NorthWet

The individual gear ratios (first gear though fifth) are relatively irrelevant... unless you are a rock-crawler or racer. The thing that would make a difference is whether or not the front and rear final drive ratios match. As Miles pointed out, all of the part-time D/R 5-speeds have the same 3.90:1 final drive ratio, with the exception of a couple model years of RX (rallycross) cars. It is VERY unlikely that your new tranny is out of an 85-86 RX. Just for grins and giggles, though, you might want to check the ratio that is on your rear differential's shiney metal tag to make sure it says 3.90.

OMG!!! :eek: And I thought that I was pretty good at packing stuff into vehicles! Will, you are a Master! (BTW, can I have that LSD? )

I would be somewhat concerned about that JY radiator. Assuming the t-stat is OK, it would be where I would start checking to see if it is flowing. If you have a mechanical fan, can I assume that you have Air Conditioning? What you would need to do with the radiator is feel across the radiator core, top to bottom, feeling for cold regions which indicate plugged tubes. If you have A/C you will need to pull the electric fan (BTW, does this work???) in order to touch the core.

I would tend to side with Miles on this, that there is something intrinsically wrong with the way the engine is set up (t-belt, ignition timing, or similar). His reasoning is pretty good, too. It is very common to find Loyale-class Subarus with a "bad engine" where the only problem was that the t-belt was removed/replaced and not properly aligned, causing the right (passenger side) cylinders to not make power. I would be surprised that they actually got it to run, but I have seen more bizarre things. It might also account for the rough idle. (BTW, I lost out on a $100 4WD wagon because, after hearing the owner's story, I told him that it was probably just the passenger-side t-belt was not set properly. He fixed the problem and thanked me...) I would also agree with Miles that the car is probably still overpriced, as the Dealer must know that it is not running right. Out here in the West, a private-party would probably sell that car for maybe $500; almost certainly not for more than $1000. The only time I bought a bad-/not-running car from a Dealer I spent $200 for a 90 Legacy. IMHO (as if you know me from Adam ), Miles is pretty good with his knowledge and abilities. But his car is called Trashwagon for reasons... watch out for his ghetto (backalley??? What would it be called in IN???) engineering. (Sorry Miles, couldn't resist!) I would certainly let him do my t-belts, but personally I would make sure he put the covers back on. Anyway, talk the Dealer down in price. If you feel comfortable doing some wrenching, there should be nothing insurmountable.

First off, welcome to the USMB! Second, the Justy is sort of the orphaned step-child of the Subaru world, not really like anything else that Subaru offered in this country. So, there is less knowledge/experience here with the Justy than with the other models. That being said... If the Justy is has the ECVT ("automatic") transmission, you should probably stay clear of it. It probably doesn't. I enjoyed driving mine until the headgasket failed. I have been "changing the engine" now for almost a year; engine removal/replacement is somewhat involved and is difficult to do on my crushed rock driveway. Some day I will have more experience to pass along. BTW, another forum just for the Justy is at: http://subarujusty.proboards20.com/

The other thing that is not in this thread is that it is supposed to have only 25k miles!!! Literally, a Grandma's car. Yeah, I'm thinking tune-up issues.

Shouldn't take anything special. Mine has a separate hose that screws into the plughole, rather than just pushing the rubber tip into the hole, but I don't know that that is necessary, just convenient.

Maybe not so much reliable as accurate. Accuracy is relative and subjective. The gauges themselves seem pretty reliable; I have not heard of anyone writing that there gauge has failed (but I am relatively new here). The sender units can be funky, and accuracy suffers with a sender unit that has been treated unkindly (they kind of stick out in harm's way). I have one whose body turns without the mount fitting turning, and this affects how the gauge reads (I can indicate negative pressure!!!), but a new sender unit (not too expensive from parts store) would fix that. They are far better than what Detroit put in their cars for years, and maybe still does. The parts are probably made by the same companies that make parts for Toyota, Nissan and Honda.

Turbone, from what I have gathered it should be a 92(?) Loyale wagon SPFI with 3AT pushbutton 4WD. He wants/needs an automatic, so is unlikely to do the tranny swap. He describes it as being severly underpowered, even by 80's Subaru standards.

Some advice: Don't go borrowing trouble by worrying about what MIGHT be expensively broken... unless you haven't sealed the deal on this yet. Do you have it in your possession yet? Can you describe how it runs? Idle quality, mid-range power/smootheness, WOT power/smoothness, willingness to rev, flatspots in the rev range, stuff like that. I would still stick with the basics: Ignition maintenance items, fuel filter, maybe injector cleaner, check timing properly (involves some underhood diagnostic connectors), maybe check that timing belts are still timed properly. I have no problems with power on my 3 automatics. One is a Turbo with 3AT that is slower than our Turbo 5-speed, but still beats the pants off of Hondas and such. Another is a Turbo 4EAT, but the Turbo is not working due to a cracked exhaust manifold; so, it is a 7.7:1 compression ratio engine with a restricted exhaust (the turbo is still a restriction) plus an automatic, and although I have to plan for hills (I have a 3000 ft pass that I often go over) it will make it over them and is happy to cruise at 90mph. The third is closest to what you have, an 89 SPFI sedan with 3AT that has no problems getting out of its way, easily hitting 60mph on an uphill freeway onramp.

Your Loyale doesn't have an oil guage already? Not totally surprising, as Loyales are generally less well appointed than the earlier cars. But my Turbo Loyale has one, as do all of the earlier GLs. An option for you, assuming that yours is sans gauge, is to use an instrument cluster from a car that has the guage (and possibly other gauges) and install the oil pressure sender. These cars really are just large "Lego" sets, so mixing and matching options is... well, an option. My Loyale lacked electrically adjustable mirrors, so I picked up some electric mirrors from the junkyard and replaced the non-electrics. Wiring was already in place. (Thanks again, dptyrob!!!)

The cooling system itself is not really a problem area, but the engine does not tolerate overheating well; but then, few aluminum-head engines do. If coolant has been regularly maintained, your cooling system is probably in decent shape. I would check the radiator by hand, warming it to operating temp and feeling across its surface for cool rows that indicate plugged tubes (they tend to be bunched in large groups, usually top or bottom or both). Any replacement radiator should be satisfactory, and there is a 2-row radiator available that is meant to go into the turbo-engined vehicles.

I agree with calebz that these are not trouble areas, but rather maintenance issues. Another maintenance issue involves power/ground connections. It would be a good idea to check and clean all battery cable connections and ground connections to prevent electrical gremlins. Older car, dissimilar metals. Another thought I had as to "power" issues (in addition to properly checking/setting ignition timing and checking timing-belt alignment) is a simple one: Tune-up. Bad high-tension parts can cause a major loss in power through misfire, and the misfire is not necessarily recognized as such (mine run smoothly but gutlessly while misfiring on one or more cylinders). Good spark plugs and wires are very important, and consensus seems to be that NGK plugs are what you should be using in it.

The vacuum modulator is just above the fluid pan gasket, on the same side of the tranny as the governor (USA passenger side), and adjacent to, and slightly rearward of, a slightly larger solenoid. General way to tell if it has ruptured or not is to pull loose the vacuum line at the valve and see if the rubber line is wet/drippy inside; it should be dry. Another way to tell is if you leave WHITE smokescreens behind you. If you replace it, there is a thin metal actuator rod that is likely to fall out, and fluid will pour out as it is below the fluid level of a properly filled tranny. The car should be no more underpowered than other similar age Japanese 1.6-2.0 liter cars with an automatic. As I have typed elsewhere, my 89 is more than acceptable for driving around town and on the freeway. Ignition can really effect power, and I am posting some thoughts in your "engine switch" thread.

The torque converter is the big steel toroid (doughnut-shaped) that the starting ring-gear is part of. The flexplate is a thin, sheetmetal disk that bolts to the crank (just like a flywheel) and to the torque converter near its periphery.

And... I assume that you have the automatic transmission still. 4 bolts IIRC that hold the torque converter to the flexplate... should be accessible through the timing hole. You can pull the torque converter with the engine, but you MUST reinstall with the torque converter properly mounted on the transmission or tranny damage WILL result.

4 engine to tranny bolts. 1 at the starter (though might as well pull the other starter nut), one on the top opposite the starter bolt, and 2 nuts on studs just slightly above the axle centerline.

I must have one of that 1%, then! (90 Turbo Loyale) I wasn't sure what else they stuck them in. Anyway, as I replied to one of his other posts, "torque bind" isn't quite the same in the 3AT as with a manual, because it uses a clutch pack instead of gear engagement. Press the button and bind goes away.

Jeffroid, yes the EA82s have a very similar water line. It is a real PITA on the turbos, what with all the extra plumbing and all.

I asked in another of your threads which automatic you have, but it sounds like it is the 3 speed part time (3AT). The automatics aren't quite as bad as SubaruJunkie portrays them. Manuals are more fun, but the autos are usable. They have 3 major weak points, and 2 are related. First, they REQUIRE clean, non-overheated ATF. The tranny has no filter (just a screen), so any crud that gets into the pan circulates. It is easy to overheat the fluid, and then all sorts of things get gummed up, like... The Governor Valve. This is a gear driven, centrifugally operated valve that translates road speed for the tranny's shifting. It hides under the 4" dome that is on the side of the tranny just above the passenger-side (USA) stub-axle. It has a gear that rides on the pinion shaft and drives the shaft with the actual valve mechanism. The gear can wear out ("apple cores"), and the valve can gum-up so that it doesn't move. Either of these will cause problems when the shifter is in drive, and usually it will not shift into 3rd. The third weak point is the vacuum modulator valve, which uses a vacuum signal from the intake to tell the transmission if it needs to downshift of not. The vacuum diaphram ruptures and ATF is sucked out of the tranny and into the intake. $10-30 part. I have just resurrected an '89 Sedan, SPFI with the 3AT. When purchased it had 6 forward gears and nothing else: It was forever stuck in a forward gear. Dollied it home, drained what ATF I could, cleaned the valve body, checked the Governor, refilled and test drove it. During the test drive it came unstuck. A couple more ATF transfusions and I will call it cured. I have been driving it for a couple weeks now, and although ir doesn't "get off of the line" like my Turbo 5-speed, it has plenty of power for day-to-day driving. It is very smooth on the freeway, and I have to watch out for drifting to a higher speed (it loves 65mph). As far as 4WD, this tranny uses a fluid-pressure operated clutch pack to engage the rear-driveshaft, and this engagement is controlled by the electric pushbutton on your gearshift. Since it is a clutch pack and not a gear engagement, it doesn't suffer from binding in quite the same manner as the manuals, and the binding can be released just by pressing the button again. (The AWD auto-trannies use this cycling of the clutch pack to implement their variable torque split.) Speaking of 4WD, the "default" of the 3AT is 4WD. If the engine is not running, there is no fluid-pressure to disengage the clutch pack. Do not tow an auto-tranny Subaru with only the rear wheels on the ground unless you disconnect the rear driveshaft. The automatic is not a horrible slug. It is not popular on the Board as most people here would prefer to shift for themselves (myself included). But my wife is in a similar boat as you, and I have kids that need to learn to drive, so I have a couple automatic Soobs. Keep the ATF clean and cool, and things will be OK.

Is this a part-time 4WD 3-speed automatic (aka 3AT) or the "Fulltime" electronic 4-speed (aka 4EAT)?

92 Loyale, so Single Point Fuel Injection (SPFI), correct? 9.5:1 C/R, so detonation could be a possibility. A very common engine tapping noise is from the hydraulic valve lash adjusters (aka HVLA or HLA), which are like hydraulic lifters in a pushrod engine. They can collapse a little and tap, especially after sitting for awhile. (I had one engine that sounded for all the world like a rod about to come out of the block, but it was just HLA noise that went away after 5 minutes of running.) Ignition timing on the SPFI/MPFI engines are NOT straightforward, so power may be partially a timing issue. Timing belts might have slipped also, causing power issues. These are not muscle cars, but you should still get Toyota Corrola / Nissan Sentra class performance. They are also short stroke engines, and prefer running above 3k RPM. Working on these engines isn't hard, and many find it more convenient to pull the engine (20-30 minutes with practice ) and work on it outside of the car for stuff that nominally could be done with engine in situ. Doing piston/crank work is mildly a pain (at least for the inexperienced).

IMHO, Consumer's Union looks at all things it tests as appliances or commodities. They serve a function as CU defines it. There is no passion, no interest, no real special use for anything. Cars exist to get you from Point-A to Point-B. Period. I would think that a reliable Chrysler "K"-car would get their highest ratings. I gave up paying much attention to CU tests and rating about 20 years ago. CU's ratings are valuable for others that share their same view of consumer goods, but I don't. I am unlikely to buy a new car, so their new car ratings are useless to me. If they currently rate used cars (like I said, I don't pay attention anymore), their "Frequency of Maintenance" doesn't matter too much to me as I do my own wrenching and actually enjoy to do so. I have come to appreciate the general design of Subarus and the general ease of working on them. Clutches are more work to replace on my 4WD Subarus then on my RWD Datsun, but no way near as bad as the transverse-engined FWDs that I have worked on. Headgaskets are a trouble spot, but really only if the cooling system is compromised. These cars were built during the time that aluminum radiators started to become popular, and IMHO suffer from that. Aluminum radiators are an attempt to save money, and they go bad rather quickly. So you get marginal cooling causing overheating, and owners that don't keep up with the anti-corrosives in their coolant, resulting in a high incidence of blown HGs. A bad HG is not a serious problem for a mechanical owner, but cost-death for your basic-transportation owner. Likewise with the timing-belts: EVERYBODY KNOWS that a broken t-belt means belt valves and probably a damaged head... but not on the Leone/Loyales. So most unknowing owners would junk it because a $10 part snapped. Let's talk general reliability. Its considered that most new car buyers in the USA keep their car for 3-5 years before buying a new one. During the last decade or so, the average miles/year put on a car in the USA was around 10000 miles (last year it was raised to 20000 ... big jump). So, USA car manufacturers have little incentive to make cars that last. 100000 miles is considered almost worn out for a USA car. Subarus will run 200-300k miles easily if given reasonable maintenance and perhaps new HGs (gaskets "age", so miles are not as important as years and heat-cycles). Given some "freshening" of the engine, there is no reason that a Subaru couldn't go a million miles (at least out West here where rust isn't much of a problem). Except to wrack up that kind of mileage means dodging the statistical likelihood of an accident, and being "totaled". Most of my Subarus have over 200000 miles on them. (My Datsun has over 300000 miles on it; and it still has all 6 of its original u-joints (IRS), rear-wheel bearings, brake rotors/drums, and many other such parts that MIGHT last 50000 on domestic-built cars.) A car's "worth" is all in how you measure it. I measure it differently then does Consumer's Union. They don't value my view, and I don't value their's.

Starkiller's original problem with the EGO sensor, as stated previously in this thread, was with passing emissions; I don't think that anything was applied to the EGO sensor's threads. Forcing open-loop by disconnecting the EGO sensor did not noticeably effect the pinging. Doing a cylinder inspection with a dangling light invites the possibility of tear down to retrieve said light; not going to happen. Besides, I suspect that physical limitations caused by not being 18 anymore would limit his ability to see anything meaningful. I am almost certain that plugs are correct NGKs. Fuel filter scenario is unlikely, because pinging also occurs in situations of low fuel flow (low- to mid-RPM, part-throttle transitioning to just a little more throttle). SPFI, so only one injector; he has not yet replaced the TB. I previously asked him to check for vacuum/air leaks, and a little judicious spraying of carb cleaner showed up no obvious leak points... plus, IIRC, the idle is pretty smooth (should rule out vacuum leaks, at least). He drives it all over, so "limping" is not really an issue... just the miles/gas/time inolved. Plus, he would still be in Longview! :-p

Glad things worked out. Luckily, Subaru being Subaru, there wasn't much variance in torque values for different years/models.