Rooasaurus Rex

That explains a lot. Thanks for that, Gloyale. Almost all of the GLs that I've seen are white. I think I won an argument with this info.

After oogling over other people's Subarus for years, I have noticed that GLs tend to look a lot better than the Loyales or my DL. They're shiny and have minimal rust. My question is, did Subaru use better quality paint on the GLs? Or are they built a little bit better... or is my poor DL, which is held together by spraypaint and foam, just hammered?

Ha! One of the belts is hanging out real close to the engine side of the pulley, but it isn't getting any closer. I have to make this thing go for a couple hundred miles when I finally get around to moving it, so I've been more nervous than usual about how it runs. I took it around the block a couple of times to work out the kinks... fairly sucessful so far, with just a loose hose clamp and the valve cover gasket still leaking oil. She seems to have to leak from somewhere, at least it's something easy that I messed up! Let it stay that way!

Fan-tastic! Thanks for that, I appreciate it lots.

I just did the timing belts on my 88 DL and demolished the timing covers. Do I need to be worried about the belt slipping off of the rear of the cogs when running it with the timing belt covers removed? How tight should the timing belts be?

That's so awesome! Thanks for the info! I was really hoping that I wasn't gonna have to buy more stuff for this project.

So, in the process of taking off the super nice plastic 25-year old timing belt covers, they broke in about 350 pieces. I was wondering what you guys thought about running the car without the covers... I'm feeling cheap.

Yeah, seriously! I'm not exaggerating, either! My boyfriend was following me and when we stopped for gas and was complaining about this filmy crap all over his windshield... And when we got back on the highway, it donned on me that it was actually oil spraying out of my car onto his! Thanks for all the help! I'll pull the motor one day, but probably not for this project. And yes, even the 3.2 beer helps!

Sweet, guys! Thanks for all the recommendations! Would you guys replace the whole oil pump or just do the seals? I'm totally not gonna pull the engine... that job is a little bit above my ability at the moment... And yeah, I know about how these old guys leak, but this one poured 14 quarts of oil in about 500 miles. No joke.

Hey there, I'm in the process of replacing everything that could possibly leak oil on my 88 DL. This baby leaks oil like that is what it was designed to do. I started with the valve cover gaskets... What would be on your list? I had a recommendation to replace the oil pump. Is there anything else that I should hit as long as I have that crap apart? Thanks!

I've learned so much on this project that I'm a bit embarrassed to say what was actually the problem... It was a crappy connection on the positive battery terminal that I finally noticed when I was checking the voltage on the fusible links. Ha! Before this project, I didn't even know that relays existed! Or how to use a multimeter! And I always had wondered how to start a car with a screwdriver. I really appreciate the suggestions, thanks a ton! Now, on to the valve cover gaskets.

Thanks for the help, guys! I'll check and double check those things first today. I have a week to get this car running... wish me luck!

So, my 88 DL left me stranded for the first time the other day. I drove it to a friend's house to pick up some stuff on the way to work, shut it off for five minutes, and when I came back out, she was dead. No electrical anything going on. No key dinger, no dash lights, etc. We pushed the old girl out of the driveway and my friend gave me a ride to work. A couple of days later, I went to try to move it and it started right up, stalled, and then was dead again. Since then, there has occasionally been brief moments when there is dash lights and the key dinger, but frequently when there is anything electrical going on, there is an odd buzzing from under the steering column. Here's what I've tried and tested: Ignition switch Battery is A-okay I just got that brown ignition relay from the junk yard My roommate tested the battery cables Where should I go next?

I have an 88 DL Wagon I bought for $300 five or more years ago from the original owner. I've put 50,000 miles on it and lived in it for six months. I regularly drive the old girl back and forth from Colorado to Salt Lake with everything I own, or road trip around Colorado for funsies. She's super ugly and electrical tape came standard over the check engine light, but she still gets 28 mpg packed with two people, everything I own, and a wicked headwind across Wyoming. Currently, she is suffering from an ignition problem and some horrendously leaky valve cover gaskets, both of which I hope to fix this week. This summer, I'm considering driving it from western Colorado to Connecticut. Reading this thread has made me feel better about that plan... that and I got AAA for Christmas.