Chug, chug, chug...

[Guest Greg5599]

OK, somebody tell me what wrong with my 94 Legacy, 2.2L. Engine is effectively running on three cylinders. Normal compression in all except #3. That one registered 50 lbs. compression. Engine has a bad miss and shakes badly. No water in the oil or vice versa. Noise coming from the engine sounds like an exhaust leak but I can't identify it's actual source. Just a repetitive hiss-hiss-hiss when the engine is running. Uses oil now moreso than before. Engine has 143K on it. So... what have I got? Head gasket? Cracked head? Burned valve? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Greg

[Guest 93leg]

Greg,

When did the problem occure? Were you putting your Subaru under stress? Sounds like your loosing compression alright. Most likley if your gasket is blown, or your valve is sticking that bad you'll be required to remove the head anyway for either of these repairs. A cracked block? I have not read anything here on this board that states cracked blocks are a common problem. I don't know if your lifters could cause this, or not, but I'll say not. You may want to try a used engine from a junkyard. I have been quoted $650.00 for an engine with less than 65,000 miles on it. You can replace seals and the timing belt before you tear the old one out, if you can still drive it on three cylinders. Hope this helps.

[Guest subyluvr2212]

If he's got good compression in all cylinders but one, he might have a burnt valve or a worn cam lobe on that cylinder. He might just need headwork.

 

It's also possible that he has a very small headgasket leak that's only affecting that one cylinder...

[Guest Greg5599]

Thanks for the inputs gents. A little more info:

 

Engine began to miss nearly 10 months ago. Very slight at first now much, much worse.

 

I removed and checked the lifters on the bad cylinder. The were fine.

 

The sad part of it is, locally for $300 I can get an 87K mile motor from a 90 to replace it. I've actually added up the costs of replacing the head gaskets and having a vavle job done, and it's more than that.

 

Greg