JustGo_GL

She did great for another 8 months, and then last week started billowing white smoke out of the exhaust, so we're assuming there's - at best - a blown head gasket.

It's actually almost done! I know it's been a long process, we had a small team and it's feature length, but we're actually nearing completion! I'll definitely post about it here, because the car is pretty much the bona-fide star. I'm really excited about it.

Thanks for the thoughts, everyone. It's definitely extremely unlikely I actually junk it, as that would just be incredibly depressing. Selling it to someone more able to invest time in it is more of a possibility. It's tricky, because this thing's taken me across the country six times in the past two years, I've slept a ton of nights in the back with the seats down. I've learned more about this car than any other I'd ever owned by a mile. I love this thing. It's more the unpleasant financial back and forth - how much will this cost, and then the next thing cost, etc etc etc. Rust is definitely a big decider, and I'm genuinely not sure how bad it is at this point. Rust was no issue at all when we got it, but it's been two years on the east coast.

So, for the past few years I've been running an '84 Subaru GL that's had it's share of problems, most of which have been fixed - I've also put a ton of miles on it (60,000 plus) in that timeframe, and moved it out to the east coast, where rust subsequently ate the exhaust system - last weekend on a trip to NYC the muffler fell off, and I've gotten it to a shop where they say every bit of the exhaust system needs to be replaced. None of this is anything I have the time or space to work on myself, and apparently the shop is having no luck finding parts. And all of the wheel bearings need to be replaced. Given that it's thirty plus years old, needs an overhaul of the exhaust, front wheel bearings, and is starting to suffer from rust issues with lower bits of body panel as well, it it time to junk this thing/part it out? Curious for a second or third opinion.

Well new symptom - big oil leak. Ran it for a bit today, started fine, but about an hour after I turned it off it had a nice big oil stain on the ground underneath it. Could all of these issues be related to an oil leak/gasket problem as opposed to something bigger? The mechanic I talked to earlier said he thought it could be a bearing problem, in which case I might as well just start thinking about an EJ22 swap... lol

Thanks I'll check for that

Just had the y-pipe heading to the catalytic converter replaced last week, and the car had been running and sounding great. Took it on a 2,000 mile road trip, and all of a sudden as we're getting home the car is idling really rough, not turning on well, and the oil pressure has dropped. It also sounds like it did pre y-pipe replacement. Any initial thoughts? Obviously an oil leak seems likely, but I just wanted to see if all of these symptoms could be related to that, or if there's something else going on.

Believe me, I did. The main difference is the total absence of a boot as opposed to a rip.

So, I've seen a bunch of posts involving ripped cv boots, but I discovered today mid cross-country trip that my inner passenger side CV boot tore off completely and is gone. I found that a store about three hundred miles away has a split boot that should fit. Basically - with the boot completely gone, how long will the joint last? And is the Split Boot the best option? I'm in Wyoming looking to make it back to NYC where I can deal with replacing the boot properly.

Anyone have any ideas as to where I can find one? It literally just fell off the other day while on a drive, and I have no idea where. Any leads would be great. Thanks!!

Hey folks, So my '84 Subaru GL started sounding a bit differently as it drove quite recently, took the heat shield off and saw that there's a bit of rust on the Y-pipe leaving the engine, and am worried that there might be a few small leaks, though everything else is generally intact, and the pipe hasn't completely shredded itself or anything. Is it risky to keep running in this condition? I've been unable to locate a replacement pipe and I'm scheduled to be going on a long 3K mile journey in the car this coming week. As a note, I can't currently smell anything extra or exhaust-like from the cabin, so that's vaguely reassuring.

Hahaha it just got out of rehab. It's got a shiny new transmission and one of THREE stock neutral safety switches left in the whole damn country, per our mechanic's search.

We're looking at a fall release date, but we've just started Post-Production so it's still TBD. The clif-notes version is an effort to prove that adventure is still accessible and affordable for anyone here in 2014 (2015 now!), not just those with a heavy wallet and a metric ton of disposable income. We did the whole trip for the same amount that the average American spends on food alone, per week, including gas back when it was $4/gallon. It was tough, but we came in under budget by I think $4. Haha It definitely became about a lot more than the money aspect though, as you'd all expect. Car trouble, injuries, illnesses, lack of water - we had our share of difficulties, but pulling up at Bryce Canyon at 7am after a 24 hour drive... words can't describe it. We'll try and keep you guys in the loop!

That's intense! 6,000 in three weeks already felt like a lot - can't imagine 11,000 in TWO. They really are great cars.

Now THAT'S a trip! I'm jealous! We'll have to do that next.