revbill

Is the CEL on? It sounds like it could be the coolant temp sensor.

Does the check engine light turn on when the key is in the "on" position? I had some similar troubles and it turned out to be a bad connection under the dash that would cause the car to seemingly randomly stop running. It would sometimes crank and not start when this happened, and I would wiggle the wires under the dash until the CEL came on, then it would start and run fine. (The person who bought it from me was a little more motivated and figured out the problem was a connector that came loose.)

This has happened a few times on my Loyale, and I think it is the ignition switch or one of the wires. Sometimes I get the same no-CEL situation and the car will crank but not start. I can wiggle the wires or pound on the steering column when it happens, and the light goes on, and the car starts fine. I never got around to fixing it, but I would start with the ignition switch and the wiring down there.

My '92 loyale passed with a code 34, but that was in Washington State. I would give it a shot if it's not a huge expense or anything (here you get one free re-test before you have to pay again.)

It sure sounds like you got the wrong rotor. And I would fix the timing first if I were you, then track down any other issues if there are any. If you can take a picture of the hoses you're talking about and post them in this thread, someone here can identify them for you.

Didn't Jiffy Lube or some other chain come up with the 3000 mile interval? I'm sure they would put 500 miles on the sticker if it made people come in for more oil changes.

From what I understand, it doesn't affect anything. It is there to reduce emissions, but my car passed just fine with the solenoid broken and the CEL on, so who knows. I decided to fix it so that if there was another code being thrown I wouldn't keep ignoring the light. It was easy enough to do once I got ahold of the part.

The code is actually for the solenoid, not the valve. The EGR solenoid is the one with the vacuum line that leads to the valve, and it is the same as the purge control solenoid, but with a different connector. It can also be replaced (with some connector splicing) with solenoids from different cars, but I don't remember which ones (a search should turn up a post about this.) You might want to check the vacuum lines to make sure they aren't clogged before you replace anything, but these solenoids burn out all the time. I had the same thing going on for a really long time, and when I got tired of the CEL being on I replaced it with an extra purge control solenoid I had, and it fixed the problem.

For a car with a mysterious past (why was it donated in the first place?) that sounds like way too high of a price, considering that you're in the most Subaru-rich region in the country. That wouldn't be a bad price for one that you knew was in top-notch condition, but I agree about the potential for problems with the turbo and the suspect cooling system. I'd keep looking for either a less expensive option with known problems you are willing to fix, or something similarly priced that is in better shape.

I think the yellow gasket you are talking about is where the cam tower seals to the head, and it isn't a gasket at all. You use sealant (the kind in a tube) there to seal it up, so that is probably what's leaking. It probably looks crappier than it really is because of all the sealant glopping out. If it is leaking you should re-do it at some point (and probably the valve cover gaskets while you're in there) but if you keep an eye on the oil level it should be OK for your trip.

There are two timing belts, and the driver's side one turns the distributor so when it breaks the car won't run at all. I would still check the rotor just to be sure, since there is a screw that holds the rotor on that can fall out and cause the same symptoms. If it's working OK you can try starting fluid and/or check for spark at the plugs, and go from there.

Have you checked for spark and all that? You might run through the basic "no start" things in case there's something besides the gasket causing the problem. This isn't to say that your diagnosis is wrong, but I know from experience that having a bunch of crap come down on you at once can cloud your thinking and make you jump to conclusions. The "tries to start" part reminds me of when I spent an afternoon trying to figure out why a Loyale woudln't start before I checked that #@$$#*& screw in the rotor, which had fallen out. And I've started one of these engines with a pretty busted HG and it didn't keep it from starting. If you do need a HG right away, you can get by with what you've laid out. And I wouldn't reuse the oil.

For the Epinions suggested price (who uses that for used car values?) you could get a mid-90's Legacy with a perfectly good transmission, at least here in the NW. For 1500 you should be able to find an early 90's Legacy around here that doesn't need anything. I would pass and just keep your eye out here and on Craigslist. And check the new gen forum for what to check when you test drive a Legacy, since they can have some issues that our old gens don't have.

It looks like the original poster is from Washington (Spokane) and when I had my car tested here they didn't even mention that the CEL was on, so I think he'll be OK. (My car passed with the same problem.) The people who work at the emissions testing stations, at least the one I go to, have a rare mixture of incompetence, apathy, and agressive anger that I've never seen in any other line of work. Thanks for the detailed instructions on getting the code to clear, too. I need to run through those and see if I can get it to go away before I resort to the tape.

There's a procedure for checking the brake booster that I don't know off the top of my head, buy you can probalby find it by searching and it should be in any repair manual. It's very simple and only takes a few minutes. I had the soft brake syndrome and it turned out to be a MC in my case. It's always a good idea with brakes to check everything to be sure you're fixing the right thing, and that you're not overlooking another problem. And bleeding the brakes on these cars takes and insanely long time (compared to other cars I've worked on) so it's important to make sure you really got all the air out before you start replacing other stuff. (This wasn't directed at any particular post, just some more input on the brake issue.)

Wrong forum? I do have rear drums, so I'll check those, thanks. And I'm 100% sure the brakes don't need to be bled (I've dealt with the PITA that is bleeding these brakes before) so if it's not the rears, I'll try the MC, and psyche myself up for some serious bleeding! Thanks guys.

My brakes on my '92 Loyale seem weak, and I'm trying to get to the bottom of it. I took it to a local mechanic (not a brake specialty place though) and they said there was nothing wrong with them. I disagree. He looked at the pads and shoes and they are apparently OK (although he didn't notice my weak brakes so maybe they aren't.) I think the MC is the last part of the system, besides the lines. The fluid was just flushed recently so it's not that, and there is no pulling when I apply the pedal. It seems like there is a lot of play in the pedal, but the brakes do not need to be bled--pumping the pedal doesn't cause any change at all. I followed the procedure to check the booster and that checked out, so I was convinced I needed a master cylinder. Am I on the right track here? Are my standards just too high?

If you can, I would have the heads pressure tested or pull the valves and check for cracks that extend into the ports. Especially if the gaskets look OK. It would suck to do all that work and have it turn out that one of the heads was cracked (ask me how I know this.) The cracks between valves are very common, and usually not a problem, but there's really no way to tell unless you pressure test or inspect them. From what I have read, and my recent experience with my Loyale, the passenger side is more likey to crack in a bad way. Other than that, just follow all the instructions carefully, and come here for advice when you need it. I've found everything I needed to know about my car by searching/browsing here, and people here are as helpful as they come.

I don't know about your specific spark plugs, but I've had messed up spark plug threads before. Try putting the old plug back to see if you have the same problem, and if you do, you will need to fix the threads. You can get a thread chaser for spark plug holes (very common in old aluminum heads) that is just basically a tap you use with a spark plug wrench. If that doesn't work, you might need to take more drastic measures (a helicoil), but if nothing serious happened to the threads, that will probably fix it.

If you search for Tick of Death, or TOD, you'll find tons of information about this. It's a hydraulic valve lifter sticking and making that racket, and it won't damage your engine by itself (but it could indicate that you need to replace/rebuild/reseal your oil pump.) Tick of Death is really an unfortunate misnomer for this, becuse despite sounding like a grave condition, it's not that serious of a problem. Running Seafoam in the oil for a while can make it go away by clearning the gunk out of the lifters.

On my Loyale (when it was running) the lifters would tick randomly. I used Seafoam and it seemed to help, but I suspect that replacing/resealing the oil pump is really what I need to do. (That is, after I fix the head gasket or cracked head I haven't had time to deal with.) The ticking was weird, though. It would tick softly, then louder, then louder, then louder, then stop. Then it would be silent for a while, then repeat. It did it more when it was cold, but it would do it all the time, until the Seafoam did it's magic. And I don't think there would be any problem using Seafoam with any kind of oil, as long as you don't drive around with it in there for too long.

Ah, the distributor was out? If you can find TDC on the #1 piston, then point the rotor at the #1 plug wire in the cap, that should do it. You might want to do a search to see how to find TDC--I can't remember how to do it offhand. It should also say how to do it in any Subaru manual. If you get the distributor pointing the right way, and the cam sprocket holes are pointing 1 up and 1 down with the flywheel pointing at the middle line (not 0--I made this mistake the first time I did the belts), it should fire right up. Did you take the distributor out to fix or replace it, or for another reason?

I fired up a Loyale with a loose crank pulley bolt and it ran until the battery died, so I doubt if the alternator belt is the problem. The fuel pump is electric so the belt doesn't run it. Are you sure you put the timing belts on right? Is it doing anything when you try to start it? Is it even turning over?

I got tired of using cheap one-man bleeders and got one of these: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001218.php It's expensive ($60) but it works REALLY well. You just hook it up to the reservoir and pressurize it, and it keeps topping the fluid off as you let it out of the bleeders.

First, pop the distributor cap and watch the rotor when you crank it. If the rotor doesn't turn, it is probably the timing belt on that side, or the screw fell out of the rotor. I've driven myself half insane before trying to figure out what was wrong and it turned out it was that #%$@# screw.