I'm gonna go look at a loyale tomarrow,it has 230,000 miles.How do these compare to the 85 hatch with an ea81 as far as durability and longevity?Are they simpler or harder to work on?What kind of mechanical failures are common.

Thanks for your input,

Birddog

my 90 loyale leaks oil which drips down to the cat. converter and usually does a great deal of smoking (which can be quite humorous and embarrassing at a drive through window). other than that it is a great car that is very dependable.

my 90 loyale leaks oil which drips down to the cat. converter and usually does a great deal of smoking (which can be quite humorous and embarrassing at a drive through window). other than that it is a great car that is very dependable.

Mine Too!!!! My 92 has been super dependable..It has 184,000 miles on it and still runs like a champ. What I have found(thanks to this group) to go wrong frequently are EGR sylinoids,gaskets and typical axle shafts.This is my second Loyale..ok well my first was an 88 GL wagon but the car was basically the same thing...and I love it!It was the best $600 I spent ( a year ago)

timing belts will go. They're supposed to be replaced every 60k. Oil will leak. It may need a new radiator after 230k. Other than that, It should be very dependable.

Yep, radiator, timing belts, and oil leaks are the main problems. I had a '92 Loyale that I put over 30,000 miles on in one year. Other than the radiator going bad, the thing was a tank. Now I've got a '93, and it's even better. Great cars.

my 90 loyale leaks oil which drips down to the cat. converter and usually does a great deal of smoking (which can be quite humorous and embarrassing at a drive through window). other than that it is a great car that is very dependable.

Do you have an idea where the leak is coming from?

my 86 spfi a/t sedan leaks very little oil , 1/2 qt 3,500 maybe , 81,000mi ,great car

I drive my '90 Loyale 100+ miles per day - 75-100MPH in the morning on the way in to work, and 2-50MPH on the way home...

 

As the 7th owner of the car, with what I expect to be complete disrespect and neglect from the prior owners, I have replaced: the radiator, gone through 3 axles, brakes, fuel pump, timing belts. and a distributor over the course of 60,000 HARD miles...

 

The car has 200,000 miles on it right now (approx. speedo cable broke ~30,000 miles ago :-\ )

 

All in all, those repairs cost me about $460 ($120 for the radiator, 3 x $60 for the axles, $50 or so for the brakes, $60 for the T-Belts, and $50 that I managed to STEAL an '89 Parts car for) and a bit of my time over the course of 2.5 years.

 

I think it's pretty reliable - if you inherit poor maintenance, you need to take car of it first, or you'll be cursing yourself and the car later...

I have two of them!!!

I would say avoid the 3AT though, those gear ratios make it very uncomfortable (and hard on the tranny) at freeway speeds. but the GL (same thing + some luxury items) is awsome. Yea, both of mine leak some oil, the loyale leaks it onto the cat and smokes/smells funny, the GL doesn't have a cat. But 230k isn't too bad. Oh yea, RUST, this can be/usually is the end for these subies , look in the wheelwells, and get down on your hands and knees and look underneath, stick your fingers in it, make sure it's not completely rotton.

 

good luck, and I think you'll love it!

-chux