MY 87 VORTEX

[Johnny T]

Hey everyone, my name is John and I have the 1987 Subaru Vortex 4wd Turbo, I am very proud of this car and I cant wait to get it running again, this car does need a lot of work (I get told every time I tell people about my car). I was very lucky to get this car from my uncle for $500.00(AUD) with 158,900k's on the clock (Not sure what that is in miles)
Please note: Before I purchased the car it has been sitting on gravel for 5 years and 1 year on grass
My plans for this car are:
1: Get it running
2: Fix all the mechanical problems
3: Repair the interior
3: Repair the body
4: New respray in black
5: New 17" rims
6: Get a road worthy (So far its way way WAY off from getting one)

so far I have done the follow:
Replaced the oil (Cos it hasn't been done in over 6 years)
Replaced the fuel filter
Replaced the Oil filter
Replaced the Air Filter
Taken out the seats, carpet, center console, front and rear seats and cleaned them like they have never been cleaned before.
Here is a photo of my pride n joy when I purchased it and now (Not much is done but it is in better condition than it was before)
Before


After


now the problems that I cannot seem to work out with this car are:
1: Wiper motor is not working - not sure how to fix this cos I cant seem to find a replacement in Australia
2: The Air Suspension is leaning to one side of the car (When the system is turned on it works fine but when I leave it for 5 hours it falls to one side) (Image shown below)


If anyone can tell me how to fix these problems that I have with this car that would be very helpful because I have been working on this car for the past 2 years.
Thank you for your time
Johnny T

[Bram_R]

are you getting voltage on the wiper motor when you press the wiper button?
Otherwise first check the wiper control box. It is a green box in your center console. About under your ashtray. You need to remove the center console for accessing it however.
Did you check the fuses btw?

For the shocks, your problem indicates a small leak somewhere I think. Try to pinpoint it.
You have the alternative to install coil overs from a Leone when your airshocks are shot.

Also, the 17 inchers you won't find for the 4x140 hubs I'm afraid. For that, you may need to convert to 5x100 hubs, so Impreza wheels are at your disposal.

Bram

[Johnny T]

Thanks for the replay Bram_R
with the wiper motor I push the button and there is no sound or movement from the motor and I have also checked the all the fuses from the fuse box and they are all fine, nothing missing and nothing broken, as for the wiper control box what do I do with that, lucky enough for me I have taken the center console off last week and just trying to fix t before I can put it back in.
As for the shocks, is this an easy fix and how do I find out where the leak is coming from (Oviously its never in the same spot as other cars) but where would it commenly come from and if it is a leak how do I fix this?

Thanks for your feedback
Johnny T

[john in KY]

I should have that wiper control box if you need it. As for the struts, I would disconnect the electrical connection at the solenoids after the struts are inflated. If the struts still deflate after 5 hours then the problem probably is a leak between the solenoids and struts or at the struts. Slim chance the solenoids could not be sealing completely but that is a pretty slim chance. If the struts remain inflated then problem is probably the control unit under the carpet inside the car.

[Fury]

The wiper has a control box under the cig lighter and ash tray. This is a common area which the wipers fail from just standing. The other is the control stalk and intermittant wiper control, mounted under the lhs pod assembly.

Check for power at these points. there are pinouts available for the control box ( via a FSM Factory Service Manual - available for download - see the sticky thread in the main forum index.)

The air struts, if they pump up, and work, ( and behave) is usually only a leak.

Step one, arm yourself with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge, and soak the joins of the airlines ( strut towers, and struts, the solenoids and the rubber strut boots. There is a lot of info on this subject, but it does sound like they will work, and could be as simple as replacing an o ring or two.

Power, I increased my power, ( before transplant ) to over 170HP, with mods, inc Exhaust, boost, Jap spec ecu, plugs, timing, IC, premium fuel, etc etc, but takes a lot of commitment and making sure everything is just perfect - so it doesnt overheat and blow a head gasket. ( which can happen far too easily )

Do a search for air suspension - and then sift through the pages, but keep us posted as we are only too willing to help.


PS John, you beat me to it...lol

[Johnny T]

Thanks for that m8, if I do need the "wiper control box" how much would it cost to post it from USA to AU? Is there a way to see if the box needs replacing because I'm going to work on the car on next saturday (Depending if the weather is good) as for the leak, i found something on this site had some documents telling me how to fix, see if my m8 can understand it cos I don't and if we cant work it out I'll ask again how to do it on here cos this places seems to be the most helpful forum i've tried.
Thanks for the feedback John in KY and I'll let you know ASAP if i need a new wiper box

Regards
Johnny T

[Johnny T]

Thanks for the input Fury, very much appreciated I'll keep everyone updated when I work on the car, cos I have a big feeling this car has alot of problem that I'm not sure off, lol I'm surprised that there are not many XT's in Aus cos there hard to find, I do have a quick question, (Maybe the stupidest question you'll ever hear in your life) but here it is, by looking at a photo of my turbo can you tell me; Does it need to be fixed (cos it kinds looks stuffed) and how big the turbo piping is (If i wanted to put a newer turbo on what type of turbo can I use without changing the piping)
Heres a photo of the turbo, WARNING its a small turbo, took me 10min to find it lol (jokes)

[grossgary]

you could pull yours apart and seeing if it's just seized from sitting. might be able to regrease it and get it working again if the car was sitting for so long? has to come out to replace anyway, remove it and check.

if you need john's then make sure they're not different over there verses US, not sure if that matters?

[Johnny T]

When I take the turbo off, how would I know if its seized and can the original turbo be fixed instead of replaced? oh yer another question, how do i take the turbo off?

[Fury]

Why do you think it is no good? Just the way it looks... old and rusty?

Internally it may be fine. I would consentrate on getting full power to the engine, taking it for a drive and see if the turbo kicks in.

What dash do you have? the Digi dash or analogue gauges? If you have thd digi dash, you have a bar graph gradient to measure turbo boost, or a turbo light, with the analogue dash, to indicate if there is boost pressure.

I wouldn't start pulling it apart unless you have to.

BTW , the turbo is usually a TD04 model , but see if you can find numbers stamped on it.

[Johnny T]

As I don't know much about engines and turbo's I thought by the look of it was pretty much gone, as for the dash its the old school analogue and it has that little turbo, for example if I can get my car started this weekend and let it warm up for about 10-15min and rev the engine to around 3500rpm would the light go on and if the light doesn't go on does that mean that the turbo is seized up? Also is it worth buying a boost gauge for this car?

Thanks for all the help everyone
Johnny T

[H-top]

Welcome to the OZ AX-7 club
mate!!
A boost gauge is great for monitoring when winding up
the boost, Also just great to look at

I do not believe the light relates to the turbos state,
if it builds boost, then it's not siezed.
If it has, or appears to be, not all may be lost.
Pull the dump pipe off and check for rotation and
play.
If it does not spin, try a 10mm deep single hex socket
or a small one with a short extension bar and
try to turn it CLOCKWISE! It
may crack free and begin to spin again.
I've seen it happen multiple times

[Fury]

The turbo light on the dash, is connected to a pressure switch, that when the pressure reaches +1psi ( I think - don't quote me exactly here) that the light appears. Basically, when the exhaust spools the turbo, it will pressurise the intake and create boost, therefore also pressurizing the switch.

A boost gauge will show what pressure your turbo is running ( with my IC I was running up to 14psi, but unless you have mods to offset, 14 will kill a std EA82 engine.) If you get ANY boost, your turbo is at very least running.

As you are new here, we don't know your capabilities with engines, tools , or experience, so take care with advice your given here. We are used to it, it is easy for us to say to pull a turbo, when in fact, do the testing first and see if it spins. My first turbo took days, skinned knuckles, and LOTS of swearing - and I could use tools and equipment. As a turbo gets very hot, it tends to make nuts and bolts EXTREEMLY difficult to remove, and a cheap tool set from china, will just round over nuts and bolts given enough force behind them.

Sorry If I sound elementary here, removing anything from a turbo, it isn't a 5 minute Job.

Access the turbine via the dump pipe , although effective, can be tricky , the exhaust mounts will need removing, the car jacked up, or on ramps, the dump pipe needs to move backwards the length of the studs, slid sideways ( you probably still have a dump pipe cat as well getting in the way) and because of the position, you still cant "see" the turbine vanes. ( you use smoke and mirrors to see... ) I wont be around till tomorrow evening, but I will have a look at the access of a TD04, that I have here - unless someone posts earlier.

If the red turbo light comes on, then chances are high that there is pressure created by the turbo. I would check that first. It is easy. Does the car drive? ( obviously when the air suspension is fully pressured) You shouldn't spin the turbo up till the engine oil is warm and engine at normal operating temp and let it spool down a minute or so after the turbo has been operating. also, there is a 40mm plastic plug in the inlet after the turbo - from memory ( depending on your manifold) that you can loosten and pull when revving. ( it will cause some engine coughing when removed as you are altering the mixture - but it also gives a pressure build up indication.)If it has pressure when revving, you have boost. Easy . Post a pic of your engine bay, if you have a Spyder manifold, you wont have this plug. But if you have this Spyder manifold, you have more advantages for future power output.

[funkybits]

Nice car Johnny T, particularly like the colour and nice to see a few 4wd turbos getting round in Oz.

Regarding the turbo, my understanding is that the turbo wont spool when the car is in neutral and hence the turbo light wont light up unless the car is in gear, so to test if it works you'll have to drive the car.

I had similar issues with my air suspension and decided to swap over to coils as the air suspension seems to be a little problematic and a bit of a hassle, but it is a reasonably expensive process if your not the do it yourself type (I'm hopeless) and there seems to be conflicting information regarding which rear springs to use for the 4wd model as the standard leonie coils will result in the rear end being way too high!

The best advice I can impart is to listen to Fury's advice as he know's his stuff

I'm having woes with my 4wd turbo at the moment as the steering rack has gone and she's back at the mechanics awaiting reconditioning

Cheers

Johnno

[john in KY]

Fury is correct when he said removing the turbo isn't an easy job. Have done it a few times and it isn't easy at all. Soak all the bolts/nuts for days before even attempting it and you can anticipate at least one of the bolts shearing. Also neither of the two turbos I previously owned ever gave a turbo boost dash indication by just revving the engine. Engine had to be under a load for the dash light to work.