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New to me 1990 Loyale


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Good day everyone.  Picked up a 1990 Loyale wagon over the weekend.  She's in amazingly good shape (no rust, tons of service records) & I'm so looking forward to building a long-term relationship with her.  My first Subaru, coming from the world of Volkswagens and looking to get into something new.  

Found this site after searching for answers to some common problems and fixes in older Subarus.  So many of you have helped me already, even before I signed up! Cheers!

 

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1 hour ago, el_freddo said:

Welcome to the forum Ifly! 

Thats one super clean L series! 

What are your plans for her? 

Cheers 

Bennie

She was definitely clean! Driven an average of 4,500 miles per year since she came off the line. 

Plan is to keep her as close to stock as possible, but that’s always what I say when I get a new project...(but it never lasts)

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Very nice for the DC area. Welcome ! Not to trash your old brand but you’ll fine more reliability here. Those EA82 engines get a little knocked around - opinion-wise , but in general they’ll run a good long time with an intelligent owner and a little luck.

 

I suggest you find as many quality replacement parts ( NOS dealer) ASAP as parts are disappearing quickly. You’ve probably already seen people griping about lack of new pumps etc.

Be sure to check your rear strut towers from top and bottom. Make sure the struts aren’t about to pop through the top. Your mounts if original are best kept. Or replace with KYB only , don’t buy anything else for struts or top mounts should you need them.

Watch for leaves , pine needles , etc collecting by the firewall and behind the fender tails. 

Relays under seat tend to corrode , check those and make them pretty again.

13” wheels - getting hard to find tires , brakes , etc. 

Just sometimes have to look really hard. 

Enjoy the ride ! 

 

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4 hours ago, moosens said:

Those EA82 engines get a little knocked around - opinion-wise , but in general they’ll run a good long time with an intelligent owner and a little luck.

And a lack of need for more speed/power! 

:P 

Cheers 

Bennie

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On 7/12/2019 at 7:47 AM, moosens said:

Very nice for the DC area. Welcome ! Not to trash your old brand but you’ll fine more reliability here. Those EA82 engines get a little knocked around - opinion-wise , but in general they’ll run a good long time with an intelligent owner and a little luck.

 

I suggest you find as many quality replacement parts ( NOS dealer) ASAP as parts are disappearing quickly. You’ve probably already seen people griping about lack of new pumps etc.

Be sure to check your rear strut towers from top and bottom. Make sure the struts aren’t about to pop through the top. Your mounts if original are best kept. Or replace with KYB only , don’t buy anything else for struts or top mounts should you need them.

Watch for leaves , pine needles , etc collecting by the firewall and behind the fender tails. 

Relays under seat tend to corrode , check those and make them pretty again.

13” wheels - getting hard to find tires , brakes , etc. 

Just sometimes have to look really hard. 

Enjoy the ride ! 

 

Thanks for all this info! 

The car (according to Carfax) was originally a Colorado car. I expect she got here to DC and wasn’t needed as much — driving here sucks, to say the least. 

 

Thanks again for all the pointers. I hadn’t heard of the strut issue yet & will check them out for sure. 

Edited by IFlyS5
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That's A great looking Loyale. I dig the 2 tone with the tint and racks.

18 hours ago, moosens said:

Ahh you power hungry types !!! 

Man my old 1982 GL fwd sedan was fun and capable around town but on a steep mountain pass it was downright scary! With a top speed of around 45mph you always were watching your 6, and forget about passing that semi-truck. :lol:

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I haven’t had a lot of hills or mountains with the Loyale yet, but she seems more than capable around town. She has survived the Capital Beltway at speeds of 65mph...twice! 

 

I had a 1987 Mk2 Golf that was a lot scarier to drive at speed. And then the one time that the VW’s hood flew up and smashed against the windshield on I-95 at 60mph.  Good times. 

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Unless you head up towards Hagerstown you’re not likely to hit hills you’ll suffer. 

Sure mods like an EJ22 are awesome , but I’ve had countless positive experiences with stock. 

All depends on what you want out of life , budgets , and time. 

Had so much fun off-roading several stock EA82 wagons and such. Perfect for my budget and time constraints. 

Patience helps. Being “that guy” on the road up here in the Northeast with the old vintage ride you are generally disrespected most of the time you’re on the road. They only have to see that you’re in an old car and they immediately hound you like you’re slowing them down , etc. 

So I used to just cruise mine and wave the finger.

Enjoy !!! 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Nice. You are putting it in good nic.

I've gotta say tho (regarding the other comments), driving the mountains - I only went to 3rd gear twice with my 84 GL (otherwise, it was 4th gear at the worst). I was surprised at the power (with 255,000 miles, I am pretty sure the engine has been gone through). I averaged 70 mph for much of the way (getting 29 - 33 mpg).

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