I have a chance to buy an 88 gl wagon FI/DR for the right price. Owner says that he broke the drivers side t belt and replaced both belts and tensioners. Car had been reliable DD until then. Now it sputters and spits back through the throttle body. His mechanic advised him that car would need a valve job as he likely bent a valve. It is my understanding that all ea82 engines are non interference and this would not likely be the case. My guess would be that it is a t-belt that is off by a tooth or so, and that the fix although tedious would be relatively simple. Comments and feedback greatly appreciated.

You are correct

and the "mechanic"?? is out to gouge you

Buy it!! Fix it!! I put my t-belts on wrong twice, only took 20 minutes to figure out which way to move the pulley.

my XT did the same thing when 1 of the cams was 180 degrees out, a mistake very easily (and very often!) made

 

if push comes to shove and the engine is indeed shot, a replacement can't be that hard to find and/or expensive

yep, the timing belts are installed wrong.

noninterference engine, so there's no damage. he lined the marks up wrong. they're probably 180 degrees off, it's easy to do if you don't know subaru's. or he could be off a tooth. either way, timing belts on an EA82 are super easy. get it.

yep, the timing belts are installed wrong.

noninterference engine, so there's no damage. he lined the marks up wrong. they're probably 180 degrees off, it's easy to do if you don't know subaru's. or he could be off a tooth. either way, timing belts on an EA82 are super easy. get it.

 

they are super easy if you know what you are doing otherwise they are easy to screw up (thankfully, no damage can be done that way)

 

all the info you'll need on installing them the right way can be found on this forum, do a search and all will be revealed :-p

okay pierman

 

you know what there is to know now

 

 

I will simply get out of that box

and add

 

a semi rust free 88 SPFI dual range 4wd wagon

has to be one of the

all time best combos going.

 

Good luck and

many miles of smiles in your new Roo

 

 

 

BTW, I am also a member of OFF**

**Old Fart Farternity

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm picking it up tomorrow.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm picking it up tomorrow.

 

Awesome! I miss my '87 GL (DR/FI). *still annoyed at the guy who bought it running it out of coolant repeatedly and frying the head gaskets*

 

Remember to talk him down based on the "valves being bad" - you'll need to pull the heads, replace stuff, etc.

 

And try to avoid the ear to ear grin until you've given him the money and have the title. Then, if you want to be an arse, fix it on the spot and drive it home. :-)

 

-=Russ=-