94Loyale

The EA bolts are not TTY, I never did say that. However, considering the amount of times he has had these heads on and off, I would say the bolts could possibly be an issue. The bolts will inevitably stretch, overtime, they are going to elongate and not contract back to their normal length. Running the bolts in and out, over and over again, and torquing them each time is also going to damage the threads, and they are not going to hold like new. I admit, I stepped too far stating they should be replaced every time you do a head gasket, as that is just my personal preference. However I do not enjoy doing a job twice. I agree, it may not be necessary to do so every time, but knowing the amount of load and pressure the bolts are under, and the range of temperatures they are quickly exposed to, I replace them. So if I offended anyone with that statement, I apologize. Please accept this as my edit to my previous post.

Been there Lots of fun http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=82958 Should be able to find any bit of info you could need in this thread

Well, besides everything mentioned above, which are all possible causes. A big problem I see is that the head bolts were never replaced. Every time you do a head gasket, those bolts should be changed. Head bolts stretch and they will never let the head seal correctly again. They may seem to tighten up correctly when you put them in, but they aren't.

I'd lay my money down on improper installation on the timing belt.

Well, I'm sure there are other ways...But on the heads you should find a casting number, EA71 being a 1600 and EA81 being the 1800. There are probably easier ways though.

Damn, 60 replies to this thread. It really is amazing how much help and advice you can get here. I'd still be working on my electrical problems if it weren't for everyone here. Anyway, Brian, I sent you a PM. I sent everything out to you today, hopefully you'll see it by the end of the week. We'll get that subie back in action!

Thats pretty sick man! We need more footage watching the car from outside!

You were saying about getting it up to operating temp, does the problem still happen when your up to temp? If its on initial startups, I would almost think it has something to do with the thermosensor (coolant temp sensor, not for the gauge). But if you could give a little more info, that would help. Is it only on cold starts? What about a hot start, shut it off, come back 5 min later and run it again? I really think hitting the steering wheel was just a chance thing that it started running nice again. The other day my lifters were tapping....I tapped the hood and they stopped. That's what I mean by a chance thing.

A shot in the dark, with the minimal information we've got. Possibly it wasn't the water pump at all, and it was a bad headgasket? I might be way ahead of myself here, +1 on more info on the car. What happened that you knew the water pump was bad, motor and mileage?

Not a problem buddy, you'll probably see them by the end of next week.

Hey Brian, I just checked this thread to see what was going on. If you'd like that disty and igniter, I'll send them out from work on Monday. From what I'm seeing, and all the things I went through with my ignition system. I would agree with the others on either the igniter or CAS. Regardless, you'll get them both for cheap, and I know they work great! So like I said, that stuff will go out on Monday to the address you PM'ed me. Once the shipping is all said and done I'll give you a total. I think we agreed on $20 plus shipping right? If anything should come up, and you find you don't need it, just leave a message on here. I'm on this site everyday,haha.

Brian, I see your post on here that you don't need the igniter anymore. You did say that you cleaned the CAS and it ran a couple times. That would lead me to think it could be the CAS also. Your in luck though I replaced mine with a brand new one, because I thought that was it. So I still have my old distributor that still works great, no shaft play to speak of either. The CAS is very expensive, (around $190),just about as much as a whole new distributor with CAS already in it. Almost every distributor I found is over $200 new, http://www.Rockauto.com was having a closeout on them, and I stole mine for $100, but it doesn't look like they have anymore closeouts. I'd sell you my good, used distributor for $25+shipping, and include a good igniter just in case. Let me know if you need it though. If you cleaned the photo disc and it started for a little but stumbled. I think you found your problem. Atleast it's easy to fix, takes about 5 minutes,haha.

Brian, just shoot me a PM with the address you want it sent to I don't need any money for it. My payment is seeing another old subaru on the road You will see a reddish substance on the bracket though, its called rust,lol. You guys don't have much of that in NM do you?

Lost, did you pick that one up in PA? I think I posted a link of that one in the for sale section. I never got to look at it, it was like 2.5 hours away from me. If it is the one, what kind of shape is it in? The guy never really elaborated when I talked to him.

The EJ is definately a superior motor in most every aspect. But all it takes is one rotten egg (motor) to sway someone away from it. Silver, if you dumped all that money into one, I can't blame you for not wanting to try another one. Or put all the time and money into swapping one in. Your better off sticking with the stock motor rather than putting all the money into swapping a stock turbo ea82. It's what? 25 more horse or so? The 6 is a tough project from what I've read, if you don't have any fab skills and alot of time, I wouldn't attempt it.

This is true, but you said you have no spark from the coil. The cap and rotor come after the coil. If you were getting spark from the coil, but none to the plugs, then Bill is definately right, I would check that also. But if you checked for juice off the main coil wire and had nothing, then you need to look before the coil.

No problem buddy, I'll grab my voltmeter from work tomorrow. I'll test one of them and see what I get on it.

BTW, if it ends up being an igniter, or you want to try one and don't have a junkyard nearby. I have a good one I can send you, no charge. Here is another thing to check, when you turn the key to the run position, make sure your check engine light is on!

Well, an 88 should have a CPS style distributor I believe, so there is no points or anything you could have messed with. There should be a 4 wire connector on the wire that comes off the distributor, check to make sure you didn't knock it loose or anything. Also check all your fusible links to make sure that they are in good condition. Another thing that will cause a no spark on the coil is the coil bracket itself not being grounded correctly. If it is rusty, then it will not spark. To check whether you are getting spark pulse from the igniter, use a test light and put it on the negative side of the coil. While cranking the motor, you should see the light turn on and off. If there is no light at all, check the horn fuse. I ran into a similar problem on my Loyale too. If your car has the CPS (Crankshaft Position Sensor) Distributor, then your in the same boat I was. Check out the thread from my problem, if you don't find your answer in there, then you really have a problem http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=82508 Someone should confirm the distributor for me though, I'm not positive on an '88.

Well, the lifters are hydraulic, so it may take a little while for them to pump up. Drive it around, bring the RPM's up a little and it will probably go away. Lifter tap is a very common thing on EA82's, all 3 that I had tapped on occasion. I know when I first got my Loyale, the guy was running full synthetic in it, and it tapped alot. After switching it to normal oil, it barely ever does now.

Good call GD, not too many people know to do that. And I don't know if it was just my car, but it took awhile (maybe 10, 15 minutes) of running to bleed all the air out. Just be patient

This was a good thread for about the first page, but now its just funny So for now,I'm still laughing, and awaiting the lockdown

It almost sounds to me that the thermostat isn't opening. I had the same exact problem. Mine would sit and idle for as long as you wanted and not heat up past half, but as soon as you drove it, maybe a half mile it was up by the red. I would try swapping that as it's the cheapest and easiest replacement. Don't be tempted by the cheap $4 one though, I got a faulty one out of the box. I picked up the $10 "Superstat" and everything has been perfect since. Make sure to bleed the system real good. Jacking the very front of the car up (while bleeding the system) helps alot too to get all the air out of the heater core.

I just had the same kind of issue in my Loyale too. I replaced the Tstat, but the problem persisted. I had bought the cheap $3 tstat though, the next time I went up, I bought the "superstat". After installing that one, and bleeding the system for maybe 10 to 15 minutes (it's winter, hard to get to temp), I had no more issues. Also, the heater core is an easy place for air bubbles to hide, jack the front of the car up while bleeding the system, it really helps. I would start with the cheaper items like that first. Just an idea.

I really like the exhaust system you made for it! How's it sound?