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My 86 Wagon


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My girlfriend said we aren’t allowed to get rid of the 86 GL, so we’re just gonna run it the way it is (without lifting it). With that being said, I have a few questions on this car. 

1. The car runs fine above 1500 RPM. Under that, it acts like it struggles to get fuel, and at idle the RPMs stay at about 800, but it sounds like it’s at 300, and the car shakes. Even if I rev it up at idle, it sounds like it’s struggling at the low RPM. Is this just the Carburetor? If so, I have a guy that rebuilds my carbs, but is it worth upgrading instead? 

2. I know my last thread was about lifting the car, but now that we aren’t going to do that, I still have interest in doing a couple things to it. I keep hearing that people run “King springs” on their lifted Subaru’s, where do I get these and can I run them on my stock setup? 

3. I want the most cost effective way to run a different lug pattern wheel. I know I can find the 4x140 spacers for fairly cheap, and I am not willing to spend $450 on the 5x100 adapters, so I was thinking that I could just buy a set of wheels and have them redrilled. Is this a smart choice or not? 

Thanks for the input. 

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1. Check for vacuum leaks. 

2. I don't think you can buy them new anymore for these cars, but they come up in the "for sale" portion of the forum from time to time. 

3. Pugs are hard to find but steel 6x5.5s are a dime a dozen, particularly in 15" form. Drilling is easy, there's lots of info so I won't bore you with it. I put 14's with 195/70/14s on both my wagon and my hatch with no lift. The little bit of ground clearance gained is priceless, and it doesn't completely ruin the gearing (it's noticeable, but not debilitating.) 

on edit: 4. I found it easier to redrill wheels, others swear by drilling the hubs, but you have to do some grinding and weld the studs in if you don't get the holes exact. I wanted the option to go back stock, so I went with drilling wheels. 

 

Dan

 

Edited by BEECHBM69
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13 minutes ago, BEECHBM69 said:

1. Check for vacuum leaks. 

2. I don't think you can buy them new anymore for these cars, but they come up in the "for sale" portion of the forum from time to time. 

3. Pugs are hard to find but steel 6x5.5s are a dime a dozen, particularly in 15" form. Drilling is easy, there's lots of info so I won't bore you with it. I put 14's with 195/70/14s on both my wagon and my hatch with no lift. The little bit of ground clearance gained is priceless, and it doesn't completely ruin the gearing (it's noticeable, but not debilitating.) 

on edit: 4. I found it easier to redrill wheels, others swear by drilling the hubs, but you have to do some grinding and weld the studs in if you don't get the holes exact. I wanted the option to go back stock, so I went with drilling wheels. 

 

Dan

 

Thank you! That’s everything that I needed to know. I’ll keep an eye out for king springs. I live 3 hours out of Portland, so I’m sure I can make some calls and find a set locally.

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2 hours ago, el_freddo said:

Look up the king spring website for availability. I’m sure you can still order them new at a decent price.

 

It would appear Mr. Freddo is correct. I had done a search a year or so ago and found they were out of production. Apparently you can get them from Primitive Racing again. 

http://get-primitive.com/springs/544-king-springs-1985-1994-subaru-loyale.html#/type-wagon/standard_height_spri-full_set_front_and_r

Dan

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have an 86 GL they are great cars. Mine has a 2" lift that i am thinking of taking off. For the mild off roading i do, the factory ride height has plenty of clearance. It's just a cheap homemade lift with spacers on the shock towers and an aluminum block between the body and subframe. You will need a slip joint to extend the steering shaft. I can take pics if you want to make your own lift. I have only seen a lift from just springs on first gen legacys using outback springs. I might sell the lift, but i am busy with my camaro at the moment. 

I had a set of 15" six lug chevy wheels drilled for 4x140 but i sold them, i like the factory 8 spokes. Expect 35+ mpg hiway with 15s, you essentially add another gear at speed. I got 40 mpg.

As far as upgrading your engine, i understand that a weber carb is the way to go, i took the ea82 out and put in a ej22 a while back.

Maybe your carb needs a good cleaning and rebuild kit, and perhaps different size jets. If you eliminate vaccum leaks as a reason. It took me a day working slowly to rebuild a rochester monojet carb, and i needed a size smaller jet because of altitude, but my camaro wouldn't rev. Idled fine and revved with no load on the engine. I think the Hitachi carbs have two jets.

But try this because it's easy, take the air cleaner off and start the engine. Open the throttle to the point where she starts to struggle. Have a can of brake or carb cleaner and give her a little spray and see if she runs better. You can also use your hand or towel to mess with the throttle and cover the air horn. If it gets better, you might be running lean or have some fuel issue, but at least you can eliminate plug wires with this. It might give you a clue, maybe the fuel filter just needs changing (it's under the car near the pump)

Happy wrenching! What is your cars name? Mine is the baby lion.

Your girlfriend might be a keeper for saying no to selling the subaru! If you are ever in Denver, help me take this lift off and you can have it :-)

 

20171216_135629.jpg

Edited by sparkyboy
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Sparkyboy...

Beautiful wagon!

My '86 wagon is named Subie Girl. Subie Girl has a Weber, otherwise all stock. I love the white spoke wheels too.

I bought my wagon in 1986 in Lakewood CO but we've lived in WA state for decades. 

Subie Girl can go almost anywhere without any alterations.

 

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I removed 2 of the opposing  wheel studs on my 86 GL wagon.  then place a Toyota 6stud wheel on the brake drum and u will see the other 4 holes.  mark the centers and drill them out.  I put in 4 new studs on each wheel position and now my world of wheels and tires opened up. I went with a 15 in wheel because there are a lot more wheel choices out there.   you wont be sorry.  it didn't take very long.  my friend has an automotive machine shop so he had the tools to find the true center of each new stud hole. the studs drive in with a hammer easiely. not need for a press. 

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Hey guys. Been gone for a bit, bought an old Chevy truck and rebuilding the 454 has been the priority. I think we decided to just leave the Subaru alone. We will still take it out and do fun things, but for now we’re just gonna get the engine running strong and make sure it’s mechanically sound, and then it’ll be our full time camping rig. I hope this thing can handle backwoods in stock form, I’m sure we’ll be pushing it to it’s full limits at times. 

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