Robert M

Well, I haven't driven my '87 Wagon lately, but that's because the timing belt went out a short time ago. In the meantime, I did an animated cartoon thingie about it. You can do the same thing with your Subie if you wish. It's on the Subaru of America website. Crank up your speakers to hear the surf music and the narration on my short tale of 'Little Subie - The 4WD Wagon That Could'.

In Auburn, it's the shop on 'A' Street that does Subies and Volvos. They are very good, and have fair pricing. You drive out of town toward Sumner on A street and you'll see them on your left near the state emissions testing facility. The owner is real nice, and will let you pay off the bill in two or three payments if you wish. No worries. He won't try to keep your car. And it's better if the axle nut is too loose and they have to re-torque it. (earlier post) Too tight and it's a real problem, REAL quick.

There's a reason why they call it the 'Subaru Tap'. There's just something in the engineering of the motor that causes this after a lot of miles, I think. As long as it doesn't go on for a long time, I don't think it really hurts the motor. My '87 GL-10 has 236,000 on it and has been doing the tap off and on since God knows when. But it's as reliable as they get and never lets me down. The only way I finally beat the tap was by running Seafoam for a thousand miles, changing the oil, and then using Lucas and a good oil. It's a pain, but the tap will come a lot less if you warm up your Subie for a good 7-10 minutes before driving, especially if it has more than 200,000 miles on it. Then you will seldom get the tap unless you push the engine above 3,000 rpms for an extended period. I've gotten into the habit of just going out and starting it and going back into the house for coffee for a few minutes before actually leaving. Also, when you stop somewhere while driving, (such as going to the store or something) you have to warm it up for a minute or two before putting it into gear. That seems to work well. Want to rid yourself of 80% or more of the tap? Gotta learn patience. When you use Lucas changing your oil, pour in the whole bottle first, and then fill the rest with normal oil up to the mark, plus a tad to fill the new oil filter. Don't be cheap about it. And plan on changing your oil every 3,000 or less. That's all I know.

When it goes below 20 degrees, my Subie wagon sometimes starts banging really loud out by the rear suspension, every time you hit the slightest bump in the road. Goes away after it warms back up to above freezing. Weird.

1987 GL Wagon/Dual range/AC/5spd Runs great, daily driver, 224,000 miles. And MINE helped solve the D.B. Cooper case! Watch History Channel on Thursday, Jan 6 at 10PM/9 Central. I'll be the dorky-looking guy in the light blue shirt and dark blue tie. The show is 'Brad Meltzer's Decoded'.

I love the Subie-in-the-Snow videos...

Heater fixed, thanks to all the great advice. You guys are really just too good sometimes.

If the heater hose switch doesn't work, try blowing out the entire cooling system with some water pressure using a hose. Let it run for a good while, and to make it better run some scale remover for a good half-hour at idle before you try the hose. Then put in fresh anti-freeze and water. If it still doesn't work, it is probably a clogged heater core.

That burgandy-colored wagon you also have sitting in the driveway is no slouch, either.

Somebody was parking that Loyale in a GARAGE on a regular basis. You can tell by looking at the body. Nice one. Very nice.

I'm going to take a look at this mystery heater problem over the weekend. Type: 87 GL wagon, A/C (no belt installed, not used), five speed with dual range 4WD. What heater does now: Hit any button you want on the vertical control switch (except the AC button) and this is what happens - Mid-level heat comes on, no defrosters, no bottom heat. Out the bottom comes cold air instead of hot air. Heater core does not leak. Heater fan only works in speed setting 3 or 4, nothing on 1 and 2 lower settings. :-\

Changed oil, new struts, tune-up. That's about it, I guess. Lil' Subie is still going fine.

No more carbs for me. Rebuilding them...tweaking with them...buying new ones or parts for them. FI is the way to go.

My 1987 GL Wagon runs great and gets about 26 miles a gallon average. Does a little better on the freeway, a little less in town. Mileage 216,000. No complaints.

1987 Wagon/4WD/Hi-Lo/AC/Most options are there - 216,000 - New engine installed at 180,000.