freedster

Both rust and dents. It's had it's share of dings and winters, including getting rear-ended long before I bought it and rust where the panels wrinkled on the back panel and fenders. It's not unsafe, but it's not pretty either. The paint's pretty good considering how long it sat outside before I got it, but you'd be hard pressed to find a straight panel on the car besides the hatch, roof & hood. If I were getting a project car, I'd look elsewhere. I got the car as a bad weather beater but once my S-10 got totalled, I had to drive the GL full time. Now I'm just trying to make it through the winter, and I think I'll go looking for a clean Impreza in the spring. Thanks again all for the rapid assistance. - Freed

Oh, and if only mine was a clean 4wd hatch. Runs fine, aside from the axle problem and needing a couple of synchros, but the body is far less than stellar. Thanks very much for the info. I'll send you a PM if I need your axles. - Freed

Hello all! I have an 87 GL hatch. EA81, dual-range 4spd. My front axle (pass side) had been making noise for the past several days and as I pulled off the interstate today I heard this clunk when I pushed in the clutch. No power. I tried different gears, and got nothing. I rolled into a parking lot and took a look under the hood. I couldn't see anything visually wrong with the axles on either side, and when I grab the pass side axle it doesn't feel loose, but considering that's where the sound was coming from, I figure that's the problem. I've had both axles replaced on the car since August, and it has eaten a few inner CV boots besides. I figure what happened is that the outer CV gave way, and now the car won't move because it has an open diff and the pass driveshaft is spinning freely. I put the car in 4wd and drove it home. I was only a couple of miles from the house, and I figured I wouldn't break anything driving the car for a couple of miles if I went slow. The car drove fine in 4wd, but if I tried to put it in 2wd, it clunked and I could feel the vibration through the clutch pedal. I also couldn't even put it into 4wd while the engine was running. If I put the car in 4wd with the engine off and drove it the whole time in 4wd, it drove great as essentially a rwd car. So, onto my question: My mechanic is about 20 miles from my house. Will I tear anything up driving the car that far in what is essentially rwd mode? Thanks all for the help, oh amazing and wize lords of arcane Suby knowledge. - Freed

I've got a 3.9 dual-range 4-speed in my GL hatch. It came from the factory that way... - Freed

Hello all- I had a CV boot go out on my hatch (1987 GL Hatch 4wd, dual range 4spd) a couple of months ago, and when I took it into my mechanic, he said that it needed a new passenger side front axle. No real surprise considering the age and mileage, so I had him go ahead and do it. He couldn't source the correct axle, (after ordering a couple of them from the junkyard) and finally ended up putting together an axle with new moving parts using partly my old axle and partly the one from the junkyard. He put on new boots at the time. Things fit together fine, the car drove fine, and then it blew out the inner CV boot a month or so later. My mechanic replaced it under warranty, and it has now blown out a new inner CV boot a second time after another month and a half. We thought the first might just be a defective part, but when the second one went out in exactly the same way, I figured we must be doing something wrong. He ordered 2 new axles for me last week (neither one of which has the right splines) and will keep ordering parts until he gets me what I need to get things fixed. My mechanic is completely honest and hasn't charged me anything since the first time he fixed it, and he won't charge me anything more for fixing it again either. But, I feel for the guy because he seems kinda stumped and he has now had my car up on his lift more than a couple times with the same problem. He's a Honda guy but he's the best import guy in town. Anyone out there in TV land run into this before or have a suggestion for my mechanic? Thanks! - Freed

FWIW, you can get Blizzaks in a 13. - Freed

So, back on topic... :) If I pulled a 13" 4-lug off an 89 wagon, it should fit my 87 hatch, right? - Freed

Those justy vids just rock. Makes me want to do that to my 87 hatch.- Freed

Yes/no is fine. Just curious. - Freed

TTT. Anyone done this before?

Hello all- I was worried that my 87 GL only seemed to be putting out a little over 12 volts at highway speed, and would often dip below 12v when I was idling at a stoplight with only a couple of accessories running. I never had problems with getting the car started, but I figure that's because I put in the biggest battery I could fit back in December and that engine isn't much to turn over anyway. So, to allay my fears, I picked a factory alternator out of a 75k 92 Loyale at the boneyard, and once installed it seems to be doing exactly the same thing. 1) Is this a problem with all Subaru alternators, is my volt gauge wrong, or do I just have 2 marginal alternators on my hands? Should I just not worry about it? 2) Is there some external voltage regulator to the system that I don't know about? 3) I've got an Alternator from an S-10 that I can drop in. It has a serpentine pulley on it so I haven't done it yet, but would that fix the issue? 4) I also bought an ammeter dash gauge that I haven't installed yet either because I'm not quite sure how to wire it in. Should I bite the bullet and go ahead and install it? -Freed

Found a couple of SPFI EA82's at the local boneyard, and was going to try swapping the injection onto my 87GL hatch. I'm sure this has been covered before, so I would appreciate any links the committee can provide. Thanks! - Freed

Thanks for the advice. That makes 3 people that have told me not to have it be my only car. It also looks like this one has many of the problems listed here. I can hear the wheelbearings and see the leaky valve cover, for example. The tranny problem potential does make me very nervous though, and if they are more likely to go out and more expensive than most trannies, I don't know if I want to risk it. I need something as reliable and cheap to own as my 1987 GL hatch has been. I suppose I could see if the dealer will give me a good extended warranty with it, but otherwise, I'll forget it. Thanks again for the info. -Freed

Hello all, Sorry for the noob-ness of the question, but I was looking for resources on what to look for when buying an SVX. One just came in on trade at a local dealership, and it seems like a nice clean car (with Motegi wheels, no less), but I was wondering what specifically I should look for as problem areas. I was also wondering what maintenance I should look for there to be done on it. Appreciate any links or advice the committee wants to throw my way. Thanks a ton! - Freed

The SVX had abs...

Had this happen to me once. It wasn't in the Sube, it was in my dad's Vette. Ended up being a corroded battery cable. Easy to check, I suppose. - Freed

Wow. Thanks. Sorry again for my noob-idge. - Freed

Saw that they are out there in a size to fit my 13" steelies on Tirerack.com. Anyone ever try out the Blizzaks? Do they really make that much of a difference in a 4wd car? - Freed

Nice app here to give you the exact error: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html HTH. - Freed

Sorry for the threadjacking. This seemed relevant enough to discuss here. OK, so if I get my hands on a 3.70 LSD, I can take apart both it and my stock 3.90 and combine the parts in such a way as to turn mine into a 3.90 LSD? Am I understanding that correctly? Without getting too far into the nitty-gritty, how would that work? - Freed

Had great luck with my local Advance Auto, and with the next-closest one to my house too. I think it depends on what dude you get behind the counter. - Freed

Looks like I'm hosed. I've got a 3.90 in my hatch. - Freed

Around here there's a couple of places that redo lawn furniture, and they do powdercoating pretty cheap. You might have to get them to order a color for you or something, but it might be another avenue to try. You could also try calling some local street rod builders and see who they use. Most professional rod builders powdercoat a ton -- most of the suspension parts before assembly, along with the frame. They would know the best prices, and what shops to avoid. If you get friendly with one of the rod builders, maybe you can even piggyback on one of their orders and get their rates too. - Freed

So I guess (duh) that I can just check my diff and see if the new one is the same ratio. That would make sense wouldn't it. :-p - Freed

OK. that helps immensely. How do I know what ratio the front is then? - Freed