorter XT struts fit and not cause any probs with the 4-wheel drive? The thing just looks like it's ready to take off a cliff or something:D I want to put some nice rims/tires on it and fix it up a bit. (No, I won't rice it out. I promise:grin: )