jeryst

I've owned Subarus since the 70's, but I have always stuck to the older models (never had one newer than a 94). I have had many timing belts break on me, and other than a towing bill and replacement belts, I've never had any type of engine damage. Which is why I love Subarus, and absolutely detest interference engines. So my question is; When did Subaru engines become interference engines? I just want to know, so that I can stay away from them in the future.

The auto tranny in my 90 Loyale Turbo 4WD wagon (107k miles) hesitates when it shifts into third gear. Its hardly noticeable when driving normally, but under more aggressive acceleration it is very pronounced. The motor doesnt rev like it is slipping, there is just a very noticeable hesitation, like a dead spot. It is so noticeable that you actually can feel the car stop accelerating. All of the other gears work normally, and I do not seem to notice it when the tranny downshifts. Anyone have any idea what this might be? Is it signs of a pending transmission failure? The fluid is nice and red with no signs of burning.

Thanks. Would you happen to have a photo of how the vacuum is setup on the engine? I am suspecting that vacuum may be the problem. I found a broken plastic "T" in a bag of extra parts, and my mechanic told me that it looks like some of the vacuum hoses have been rearranged. It's possible that it may not even be hooked up, but I am not sure how everything is supposed to look.

I just bought a 90 Loyale Turbo AWD station wagon. AT. Full time 4WD. No rust. Very nice paint. Beautiful interior. 105k miles. Still had the original radiator and heater hoses (which I just changed). Everything works except for the cruise control. Had a minor starting issue, but that has been resolved. Paid $1300 for it. I think $2k is way too high for it. Show him $1200 cash, and tell him you will not be back if he doesnt take it. There are better deals out there.

Thanks for the info. Mine is indeed a small panel located where the power mirror switch is normally located. I will try to check out the switch and the brain box. Since it is a dealer installed option, I will also see if I can find where they may have installed an in-line fuse, as that may be the problem as well.

The cruise control does not work on the 90 turbo Loyale SW that I bought recently. No lights come on at all, except for the dash lights. I can't see a fuse for it in the owners manual. Everything else in the car works fine. The CC is on the dash near the steering wheel, so I am not sure if it is a factory setup or not. Anyone have any suggestions as to where to start or what to look for?

I have no idea when the timing belts were changed on the 1990 Loyale Turbo station wagon that I recently bought, so I though I would just buy a complete kit with belts, tensioners, etc. Can anyone recommend the place with the best price? Also, I looked on a site (http://www.autopartswarehouse.com), and they have kits from 5 different manufacturers, ranging in price from $98 to $240, for the same components. Three of them say that their warranty is 12k miles/12month, while the Dayco kit says "Limited warranty" and the Gates kit says "Lifetime limited warranty. I find it disturbing that some of them are only warranted for 12k miles when they are supposed to be changed at 60k miles. Funny thing is that the cheapest kit and the most expensive kit both have a 12k mile warranty. I have no idea what "Limited warranty" and "Lifetime limited warranty" mean. Can anyone provide some guidance before I make a purchase?

Mystery solved. For whatever reason, the PO just put a hose on the breather tube and ran it down inside the fender well.

Car is a 1990 Loyale turbo station wagon with auto trans and full time 4wd. There is a large diameter hose that comes out of the top of the passenger side valve cover and it just hangs down in the bottom of the fender well near the firewall. By the looks of the end, it was connected to something at one time. Can anyone tell me what this hose is, and if it should be connected to anything?

Good advice. I was on my way to the auto parts store to get hoses, when the upper radiator hose blew. talk about ironic. I had to replace it in the parking lot. No one has the lower hose, including the Subaru dealer, so I had to order it. Hopefully it will be here in a couple of days, and everything will hold out until them. The car actually has all of its original hoses. I do have another question, however. Whenever I go to the AP store, and they look up the car, there is a choice between a turbo 4 and a turbo 5. What is that all about, and how can I tell which one I have, or doesnt it matter?

I have owned many Subarus, but they have all been manual transmissions with push button 4WD. They were all tanks, and never had a problem in the worst of any PA winters that they encountered. My latest car, is a 1990 Loyale Turbo wagon with automatic transmission and full time 4WD. Since I've never had this setup, I was just wondering what others think of it. On bad roads, is it better, worse, or the same as the push button setup?

Thanks for the info. So far. it has not shown any tendency to overheat. As a matter of fact, it always seems to stay in the cool range. But I will check the fluids to see what it looks like.

I recently picked up a 1990 Turbo station wagon, and although I have been a Subaru owner for many years, I have never paid attention to the engine designations, displacements, etc. It is a Turbo, with automatic transmission and full time 4WD. So, can anyone tell me anything about the engine in my car? Displacement, designation (EA81, EA82, etc)? I'm sure I am going to need this information in case I ever have to do any work on it myself.

I just picked up a 1990 Turbo station wagon with close to 106k miles on it. Automatic with full time 4wd. The car is in very good shape, and even the AC has not been retrofit. The previous owner only owned it for about 8 months and then had to sell it because he lost his job. I dont have any type of history on the car, other than what he told me. I asked about the timing belts, and he said "I was told this model doesn't have a timing belt". Since I'm pretty sure that this model has a timing belt, I'm afraid that it may be the original. Is there any truth to what he said about this model not having a timing belt? Is there any way to inspect the belt before taking it to the dealer?

I live in western PA, and have been a Subaru owner off and on for over 30 years. My first was a silver 1978 GL station wagon. Back then, you couldnt just walk in and buy a Subaru. You had to get on a waiting list and give the dealer three color choices. If you were lucky, you got one of those colors. Silver wasnt one of my choices, but the guy that was going to buy it couldnt come up with the financing, so the dealer called me since I was next on the list to see if I was interested. I jumped on it. Times sure have changed. I recently ran across a 1990 Loyale Turbo station wagon that is in extremely good shape. Very minor rust, and only 105k miles. Runs and drives great. Automatic with full time 4wd. Other than an intermittent starting problem, and a leaking A/C, everything is in fantastic shape, and Im very happy with it, especially since I picked it up for next to nothing.

I'm having this same exact issue with starting. I replaced the starter and something a little different happened. I drove it around for pretty much a whole day after I replaced the starter, and it started okay. Then, it did the same exact thing, and I couldnt get it to start at all. I left the car sit overnight, and when I went out in the morning, it started right up. It seems to have something to do with heat, since it wouldnt start when hot, but started right up when cool. Surely someone knows exactly what this is!