I've got a 93 diesel Jetta that's about ready to fall apart. I was offered 400 bucks for it and what the hell, I think I'll take it. The body is rotted, front suspension is beat to death, exhaust is in pieces, clutch is worn, crank pulley is wobbly (it's the AAZ engine). I made a stupid mistake getting it, lets just say that. I looked at a 94 4wd Loyale wagon down the road and I think I might go for it. It's only on it's 2nd owner and has 190200 kilometers on it. The tires on it are nearly new, they'll easily get me through the winter. It's been sitting for a few years and needs exhaust work and some body work. The guy who has the car now has a boatload of spare parts for it, the entire ignition system, ECU's, gas tank, entire exhaust, alternator, original radio, etc. The guy is selling it for 500 firm, but he said he'd sell it to me for 450. It's not registered or inspected right now.

Well from the sound of it, it cant be any worse than your 94 jetta. Im not a fan of those things. More problems than they are worth. Id see if you could get him down to 400 so that its as if you traded your Jetta for the loyale. That way your out nothing..until you start working on the Loyale.

Do you think it's worth buying as a winter beater?

Do you think it's worth buying as a winter beater?

 

As a winter beater it would be a hell of a lot better in the snow than the Jetta.

I would go for it. The spare parts alone make it worthwhile. I have the same car with 220000km on it and have to do some body work, too. (Coincidently, I just did a little bit of exhaust work.) It's fantastic in snow. We get a lot of it where I live.

 

All the best,

BB

 

 

I looked at a 94 4wd Loyale wagon down the road and I think I might go for it. It's only on it's 2nd owner and has 190200 kilometers on it. The tires on it are nearly new, they'll easily get me through the winter. It's been sitting for a few years and needs exhaust work and some body work. The guy who has the car now has a boatload of spare parts for it, the entire ignition system, ECU's, gas tank, entire exhaust, alternator, original radio, etc. The guy is selling it for 500 firm, but he said he'd sell it to me for 450. It's not registered or inspected right now.

I bought it and brought it home. I got the guy down to 350 bucks. It was running like hell, it's got a nasty fuel leak on a pressurized line coming from the fuel tank. It does seem to drive nice and the suspension seems good. How do I tell if the 4wd is working?

The easy answer is that the green 4WD indicator will appear on the car shaped symbol in the middle of the dash. My car is selectable 4WD, which means that there is a button on the shifter knob to put it into and out of 4WD. When I bought my car, the two vacuum hoses were disconnected from the switch on the transmission. I reconnected the hoses and 4WD started working.

 

What is your car doing?

 

BB

 

I bought it and brought it home. I got the guy down to 350 bucks. It was running like hell, it's got a nasty fuel leak on a pressurized line coming from the fuel tank. It does seem to drive nice and the suspension seems good. How do I tell if the 4wd is working?

Easiest way to tell if its working is to spin your wheels on any slippery surface (mud)

 

.....the 4WD light on the dash only tells you that its SUPPOSED to be in 4WD

those aren't the full time 4wd or AWD are they? other wise there should be an indicator light on the dash that turns on when the 4wd in engaged. that can also not work if the switch on the transaxel is bad or the bulb is out though. doesn't mean the 4wd isn't working. find a straight stretch of road and try to engage it and disengage it and see if you feel a diference.

The 94's have the push-button S/R 4wd's. If your dash indicator doesn't come on with the button pushed, you may have a loose vaccuum line. Check the area near the passenger side firewall.

As far as the "deal", sounds like a winner. The only thing that I would wonder about is all the spare parts. Why??? Has the guy messed with this car alot? Planning to fix it up? Just a typical Sube derelict that stockpiles spare parts?

The reason I mention this is that an original car is the most desirable (IMO). One that has been all hacked up by someone who doesn't know Subes, and sat for a long time, might realistically be more of a "parts car".

good luck, John

Pics!

I like it, always been a sucker for a hunter green.

 

If it was me, I would throw a set of white spoked wheels on it and call it a day.

I had it out driving for a few minutes today. Still have a massive fuel leak so 10 bucks of gas didnt get me too much running time! It seems to run rough, using the ol' pull-one-plugwire-off-at-a-time method, it seems like cylinder 1 and 3 are weak, judging by how to idle changed when I pulled the wire off. Number 2 and 4 appear to be normal. I should undo the distributor cap and check it out. I got a chance to try the 4 wheel drive and it works perfectly. Is a small amount of a whining sound normal when in 4wd? I was looking at some Loyale videos on Youtube and Streetfire and a few of them made that sound too.

That car came from just down the road from me Rallye Motors in Moncton NB.

 

I would fix my fuel leak first, because I haven't a clue where it is leaking, but I'm willing to bet it is messing up the way it runs.

I took out a couple spark plugs and found one had almost no gap, looks like whoever changed the plugs the last time put this one in a bit crooked and pushed the side electrode down so it was very nearly touching the center electrode. The plugs looked to be in good condition overall. On another note, I pulled out the tranny dipstick and the fluid looked rather milky and smelled like extreme pressure grease.

please either fix the fuel leak immediately, or replace the wires before starting the car again!!

 

You are saying you have a massive fuel leak AND poorly insulated spark plug wires; do you at least have an extinguisher in the car?

 

I am not trying to browbeat; but seriously, have you ever SEEN a car fire?? they are F$^&ING SCARY.

please either fix the fuel leak immediately, or replace the wires before starting the car again!!

 

You are saying you have a massive fuel leak AND poorly insulated spark plug wires; do you at least have an extinguisher in the car?

 

I am not trying to browbeat; but seriously, have you ever SEEN a car fire?? they are F$^&ING SCARY.

 

Eh? Never mentioned the plug wires being bad....did I? I did pull a few wires off the plugs while the engine was running but I don't think they're bad.

Eh? Never mentioned the plug wires being bad....did I? I did pull a few wires off the plugs while the engine was running but I don't think they're bad.

Then, I must have inadvertently "remembered" a post from another thread of a new purchaser, and jumped the gun.. It was the sort of reaction that I didn't want to take time to question.. My apologies

I got the fuel line fixed today. I got it running and found it was missing badly on just one cylinder. I switched wires and distributor cap and it made no difference. After picking at it for a few minutes I suspected it could be a faulty spark plug. I had the misfiring plug identified so I switched the bad one for a good one, then put the bad one where the good one was. Aha! The same plug was misfiring on a different cylinder! I went and picked up a package of plugs at Canadian Tire and put the new one in (didn't even gap it) and immediately noticed it was idling much much better. I think it still needs a tuneup though. I also had my first offroad adventure too. There's a gravel pit just behind where I live so I took the wagon down to try it out. I made it up one side easily and came back down. I then tried going up a steeper side. I made it about halfway up then stalled. The car slid to the side a bit when it slid so I tried backing up. Well I must have been low on gas because it did fire up but then sputtered and stalled out. I managed to push the car onto more level ground then tried starting it again and ran the battery down! A guy came along in a Cherokee and gave me a boost and got the wagon started but it was still running like it was out of fuel. It took a few minutes ot cranking and feathering the pedal but it finally picked up some hidden pocket of fuel and I was off again. I think it did pretty good on its first time out.

As far as the 4wd indicator light goes, On my Loyale the 4wd ALWAYS works but the light does NOT always work. FYI

I got the fuel line fixed today. I then tried going up a steeper side. I made it about halfway up then stalled. The car slid to the side a bit when it slid so I tried backing up. Well I must have been low on gas because it did fire up but then sputtered and stalled out. I managed to push the car onto more level ground then tried starting it again and ran the battery down! A guy came along in a Cherokee and gave me a boost and got the wagon started but it was still running like it was out of fuel. It took a few minutes ot cranking and feathering the pedal but it finally picked up some hidden pocket of fuel and I was off again. I think it did pretty good on its first time out.

 

i'd lock in on the fuel delivery system and get that out of the way for starters.

You should change out that fuel filter, get a fresh tank of gas, and run some FI cleaner in idle for a good long time before taking it out again. You may even want to tackle any possible carbon deposits before addressing the ignition system.

As mentioned above, you should avoid any possiblilty of an engine fire. This is always a realistic hazard if the car has sat any legnth of time. It's happened to me, and I lost one of my prized "projects" as a result, so don't blow this off. Make sure your tank and lines are solid. Take a fuel pressure gauge to your incoming fuel line to make sure your pump is spitting out enough fuel, if the filter doesn't solve your probs.

Do all this, and you'll be well on your way...

good luck, John

I took a few videos of the wagon today.

 

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/94%20Subaru%20Loyale/?action=view&current=CIMG1353.flv

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/94%20Subaru%20Loyale/?action=view&current=CIMG1362.flv

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/94%20Subaru%20Loyale/?action=view&current=tryagain.flv

I took a few videos of the wagon today.

 

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/94%20Subaru%20Loyale/?action=view&current=CIMG1353.flv

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/94%20Subaru%20Loyale/?action=view&current=CIMG1362.flv

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/94%20Subaru%20Loyale/?action=view&current=tryagain.flv

cool videos!!!!!!!!!!!