subaru reliability

[THSDragoon]

i have been looking at subaru's recently, and i was wondering how well they would do for an off-road beast (trail monster, crawler, etc.). from what my dad says, they are an excellent choice for someone who wants an inexpensive fun little car. my questions are: how 'bulidable' are they? how reliable are they off road? do they have a 4low setting or are they AWD only?

any input is welcome (positive or negative). thanks, Will

 

[DOSS]

OK.. I have owned 3 Subarus and I would say they are very reliable..

For a trail monster/crawler look somewhere else there are many many more options that will be cheaper and will serve you better than a Subaru..

now for an expeditioneering vehicle I think they can fit the bill up to a point. Almost all of the Subarus can take about a 3 inch lift and some larger tires, Old Subarus did have a 4low setting but almost anything since 90 is AWD only. Re-gearing is almost non existent on the stock differentials so you can only go so big of a tire before the squirrels under the hood say no more Lockers are only available VIA Lincoln but you can search out the elusive LSD from the WRX and stick them in

 

[Rot Box]

Surbaru's rock! Your question is sorta vague though are you looking new or old? If you're looking old I can help a bit. I prefer the cars with Lo range and I feel it is mandatory for anything more than a dirt road. For Lo range you're limited to EA81 and EA82 cars. EA82 is an overhead cam motor 1800cc or 1600cc's and it was introduced when the Leone (Lion HAHAHA ) became the 3rd gen Loyale in the mid 80's. Earlier cars (88-84 ish older--there were both body styles of the Leone offered for a few years) had a pushrod EA81 1800 or 1600cc. The 3rd gen cars only had Lo range for just a few years and they can be hard to find. Anyway if all that doesn't make sense you're basically looking for about 88 and older with exceptions to get a car with Lo range.

As for the cars they are extremely reliable and very solid. They are one of the easiest vehicles I have ever worked on and replacement parts are typically pretty cheap. I prefer the earlier EA81 engines for their bulletproof design. Later EA82 motors can also run forever but need timing belts (simple to change) every 30k miles and they absolutely cannot be overheated or they will spit the head gaskets and warp heads. I'd search for a rare GL-10 (any year) for the turbocharged, EFI engine and the rear limited slip differential. Avoid non turbo automatic transmission cars unless its Turbocharged as they don't get that great of mileage in comparison and 3 gears really make them suffer on the highway. Also every non turbo Subaru up till the DOHC motors in the 90's for the most part have NO-ZERO-ZIP-NONE-NON EXISTENT power another reason to stick with a manual trans

Here are some helpful links. Dig around in the Ultimate Subaru board for some really capable offroad Subaru's :greg:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Leone

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=30

http://hatchpatrol.com/

http://offroadsubarus.com/

 

[sixstringsteve]

I think your definition of "off-road" is a bit different from most people's definition of "rock crawling. A stock subaru can do a lot of trails offroad. if you want to rock-crawl though, you'll want something else. You'll have to tag along on one of the trail rides and see what rattlesnake, constrictor, little moab, Forest Lake, etc are like.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

i have been looking at subaru's recently, and i was wondering how well they would do for an off-road beast (trail monster, crawler, etc.). from what my dad says, they are an excellent choice for someone who wants an inexpensive fun little car. my questions are: how 'bulidable' are they? how reliable are they off road? do they have a 4low setting or are they AWD only?

any input is welcome (positive or negative). thanks, Will

I thought you were building an Isuzu??

 

[OREGON85]

Rot Box, I didn't know that there was that much to know about Subaru's!

What about a Toyota all-trac? The Tecel had 4LO if I recall correctly.

 

[MattL]

they look fun.
look here
wonder how much effort it would take to put a turbo on some of these to give them a little bit more ummph.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

they look fun.
look here
wonder how much effort it would take to put a turbo on some of these to give them a little bit more ummph.

You can put a turbo on just about anything. Subaru actually had some factory turbo cars in the 80's that I'm sure is an easy engine swap. Another option that video reminded me of is the AMC Eagle.

 

[JL Rockies]

When I got transferred out here back in 2007 there was a lot of discussion about what vehicles I should get. The Pres & VP were really pushing for a Subaru wagon and I fought tooth & nail against it for 3 mos prior to moving out here. I told them that driving around the rockies looking like a democrat wouldn't be good for business. I ended up with the KJ CRD which I got to keep after the divorce.

If you do get the Subaru, don't forget your "Coexist" sticker for the back window.

 

[JL Rockies]

.... and you need to refer to your vehicle as "The Sube" if you want to fit in with the kool kidz.

 

[plaidfro]

If I pick up a job in SLC... there is no way I will use my YJ to commute... I will be on the look out for something like this:

[YOUTUBE]vyBJMdJVDdA[/YOUTUBE]

 

[4x4_Welder]

Avoid the pre-Legacy turbo cars! 3.7 gear ratio, AWD or a really pitiful low range, and a love for cracking heads, blowing head gaskets, overheating, and generally sucking. Not to mention that a SPFI (throttle body injection) EA82 made up to 95hp, while the MPFI turbo only made 120hp at it's peak, most years were 110-115.
My recommendation for a Subaru would be an 81-84 Wagon or 81-89 Hatch GL, dual range four speed and highly modifyable. 81-83 had a direct-ish 4th gear, and mechanical valve adjustments, 83 up had hydraulic lash adjusters and 4th was an overdrive. Those cars have the pushrod EA81 engine which is far more durable than the OHC EA82. All non-turbo EA81 and EA82 Subarus have a 3.9 axle ratio, turbos have 3.7 ratios, and while a 4.10 and 4.444 rear diff ratio are available, there is no way to swap the front ring and pinion due to the design of the transmission.
A common modification is to lift about 6", swap in a Nissan 720, Samurai, or Lada Niva transfer case behind the d/r four speed or a swapped in d/r five speed from an EA82 driving a flipped rear diff in the front and the standard rear diff. With this, a lot of people convert to six lugs and run 28-31" tires.

 

[THSDragoon]

I thought you were building an Isuzu??

yeah, i am. but i was just curious as to the buildability and reliability of them. but all these replies really helped a bunch. thanks guys.

Will