Hi, I looked at a Canadian '87 Loyale 4wd wagon today and before I pull the trigger on it, I want to ask some people in the know a few questions about these cars. I am moderately competent when it comes to wrenching on rusted old junk. I have lots of experience working on various vehicles we've owned over the years but my heart has always been with old 4wd Toyota Tercel and Corolla wagons. Subaru's don't get much love on the 4wd Tercel forum and there are definitely a few things I'm hesitant about, mostly the flat-4 engine design (I've worked on a handful of VW flat 4's and hate them with a passion so all flat-4's are a bit of a red flag to me now), but there are also lots of creative design details I really like -- like the dual range 4wd. That's super sick.
Anyway, this is all to say that I no nothing about Subaru's but have done a bit of wrenching.
On with my questions:
1) Are there any good replacements for front and rear springs? I see struts on Rock Auto but no springs, and no complete strut assemblies, and the car I looked at will definitely need all new suspension. I'll note here that I'm a stock kind of guy, not interested in lifts.
2) The car I looked at runs like spoob when cold, and idles high the rest of the time. From my experience with 80's carbs, I'm guessing the thing has some vacuum leaks and has been tuned by someone who doesn't have much carb experience. Does that sound likely to anyone here? And are there any common carb problems for these models I should be aware of?
3) Rock Auto lists a clutch cable for this car. Is it adjustable? The clutch seemed ok on the car I tried but the pedal needed to come way up before the clutch engaged so I assume it just needs to be adjusted.
4) One of my Subaru fears is head gasket problems. Were they much of an issue on these older models?
5) Which engine is in the '87 Loyale, OHV or SOHC? Is it an interference engine? Any common problems with it?
I think that's all the questions I have for now. Thanks in advance.
Hi, I looked at a Canadian '87 Loyale 4wd wagon today and before I pull the trigger on it, I want to ask some people in the know a few questions about these cars. I am moderately competent when it comes to wrenching on rusted old junk. I have lots of experience working on various vehicles we've owned over the years but my heart has always been with old 4wd Toyota Tercel and Corolla wagons. Subaru's don't get much love on the 4wd Tercel forum and there are definitely a few things I'm hesitant about, mostly the flat-4 engine design (I've worked on a handful of VW flat 4's and hate them with a passion so all flat-4's are a bit of a red flag to me now), but there are also lots of creative design details I really like -- like the dual range 4wd. That's super sick. Anyway, this is all to say that I no nothing about Subaru's but have done a bit of wrenching. On with my questions: 1) Are there any good replacements for front and rear springs? I see struts on Rock Auto but no springs, and no complete strut assemblies, and the car I looked at will definitely need all new suspension. I'll note here that I'm a stock kind of guy, not interested in lifts. 2) The car I looked at runs like spoob when cold, and idles high the rest of the time. From my experience with 80's carbs, I'm guessing the thing has some vacuum leaks and has been tuned by someone who doesn't have much carb experience. Does that sound likely to anyone here? And are there any common carb problems for these models I should be aware of? 3) Rock Auto lists a clutch cable for this car. Is it adjustable? The clutch seemed ok on the car I tried but the pedal needed to come way up before the clutch engaged so I assume it just needs to be adjusted. 4) One of my Subaru fears is head gasket problems. Were they much of an issue on these older models? 5) Which engine is in the '87 Loyale, OHV or SOHC? Is it an interference engine? Any common problems with it? I think that's all the questions I have for now. Thanks in advance.