86WAGO Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 (edited) Hi guys, I'm new to the whole Subaru scene. I recently picked up an '86 GL wagon 4WD 5 spd Carb'd for $750. I've been doing some research and reading up on these cars but could not find a forum that was mostly dedicated to the older Subaru's. Glad I came across this site. Here's what I have: 1986 SUbaru GL wagon Carb 5 spd with 257K on the odometer( not sure how long these motors last) Runs well just wish it had some more power. There's a few oil leaks looking like it's coming from the valve cover. And a small coolant leak coming from a hose up top. The temp needle recently started to climb up to 3/4. Read that it could possibly be a clog in the radiator. Went to the Arlington Pull A Part and picked up an OEM rack to slap on my Thule Box, and some fog lights. Everything is in working order, power windows, mirrors, wipers, EXCEPT for the fan speed switch. What are some things I should do to make sure this thing is going to be reliable to take me up to the pass this snowboarding season? I'm looking forward to meeting some local Subaru owners! Edited October 19, 2009 by 86WAGO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyman03 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 well hello there. one thing go make it more reliable is to baby it. IMO These cars can take you anywhere. Just keep the essentials in mind and that's about it. They can take a beating that's for sure. there are people on here that have probably done anything and everything that could possibly be done to a 'roo. if you have a question try the search function, more than likely it has been covered before. (or try Google and put "site:ultimatesubaru.org " before your search and it'll search this site specifically.) If not, try starting a new thread in the older subaru forum -Justin *throwing a wave from Denver* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Ru Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 keep a subie cool and she'll run a lot longer, dash gauge should run about 1/4 or so. Change out the radiator and cap for sure and while you are in there replace the thermostat, gasket, upper and lower rad hoses. If the coolant hasn't been changed a lot, use a drill pump and backflush the crud and old coolant from the cooling system, empty out the snot in the overflow tank and hose. use only distilled water ($1/gal at a grocery store) instead of normal tap water. good luck and hope she runs for many snowboard seasons up the pass, just don't work her too hard up those hills, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Welcome to the site! Nice to have someone local again. I'm in Bothell and anytime you need some assistance or advice on your '86 wagon, drop me a PM with a 'phone number and we can talk about it. I owned an '86 wagon for over 150K miles; sold it with 255K on it about 3 years ago and I believe it's still running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (edited) well hello there. one thing go make it more reliable is to baby it. IMO These cars can take you anywhere. Just keep the essentials in mind and that's about it. They can take a beating that's for sure. there are people on here that have probably done anything and everything that could possibly be done to a 'roo. if you have a question try the search function, more than likely it has been covered before. (or try Google and put "site:ultimatesubaru.org " before your search and it'll search this site specifically.) If not, try starting a new thread in the older subaru forum -Justin *throwing a wave from Denver* Lets try and be consistent here. Hi guys, I'm new to the whole Subaru scene. I recently picked up an '86 GL wagon 4WD 5 spd Carb'd for $750. I've been doing some research and reading up on these cars but could not find a forum that was mostly dedicated to the older Subaru's. Glad I came across this site. 1986 SUbaru GL wagon Carb 5 spd with 257K on the odometer( not sure how long these motors last) Runs well just wish it had some more power. There's a few oil leaks looking like it's coming from the valve cover. And a small coolant leak coming from a hose up top. The temp needle recently started to climb up to 3/4. Read that it could possibly be a clog in the radiator. Went to the Arlington Pull A Part and picked up an OEM rack to slap on my Thule Box, and some fog lights. Everything is in working order, power windows, mirrors, wipers, EXCEPT for the fan speed switch. What are some things I should do to make sure this thing is going to be reliable to take me up to the pass this snowboarding season? I'm looking forward to meeting some local Subaru owners! Thats alot of miles, even for a Subaru. If well taken care of, they can reach 300k and beyond. Get that cooling system straightened out ASAP, or it will never see 300k. I would look into a new radiator, waterpump, thermostat(OEM) and some new hoses. The fan speed problem is probably due to the resistor under the motor, theres a write up on it I believe. Or try a search with heater resistor. Theres also a large amount of members in the Snoho area here on the board. Oh yeah, the timing belts should have been changed at 240k. If your not sure about it, install new ones. It wont break the engine if they go, but its pretty darn inconvenient. Edited October 20, 2009 by Turbone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Welcome to the site! Nice to have someone local again. I'm in Bothell and anytime you need some assistance or advice on your '86 wagon, drop me a PM with a 'phone number and we can talk about it. I owned an '86 wagon for over 150K miles; sold it with 255K on it about 3 years ago and I believe it's still running. This one I would say the MAIN thing to make sure the car doesn't leave you stranded is to try and find out when the timing belts were last done. It wont hurt the car WHEN they break, but you will either be fixing them on the side of the road or calling AAA :-\ The heater fan issue is likely due to the resistor in the passenger footwell (behind the glovebox) missing some stages... I think we have all changed an EA82 blower motor resistor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 This one That's my old beauty. A great car when we owned it and it looks like it's still around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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