Tom63050

When my voltage regulator started going, it was reading about 18 volts at the dash gauge. Luckily I noticed it right away. I turned on the lights and heater fan, which drained off some of the juice and got it down to an acceptable level, around 14 I think. Replaced the alternator, problem solved--bad internal VR.

1. Maybe your thermostat is stuck partially closed. Take it out, boil it, and watch what it does. 2. Flushing a radiator doesn't always clear up the blockage. Might need a new one after all. Feel the radiator fins when the motor has warmed up; if there are cool spots and hot spots, then the radiator is clogged. 3. If the water pump was shot, I think you would hear its bearings squealing.

Another place the coolant can leak from is the metal pipe that goes from the lower (i.e. driver's side) radiator hose to the water pump. There is a rubber o-ring where this pipe connects to the water pump; when that degrades, it leaks coolant. So check that out too. Cheap and easy fix: buy the o-ring, put it on the pipe, use a little grease to make it slide back into the water pump easily (using coolant as a lubricant here has not worked for me), put the hose back on the other end. You might have to remove some stuff to get to the pipe, but it's good experience and character-building too. These cars are so easy to work on, it's a shame to pay a mechanic for most of the maintenance.

My experience with the EA82 2-piece adaptor plate was that it worked fine, but I had to go the the hardware store to get screws that worked with it. Some of the screws they included with the adaptor plate kit weren't appropriate. This was about five years ago though, FWIW.

Think about leaving off the center timing belt cover (at least). It'll cut down the amount of time/effort/aggravation you need to change belts. I and many others on the Board run our cars without the outer covers at all. Makes doing everything on the front of the engine easier, and no negative reports yet from doing this.

1991 Loyale, non-turbo, about 150K miles on it when I took the trip in 2003.

Bought a Loyale 5-speed 4WD wagon in Virginia. Put a hitch on it. Bought a trailer. Drove to Oregon to pick up stuff in storage. Gross trailer weight about 1900, plus another 400 or so in wagon. Towed it back to Virginia. A 7000 mile trip with absolutely no problems

Spark plug wires on snug, on both the plug end and the disty end?

I had a 91 GL 5 speed 4WD. Loved it, wish I'd never sold it, but I was moving from Cannon Beach, OR to Virginia and had three cars! Ditto on the oil pump issue.

Thanks to everyone for the help! Tom

Hi all, I need to buy some parts for my Loyale, mainly a clutch kit. I'd like to know who is reputable and reliable to buy from online. Thanks! Tom

The one I put on my 91 Loyale wagon is a Dalan. A good trailer-hitch place should be able to order one. Dalan seems to cater to the less-common applications. It's a flat type, not receiver. I pulled 2000 lbs worth of loaded trailer with it from Oregon to Virginia.

Best thing to do with temporary tires/wheels is replace them ASAP with real ones from the JY. I would never have one of these space-saver tires in my car. The piece of mind alone, especially on a long trip, is worth it.

Lots of info on the Board about Webers. Do a search. As for getting a cheap one, put a thread in Classifieds: Wanted here on the Board. Good luck.

Maybe not, in her case, but still something to be aware of. I wasn't aware of this Subaru "feature" when I bought my 86 wagon, and found out the hard way.

Electric windows...probably the contacts are bad inside the driver's door. Brakes...bleed 'em. If that doesn't help, replace the front rotors and pads. Easy to do, maybe $100 tops in parts.

I always insist on two teat drives. Nice thing about these motors is that they are non-interference engines; i.e. even if a timing belt breaks, no damage can result. Valves cannot hit pistons. Lotsa people sell their EA82 cars because of a broken belt, thinking it's gonna be an expensive fix. Wrong. These cars tend to be easy to work on, and of course the Board is the universe's greatest source of expert advice to help you do so.

Timing belts need to be adjusted every 20K miles, because they stretch and the adjusters aren't automatic. Personally, I do mine every 10K miles, because as the belts stretch, the one on the driver's side will retard the ignition timing. This is because the driver side timing belt drives the cam on that side, which also drives the distributor, located on the back of the head. This belt seems more prone to snap than the passenger side one, due to the extra work it does. If your belts haven't been adjusted in 20K or more miles, they may have stretched to the point that they slipped a tooth or more.

There are EA82 trailer hitches. Dalan makes them. You should be able to order one from a shop that installs trailer hitches; they should have the Dalan catalog. I have one on my lifted Loyale. I towed a loaded 4 x 8 enclosed trailer from Oregon to Virginia with this car (a 5-speed manual), before I lifted the Loyale. Total loaded trailer weight was probably about 1600 lbs., plus about 400 lbs in the car. An auto trans would probably burn up with this big a load, though, unless you installed a trans cooler. Be sure the tongue weight isn't too heavy; usually about 200 lbs max. I load the heavier stuff either behind or in line with the trailer wheels. If I can lift the trailer tongue fairly easily (i.e. feels like 40 - 80 lbs), I consider the trailer well-balanced.

According to Click and Clack on the radio, it's always cheaper to fix your car pretty much forever, than to buy a new one. Keep in mind depreciation costs! Why buy a new $18,000 car only to have it be worth $2K ten years later? Buy an old car that was well-engineered and has a reputation for reliability (Toyota, Honda, Subaru come to mind), and repair as needed. Even with a reman motor and tranny installed by a shop, new brakes, exhaust, tires, etc., you might be looking at $4-5K. If it lasts ten years , you might have $6K in it (not counting normal future items like tires or a tuneup that would happen with any car). So $6K sounds a whole lot better than paying $18K, and then losing $16K in depreciation. Not to mention the full-coverage insurance you'll need for the several years it takes you to pay off that new car; that'll add a few thousand too. I know Subarubrat has TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND in his Brat. He's got a really good-paying job, and is slightly (but amusingly) nuts.

My '91 Loyale's low-gas warning light comes on at 12 gallons, on a 15.9 gallon tank. The other way to know how much fuel you have left: find out how much gas your tank holds. As soon as the light comes on, pull in to a gas station, fill it up, and check how much gas it took. The difference between max capacity and how much you put in tells you how much gas you had left.

87 is fine for normal use for non-turbo cars; I don't know about turbos. If ignition timing is advanced beyond stock, higher octane helps prevent detonation. That's all it really does; cars that require 93 octane just have more-advanced ignition timing. Higher octane does not actually directly give more horsepower.

Kumho (www.kumhousa.com) makes a nice and inexpensive tire, called the Touring A/S I think, in 185/80x13. Might want to check it out. That's what I'm putting on my newly-purchased 13" alloys. I think that tire also comes in 185/70x13.

Try to put in a good used SPFI motor, even if the original was carbed. Higher compression, so a little more HP, with SPFI. The carb intake manifold will still fit.

Probably; don't see why they'd have to redesign the fuel tank sending unit. Same body style, and there's no reason that carbed/EFI should be a factor.