The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Gday,
I am new to the site. I have just posted an introduction in the member intro thread.

I am thinking about buying an 1990 L series Sportswagon. I have a few questions. Any advice on these or any other points is much appreciated.

It has 230,000 ks on the clock.

I am yet to inspect this particular vehicle, is there anything i should pay close attention to (be suspicious of)?
On this note, I am thinking of having RACV inspect the car before i buy it. Has anyone had any experience with these types of inspections? Other than RACV, can anyone recommend a vehicle inspector near Bairnsdale VIC?

What would be to approximate cost of a lift kit for such a vehicle?

The owner says that the timing belts have just been replaced. does this say anything about the condition of the rest of the car? does it say anything about how the car may have been treated?

What fuel economy can i expect? about 8-10L per 100k?

Is the 1.8l engine enough to tow a small box trailer with a dirt bike on it?



Cheers!
Mitch

hi,

The things to look for is rust around the windscreen, they also blow head gaskets often.
A racv check is very good as it tells you everything about the car. I had my first car RACV checked and i was glad i did as it looked good for the outside but from the check i realised that the car would have died in the next months. Those RACV check, if they are similar to the ones done in perth tell you everything from suspention, engine, gearbox, break cond etc and much more. The only thing they are quite expensive. i paid 220. your other option is to get a mechanic shop to test the car, Auto masters, ultra tune etc. They might be cheaper. and should be able to tell you everything on the car.

If you can, try to look for a MPFI touring wagon, they have the injected engines and if you plan to do a ej22 conversion later on, its much easier:)

A second hand lift kit normally sells for 250-350 depending on cond and size. im not sure about 2inch kits but new 3inch kits are 550 and 4inch is around 700 from subi wan kenobi. He makes them and they are real good ones.

A timing belt normally gets changed every 100,000 k's and normally the water pump gets done too with it. But thats about all that it indicates.
I'm not sure about fuel economy :s

The 1.8 carby will pull a box trailer with a bike no problem, even in the sand. You might have issues if the clutch is on its way out but it should pull it no worries.

Hope this helps you a bit. Well most of what i said is from what i have read here and my experience with them:) other ppl might add other thing:)

my L series would pull a 14foot car trailer with a suzuki body on it through thick black WA sand, so i don't see a trailer with a bike being a problem.
but if it starts to overheat do the gaskets cos they crack heads easily (I am looking for a couple of heads and a pistons) also they are pretty gutless they need to be revved out through the gears they have not much torque.
new timing belts indicate the owner takes maintenance seriously, but ask if the water pump was done also, they are a bit fiddly to get at, also the oil seal on the crank and the oil pump gaskets, renew these they are cheap and good insurance, if the timing belts get oil on them from the crank seal they can deteriorate quickly, as happened to mine.
do the usual cv joint test

gday guys,
Thanks for the reply.
I did find a 1990 touring wagon. it has a carby motor in it. I havent asked the owner if it is the second motor, as that is my suspicion. or did they come in that configuration as well?
I am inspecting a 1989 summer wagon on the weekend. the owner says that it has a 'turbo version front cross member'. i dont know what this is of course. can anyone shed some light?
The summer wagon has a 50mm(2in) lift kit installed. is there certain engineering standards that it must meet to be sure that it is road legal? in other words, will it affect me getting a roadworthy certificate?
Also, can you retro fit a bull bar to the summer wagon? i assume that the one off the sports wagon would fit straight on.
This car has 260,000 on the clock and has 14" rims, so i am afraid it night have lived a hard life off road.

Thanks for your help! Sorry about all the questions. I am unable to offer much car/subaru related advice in return, but I would be happy to have anyone pick my brain about fishing or wastewater treatment engineering(my line of work).

Cheers!
Mitch

Only 1989 Touring wagon (high roof) and Royale sedan came with fuel injection.

Turbo version cross member means the cross member has a hole for where the downpipe from the turbo goes. It sounds like the car had a turbo motor dropped in at some point and the current engine may or may not be original. I'd stay away from unknowns like that if I were you.

GTlegs wrote:Only 1989 Touring wagon (high roof) and Royale sedan came with fuel injection.

I think you mean 1989 onwards... My L now has a '91 MPFI touring wagon loom installed (and is running well )

The L series body will swap same bits from model to model in regards to the bullbar - the only body part that won't fit between the models is the rear tailgate from a touring wagon if you've got a base model body - no "high" or "bump" in the roof.

As already said, check for rust around the windscreen. Also get under the car and have a look at the left chassis rail at the bottom of the fire wall - mine has some rust here, and also had some rust under the windscreen.

The touring wagons will come in carb or MPFI (EFI) with electric windows, central locking, power windows and the high roof (if that's really a feature). White ones look better for some reason (any L)...

If you want AC, buy a subi with it already. The sports wagon will typically come with power mirrors, towbar, wrap over bumper bullbar (I call it a roo bar - the deflect a roo well - unfortunately tried and tested) and sunraiser rims - 13 inch white star steelies. There's also an Enduro model, don't ask me specs on that, but they do have some funky stickers on the rear...

As for wear - anything under 300,000km is generally not worn in by subi standards... Check the floor pan from under the vehicle - if its inverted or rippled/scratched you can bet on some off road adventures (or misadventures) that were beyond the subi's abilities without damage - the subi has the ability to go further but will result in less foot room for the rear passengers... My subi had its floor pans inverted over time by myself - I've pushed them back out now and all is good - I'm planning to get a lift before any more offroad adventures. The 2 inch lift will be road legal, any larger and its engineer's certification required, or just hope the cops don't notice (most don't but out my way they would).

Check the oil and do the usual engine warm ups and listen for noises - any ticking will be the lifters, this is normal. If the oil is creamy after a start up there's a head gasket issue that will need fixing - if you're a home mechanic its not hard to do but is a little time consuming. If this is the case, it could be a good bargaining chip for you to use. I got my L for $500, the body was in good condition but we forgot to check the oil after a warm up - it was creamy and the engine was shot (cracked cylinders). I wasn't too fussed as I've since had a few different engine configurations in it. They are easy to play with and are good fun to learn from in my experiences.

Hope this is of some help - a clean straight body is the main aim in these older vehicles IMHO. From here the mods can begin. The best I've done so far has been an EJ22 from a gen 2 liberty

Cheers

Bennie

hey guys,
so far i have looked at a few vehicles and have a couple more to look at in the next week.
is it normal for a 1989 L series to blow a little smoke? It has just under 260,000 ks on the clock.

Cheers!
Mitch

What sorta smoke? Black/white/blue? If its white make sure the engine is up to temp and the exhaust has some heat in it - you will naturally have some white vapour while the engine and the exhaust warms up, after that it could indicate a blown head gasket or a cracked coolant jacket in the exhaust port. If you have white smoke, or steam as it is, walk away.

Blue smoke will indicate either shot oil rings on the pistons or worn valve seals. Both allow oil into the combustion chamber, the latter is easier to fix...

Black smoke means it needs a tune as its running rich - too much fuel to the engine. It may also diesel (run on, badly) on shut down, caused by carbon build up in the combustion chamber that heats up and acts like a poor spark plug...

Good luck with it.

Cheers

Bennie

Thanks for all of the above info. it has helped look like i know what i am talking about when i am looking at these cars. haha.

I looked at an 1990 touring wagon today. the body is in very good condition. only a small spot of rust at the base of the wind screen. otherwise very straight. it didnt blow any smoke. but it dose have an oil leak The other down side is that is not dual range. is there a site that lists these cars and there specs?
do you find it very useful to have the dual range?

Cheers!
Mitch

BillycanMitch wrote:Thanks for all of the above info. it has helped look like i know what i am talking about when i am looking at these cars. haha.

I looked at an 1990 touring wagon today. the body is in very good condition. only a small spot of rust at the base of the wind screen. otherwise very straight. it didnt blow any smoke. but it dose have an oil leak The other down side is that is not dual range. is there a site that lists these cars and there specs?
do you find it very useful to have the dual range?

Cheers!
Mitch

Dual Range
I do lol I was using 4WD low most of the way from Moorabbin towing 1400kg trailer and it was pretty handy for acceleration & deceleration last saturday, about 3 weeks ago I used it to pull out a tree... and um.. steep hills! its nice to have yeah.. You can do a gearbox swap if you really like the wagon.
Cheers
AP

gear box swap. sounds like fun. haha. I do think i want high and low range. it might be worth holding off untill i find one. but then again, i could buy it and use it as is until i get another gear box. Do the dual range gear boxes just bolt straight in?

BillycanMitch wrote:gear box swap. sounds like fun. haha. I do think i want high and low range. it might be worth holding off untill i find one. but then again, i could buy it and use it as is until i get another gear box. Do the dual range gear boxes just bolt straight in?

Yeah pretty much straightforward, there is a few at the wreckers, All you need is the shifter assembly (knob, cable, correct gearstick (if you have push button 4WD, if not ignore it) etc). Ive done a few gearboxes swap.
Cheers
AP

Thanks alpineraven. it is good to know that i will be able to change it over if i do diced that i want the low range. the gear stick in that car is a push button 4wd. how much do you reckon a dual range gear box would cost? I might be better off just buying a wreck and grabbing the gearbox and anything else i want.

I have noticed a 1989 sports wagon i am looking at has smaller tyres on the front than the back, 185 75 R14 front and 185 60 R14 on the back. this seems very strange to me. or is there a reason for this that i am unaware of?

I was researching lift kits and the legalities of them. from what i can understand from the VSI 8 document and what vicroads will say, all suspension modification require an engineers certificate. But on this forum the word is that up to 2in is fine. The only concession that vicroads made was that if the lift kit was an option on the car when it was released then no certificate was needed. I assume that these cars were available from the showroom with a 2in lift kit and therefore they (cars with an after market kit up to 2in) are exempt from requiring an engineers certificate. Any further clarification on this would be much appreciated.


Cheers!
Mitch

BillycanMitch wrote:Thanks alpineraven. it is good to know that i will be able to change it over if i do diced that i want the low range. the gear stick in that car is a push button 4wd. how much do you reckon a dual range gear box would cost? I might be better off just buying a wreck and grabbing the gearbox and anything else i want.

I have noticed a 1989 sports wagon i am looking at has smaller tyres on the front than the back, 185 75 R14 front and 185 60 R14 on the back. this seems very strange to me. or is there a reason for this that i am unaware of?

I was researching lift kits and the legalities of them. from what i can understand from the VSI 8 document and what vicroads will say, all suspension modification require an engineers certificate. But on this forum the word is that up to 2in is fine. The only concession that vicroads made was that if the lift kit was an option on the car when it was released then no certificate was needed. I assume that these cars were available from the showroom with a 2in lift kit and therefore they (cars with an after market kit up to 2in) are exempt from requiring an engineers certificate. Any further clarification on this would be much appreciated.


Cheers!
Mitch

Gearbox, oh depends how much they are, they can be arnd 120 bucks alone. Recently bought one on ebay for 51 bucks!
Cheers
AP