88 Subaru Justy 1.2l 3 cyl

[coal68]

Allright I just picked up an 88 Subaru Justy 1.2l 3cyl with 4WD. The valve cover leaks, rear main seal, and distributor seal thay all leak. I am going to pop new seals in. So the previous owner tells me this vehicle has over 450,000 miles, I dont believe that. probally 250,000 or 350,000. Anyway the engine has a little bit of a sludge issue should I try some auto RX or would this probally be a waste of time. By the way oil capacity on that car is 3 quarts.

 

[55Test]

Yes, ARX if you can spare the cash. Might help with your seal leaks too. I assume it runs? What tranny does it have? I've only ever seen 2 Justys with the ECVT, and that was a few years ago now.

 

[Solo2driver]

Definitely AutoRX the thing. With good oils being so inexpensive and your car not requiring very much oil, I'd go with Trop Arctic Synth blend...it just became available here in Southern California in Wal-Mart stores and is only $1.28/qt, darn good value. Tough little car, have fun with it!

 

[coal68]

This has the standard 5 speed. The clutch is going to get changed out in about a week, along with the seals.

 

[Buick92]

With the 1.2 3cyl you should have no problem taking the geo metros and suzuki swifts of the world with their 1.0 3cyl's. Subaru makes some good engines and I'm sure your's will serve you well.

 

[Ken42]

Don't forget the water pump oil pump cover gasket those leak like a sive too.

 

[MN Driver]

Those engines turned oil ugly pretty quickly. You might want to watch the oil pressure carefully on that Justy, some of the Justy's oil pumps have gone weak and wore down the main bearings on the transmission side. They got a reputation for being an easy rebuild however. The worst leak if i remember right with those was the valve cover. Good thing you have the 5 speed. The ECVT's clutch would usually last somewhere between 36,000 to 50,000 miles.

I wonder how much those things are going for these days, they aren't easy to find, yet then again people who drive stick shift cars generally keep theirs longer than people who drive automatics.

 

[coal68]

I scored that car for crazy cheap, the guy was asking 500, so I checked it out and told him I would give him 375, it does need some work. I really should have tried to get it for 300-325.

 

[coal68]

I just finished the rinse phase on gthe Justy noe on to the next cleaning phase. I really havent noticed any difference in how clean the engine is with the auto rx but we will see in another 1000 miles or so what it looks like.