jazzician

I have an '89 Subaru GL10. Going for a casual drive. One moment with turbo then no turbo. The turbo light indicator doesn't come on. I'm a big time newby and know little about how the turbo works to determine if it's something electrical or the turbo unit itself. Don't know if it would help to read a manual as it's probably a little more technical than I am. Any thoughts as to differentiating what it might be?

By "stumble", do you mean periodic quick hesitations during acceleration? I have that with my 89 gl10 and we replaced the fuel pump and it stopped doing it for a bit but it is starting up again after a year or so.

Yah, that seems to be the general consensus. Just had an issue with rad fluid leak and heating (not that they are generally connected) so I'll jump on the intercooler wagon to avoid more heating issues. Seems that the Saab 900 seems to be a popular choice. I'll check out the Ebay Boost Controller too. Seems like a good reliable deal. Simon BTW: Is it my imagination or is 1st gear pretty low? Maybe it's just me.

Thanks for the thinkings. I actually cut out the bottom of the Airbox to try to get more cool air as an alternative to an intercooler. This was at the suggestion of my Subie mech as I was originally going to get an intercooler. Is there a considerable difference between a cut airbox and an intercooler? I've seen people do both. thx in advance, Simon

I believe the exaust we put in was for an XT. It's not stock but a dual tailpipe. I used to have a straight pipe but it was too noisy. I'm not sure about the cat though. I think that is stock. Speaking of oil, I noticed that K&N makes a oil filter (I think). What are the benefits over the stock filters? thx in advance, Simon

I was interested in getting a Boost Controller for my 89 GL10 as I am finding that my boost is kicking in many times just before shift and I don't feel that it is kicking in soon enough unless I really hit the gas. I guess first question, is the Boost Controller worth the purchase? I am making trips in the extreme heat this summer and as well as having the Boost kick in sooner, it would also be nice to retard the boost with consideration about engine heat in the summer. If it is a good purchase, is there a brand that you all recommend. I was looking at qboost.com Simon

Would that cause the idle to be so crazy? I'll take a look at it, thx. Where do I find that? Is it the Turbo pipe that run overtop everything? thx in advance, Simon

My GL10 has become possessed. The car runs fine in driving mode but when I come up to a red light, the car will start idling at 2500 rpm. If I quickly hit the gas, it will drop down to 600 rpm, sit there for a bit then go back up to 2500 rpm. When the car is idling (for a short period) at 1000 or so, the engine is shaking a bit like it is idling at 600 rpm. There were some suggestions to check the hoses for leaks or that there could be a vacuum leak. This all started pretty suddenly. I noticed a tiny bit of something burning or exaust emitting from under the engine. I'm going to check again to see if I can locate it. Any thoughts on the rpm thing? I tried to adjust the rpm adjust screw just under the turbo pipe but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I know that I had just posted looking for a mech for my CV jt. just recently but now encountered a leak around one of the head gaskets and desperately need someone in the Victoria, B.C. area. There was mention of a guy in Duncan but I'm not sure if that is a risk to try to get to him with this kind of Rad Fluid Leak. I went to see a couple of guys in Victoria but they seem to be ready to suck me dry. This is kind of annoying as I had a rebuilt put in not 2 months ago with new heads, gasket, bearings and so on and I'm really not into doing that again and with it being done by a private mechanic in Vernon, I'm not counting on a huge amount of support from him. Anyhoo, any thoughts or names of priv mechs in the Victoria area would be great. thanks in advance, Simon

Yah, I heard that there is a good Subie salvage yard that I'm assuming is the one in Duncan. Maybe take a day and hook up there and check it out. Simon I'm not in the area but if your up in my neck of the woods give me a call and we'll see what we can do to your car. A cv should run you about 150-200 bucks installed.

Well, when I reach non-poor status, I was wanting to lift it a bit w/ a suspension mod so I can take it off-roading. Not so much performance mods. I'm pretty happy with it currently. Maybe an intercooler or boost control. Not sure. I guess to discuss it with a mech as to what makes sense. Simon CV's aren't that hard to replace. Not as fun when the weather is bad and you dont have a garage though. I have gotten mine from crappy tire and they come with a lifetime warranty. So far they have been holding up well. What sort of further work are you looking to do?

I need to get some stuff done to my 89 GL10 and wondering is anyone is interested or knows anyone that is interested in doing some work. My CV jt. is needing replacing and I would like to look into further mod'ing my car. I'm in Victoria and work in Saanich. You can email me at jazzician@shaw.ca Simon

Is there snow where you are? I found that I got some snow stuck in the wheels somewhere and threw off the weight balance. simon

Got it figured out. I replaced the engine on another matter and the car continued to surge after that. The headers were bad on one side so we replaced those (assuming the noise was setting off the knock sensor) and replaced the fuel pump and the hesitations are no more. Yayyyy, I say as they were realllllly annoying. Simon

I have to check my filter. I feel like I'm getting very little fuel for 3 or 4 seconds when I stop at a light sometime or start/stopping on a hill (which can be a real bummer as I nearly stall the car). I doesn't happen all the time too. Almost like there is a little Subaru Embolism that blocks the line and frees up and then blocks the line again. Not sure. Simon

I'm switching thermostats and gasket on my 89 GL10 and curious if you can just replace as is or if you need Gasket Glue or equivalent. I'm assuming that you do considering the whole heat thing and the "really not wanting it to leak" thing. Any advice? The way it is positioned, it doesn't look like there is any coolant leakage and I just replaced the coolant when the rebuilt engine was popped in. Is there coolant leakage, and will I need that Gasket glue stuff? thx, Simon

Yah, I'm a massage therapist in Vernon and here in the Okanagan of British Columbia, either people with large Cellos or an unusually large number of massage therapists own red 86-89 subaru station wagons. It's kind of funny especially the Cello part. Maybe in case they have an accident with another Cello player, they could play a duet while waiting for the police. Who knows? There are a good number of them here. Yes, Vanisl, I think a trip up there would be cool. I've never been there. Simon

I was experiencing craziness too and it turned out that the headers on one side were mental causing a bit of noise and maybe freaking out the knock sensor. We also changed the fuel pump as well. Maybe the filter was getting a little plugged with gas tank crap. I'm looking at the gas tank too as someone had some success with doing that as it maybe getting old. Sometimes at stop lights too, when I accelerate, it's like I don't get fuel for about 3 or 4 seconds and I nearly stall. simon

Yah, the exact thing I'm experiencing right now. I was able to make it over a big mountain range to start the drive with no overheating then about an hour later on the long straight away, it begins to heat up. I'm losing coolant too and I'm not sure where it is. The next time it heats up, I'm going to check the fans and see if they are on. Simon

Yah, I'll see what happens with the fan next time the heat goes up. Hopefully, it will happen near a Tim Hortons with me being a health-doughnut addict and all. The aspect of the engine soaking up heat over a period of time was kinda what I was thinking as hill climbing with Turbo on would normally be suffice to indicate Rad or facsimile of. BTW, it's a standard tranny. thx again for the thinkings, Simon

Mmmmm, okee. Thanks for the thinkings. Any thoughts on the timing of the overheating as mentioned in the entry ie: not overheating on a kajillion foot climb up a mountain, then overheating a couple of hours later on a straight away highway going 105 Km/H in 5th? I took it for another rip up some long hills and the car didn't overheat. It's almost like it doesn't matter how you drive it the first couple of hours, it's fine but anything like a 4-5 hour drive, it begins to go mental. Doesn't sound like radiator to me. That's why I was thinking Thermostat. I'll take it out again and try to get the heat up and see if the fan is kicking in. Hmmmmm. Simon

I've driven the Coquihalla Highway (for those who know the highway, and for those who don't, it's a real climb up to the top) and my 89 GL10 had the turbo a lot of the time and it ran cool all the way. I came down the other side and have a stretch of flat highway to drive for a couple of hours to Vancouver. About 1/2 way along this stretch I started to experience a heating issue where I was okay if I was reallllly gentle but if I accelerated a reasonable amount, the temp jumped up to the red zone and back down again really quickly if I let up on it. My mech seems to think that the rad is gone but I'm questioning as to why it ran so cool with the Turbo on all the way up the Coquihalla Highway. I know it's colder up there but not by a whole bunch. I'm thinking maybe the Thermostat? I'm going to drive a bit now and see if the fan is coming on or not. Not sure. Any Ideas? Simon BTW: where is the thermostat anyhoo. If you say it is beside something, chances are I won't know where that other something is. Any pics by any chance?

I'm heading to Victoria probably on Tuesday-ish but I have to hit the Victoria/Anacortes ferry to meet up with my friend. Then taking the Anacortes back to Victoria, go for a couple of job interviews then I'm heading back up to Nanaimo and can hook up with you somewhere. I'd love to see what you are up to in term of lifting/suspension/tires ect. as that's what I'm wanting to do with my car. Let me know if there is a good # I can reach you at. My email is jazzician@shaw.ca talk to you soon, Simon

Cool, thx for that. I just phoned my mech an apparently the muffler in the fender is already out so I just need to grab that 4" PVC elbow and pop it in. I can't scribe on the bay wall where the plastic was as there is no plastic piece there currently. #1 - How much of the elbow comes into the Airbox? Does it matter? #2 - what is a good method of securing the elbow into place. Does the elbow in the fender area point forward? I'm guessing it does. I'm probably coming into Van Isl on Monday via Horseshoe Bay as my parents are in W Van and I'm going to stay there for a bit. Do you have a # I can contact you at? Maybe we can meet somewhere near Nanaimo or equivalent thx again and talk to you soon, Simon

Mmmmmm, dem are gooooood thoughts, I think I might do the first right now. My mech has a wack of those around in case I want to reverse that. He was saying that running cooler air really isn't a hugie right now with the weather being so cold. I'm not sure how stoned he was when he said that so correct him if he was wrong. Are you talking about cutting the entire bottom of the airbox or just a bit ( like 1/2)? I would like to have better throttle response as the low end is always a bit hurtin' on the turbos. It's great when the boost kicks in, heh. I haven't done a whole wack to it really. I have a K&N filter, bought a really good ignition coil, my mech put in a relay near the coil for a better spark, put in an dual pipe setup (which I believe is for an XT). I'd like to raise it a couple of inches at least and improve the suspension for moderate off-roading as I hit the perils of Vancouver Island fire roads. I'm not sure what level of performance I would like as I'm not really sure where I am now. I could get the car Dyno'd somewhere so I know where I am. I'd say I'm pretty happy with the performance thought. I've heard some good things on stuff like Boost Controllers and Intercoolers but haven't made the leap yet. Apparently, there is a really good used Subie Part place near Victoria that I want to check out. With the 2nd option, were you talking about positioning the PVC elbow so the pipe ends up pointing forward in the fender and runs parallel to the movement of the air in the fender to increase the efficiency of the air entering the Airbox? I saw a little ditty on increasing performance somewhere and someone was suggesting removing the intake chamber. Is this the same line of thinking? I just had a rebuilt engine done so I'm a little capital challenged and always looking for reasonably simple ways to improve performance. Any B.C. meets in the works? I might be working in Saanich soon. I'll do the Airbox Adaptation and get back to ya. Thanks for your thinkings again. Simon