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1988 Subaru


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Hello,

 

I'm a new member here and I purchased(one day ago) my first Subaru. I'm not sure if it's too great of one but I like it. It's the 1988 Subaru Leone/Loyale/GL-10 4wd turbo with the ea82t series motor. I'd love this to be a rallye type car. I'm having problems finding out what I can do to this thing and where to find the parts.

It has the 5 speed manual transmission, and if you'd like I can post pictures of it in like...1 - 2 days.

I'd like to lower it and replace most of the suspension parts. We have these things called Rallye-Cross races here and you drive around in a huge parking lot going in and out of cones. I'd like to be one of the top contendors. I have until summer to make this bad-boy a worthy racer. I can't do turbo work, since the nearest place I can get it tuned is in minneapolis, minnesota. Please help me!

I was wondering if I need to do anything special to my turbo/timing/intercooler if I put a blow off valve in there.

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Hello,

I'm a new member here and I purchased(one day ago) my first Subaru. I'm not sure if it's too great of one but I like it. It's the 1988 Subaru Leone/Loyale/GL-10 4wd turbo with the ea82t series motor. I'd love this to be a rallye type car.

 

You should have asked us before you went and bought it. Not a good choice for a lot of reasons.

 

I'm having problems finding out what I can do to this thing and where to find the parts.

 

That's cause there really isn't any. Not in the sense that you mean. There's things you can do, yes, but without full-on engine management, you'll blow the engine if you try to take it much past 10% above stock, and you might blow it doing nothing at all - don't look at it cross-eyed - they don't like that. :dead:

 

It has the 5 speed manual transmission, and if you'd like I can post pictures of it in like...1 - 2 days.

 

We've seen about a billion of them, but if you must..... the 5 speed is good, but the part time 4WD is not appropriate for pavement. Unless it's the Full-Time 4WD model? Those are good tranny's, but most models were not equipped unless it was an RX or a high end GL/GL-10.

 

I'd like to lower it and replace most of the suspension parts.

 

Do a search for "5 lug swap". You'll need most of the front suspension from an XT6, and part of the rear to do it. The stock 4 lug has zero wheel/strut/spring options. It can get expensive because XT6's were rare, and are getting tough to find.

 

We have these things called Rallye-Cross races here and you drive around in a huge parking lot going in and out of cones. I'd like to be one of the top contendors.

 

Haha. With the heavy shell, and whopping 115 HP, you're going to be one of the slowest cars out there.

 

I have until summer to make this bad-boy a worthy racer. I can't do turbo work, since the nearest place I can get it tuned is in minneapolis, minnesota. Please help me! I was wondering if I need to do anything special to my turbo/timing/intercooler if I put a blow off valve in there.

 

Special? Yes - don't do it if you value your heads/headgaskets. BTW - you don't have an intercooler.

 

These engines weren't built performance minded - many have come before you, and still others have spent years (I'm not kidding - we have a member that's spent years working on making a 200 HP EA82T even somewhat reliable, and he works for a subaru dealer). I can't even count the number of times he's "given up" on this engine. Without very expensive machine work, custom parts, and very, very sensitive engine management it's not going to happen. And when an EJ22 can be had for a few hundred, and tops the EA82 by 20 HP with no turbo at all..... well it's just not worth the time or effort.

 

Anyway, your going to do what you like regardless what we say about it. But when you start looking for an early 90's turbo Legacy with the EJ22 turbo, and 5 speed AWD, you won't be able to say we didn't warn you.

 

GD

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Check and see if it has a Limited Slip Differential. There is a sticker on the rear differential. It has the gear ratio. It will say LSD in big letters if it is a limited slip. If it is you've got at least that as a score. Is it FullTime AWD? or Dual range with Diff lock? or just single range push button?

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in general that is a nice score for bad weather or off road. but if it's a PT4WD, which i think it is, his rear diff isn't getting any power sent to it. on pavement he'll be in FWD.

 

 

Yeah, it's full time 4wd. Yes I can turn off the differential.

Another thing, it's got this funky fresh TRIP COMPUTER on the dash with a bunch of push buttons in front of the actual stick in the interior.

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Yeah, it's full time 4wd. Yes I can turn off the differential.

That's a locking CENTER diff, which is completely different from the limited slip REAR diff. And you want to leave it unlocked for pavement. Still not as good as AWD (Legacy, etc) as it doesn't have the viscous coupling center diff - rather it's just open, or locked (for dirt, snow, etc). Better than 2WD, but you still lose all power to the ground if one wheel is up..... It's too bad Subaru didn't use Torsen diffs like some of the old Audi quatro's....

 

Another thing, it's got this funky fresh TRIP COMPUTER on the dash with a bunch of push buttons in front of the actual stick in the interior.

All GL-10's, and many turbo's etc. had that. It was also standard with digital dash cars IIRC. Usually they aren't too accurate unfortunately - especially on the turbo's as the older turbo's rarely get good mileage at this point - expect 20 mpg or less. It's common. If you drive like grandma, and tune/replace your injection sensors..... maybe 25. Keep your foot out of the turbo. The trip computers weren't able to check the fuel consumption - only the level of the tank, and based their calulations off that - pretty far from accurate usually 20 years later. Plus any modifications you make to the engine will invalidate it's pre-programed formulas.

 

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Hey, my heater kind of isn't working. Any ideas what I can do? It pushes air thru the vents, it's just really cold air.

 

Flush the heater core. If that doesn't fix it then you need a new core - about $60 and 6 hours of work to remove the dash and get at it.

 

Also, what's height control?

 

Air bag inflatable suspension w/ride height control. They almost always fail, are difficult and very expensive to repair. Replace it with normal spring struts and coil-overs.

 

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