Hey, I just decided to take the plunge and join. I met a dead end while working on my wagon and need to search the posts for an answer. I've been reading through the posts for a while (I got to page 75) but the search is much better. I have a 91 SPFI loyale wagon and a 86 carb Gl 3-door. I like the 3-door much better but it is insanely rusted, so i'm goning to use the wagon for my first car.

Welcome to the board

Thanks

My cars have spent the last 2 years on my driveway. The handling on them has let my hit 40mph in th 86. Subarus are the best all purpose vehicles out there.

How do i put in the stats about my cars at the bottom of the posts?

91L:

 

The Loys are good all around cars for basic transportation.

 

Depending on what part of the country are in, the Loy might be the best you can do if you want on older Sube, and you dont have a lot of $$.

 

If you want to put all your eggs in one basket, I would consider scrapping out the 86, and upgrading the Loyale with parts from the 86. Rust is a losing battle and it sounds like the 86 is close to the end of the line. But that's ok. It's earth day. Think recycling.

 

My advice: strip that 86 down and focus on getting your Loyale up to speed. A car like the Loyale (with spare parts) can run for many years, with very few hassles - if you stay on top of it.

 

The great thing about the Subes is that the design is versatile, and you can piece together many different combinations of components to get the performance and features you want out of a car. If you have a solid unibody to start with (the Loyale?), you can build the kind of car that meets your particular specs.

 

There are no rules...

 

good luck, John

The Gl is my favorite, but i'm dealing with the reality of having the floor pan supports drop off, the amaing dissapearing rocker panels and the exhaust drop off from the cat back. The car is louder than you can believe and still spinns the tires through third (on dirt), but i wonder what is holding the wheels on. The loyale was parked in a yard for 2 years before i aquired it, so it got rust on the quarter panels. I redid the panels and cleaned the mouse nests out of the dash. I just found that the rear wheel wells have rusted through into the tool pans and the rocker panel chambers. I've got the interior stripped up to the front seats. I've got big plans for the inside, but i want to stop all the rust. The gl helps show me where the rust will be.

 

I have a EJ22 in a 92 legacy (2wd auto) and i want to take its engine and mate it to the D/R in the Gl. I just need to find a non rusted body. This is going to be one of those sometime in the future projects.

Welcome to the board, even though I am still a green pea myself

 

Go to user cp and go to edit signature or something like that and from there you will see...by the way, the little pic by our user names is called an avatar, (took me a while to figure that )

 

eric

Aha the signiture is th key.Thanks

Hey there 91 loyale. I just joined myself. I also just bought a 93 loyale wagon. I will be eager to hear about any discoveries or ideas you may have for your Subie. I got lucky, I hope, and it seems there is comparatively little rust. My loyale seems pretty noisy. How does your engine sound? Mine is pretty growlly. I have never owned a Subaru, and have only just started working on my cars myself recently, so I don't know what to expect. Anyway good luck with yours.

Welcome to the board guys. I'm skeet. I don't know much about cars, my main function is to follow baccaruda around and make fun of him.

Hey, if its growly, i bet that the exhaust has rusted out just behind the cat. You can take a tomatoe paste can, cut the ends out and slice it lenghwise. Wrap this around the holes and bind it down with wire. Its a cheap fix that worked well on my 86 before the rest of the system fell off. Wrenching your own cars is one i the most satisfying things you can do. have fun

Welcome, welcome, come right in!

 

 

Another thing to check for if you've got exhaust noise is the gasket between the head and the exhaust manifold. These are very prone to leaking, and I've seen them leak with new gaskets if they are cheap gaskets.

It's great to be able to talk with someone on the other end of the county and share in a common subaru obsession. Thanks for the warm welcome from all.

I'm going to bed after this or I will be up all night. I think it might be the gaskets at the manifold, because it seems more like the spot where the noise is coming from. Also at high rpms the exhaust caseing rattles like crazy. So I am going to try and tight all that up. Thanks for the advice.

It sounds as though others have given you sound advise (at least enough to keep you busy for a while), so I willonly say welcome to the board.

L-91:

 

Studying the corrosion tendencies on the 86 is an excellent idea. The unibodies on these cars are virtually unchanged between 85-94, and except for slightly better rustproofing on the Loyales, none of the design flaws (leading to rust) were addressed. You can take some precautionary mesures on the Loy to keep the rust under control.

 

I have used some of those "alley" tricks to patch together old exhaust systems, with some success. Roofing cement is good for leaky flanges that cannot be tightened further, or are damaged. Broken pipes can sometimes mended by gluing a sheetmetal bandage around the break (using roofing cement, of course). Then you can clamp the whole mess together. I like using the brass clamps used for grounding in electrical work. They are very stong, surround the whole pipe, and can be tightened on opposite ends.

 

That'll give you enough time to start saving for the new exhasut system that you'll eventually need...

 

good luck, John

Thanks for the advice guys. I have posted another thread listing other possible problems with the vehicle. I will be inspecting the exhaust more thoroughly to find the leak. I will consider the home-grown fix its. Thanx again.