TheRustyWolf

Nasty exhaust leak? Definitely. The tail pipe rusted to the point where it wasn't connected anymore so I just pulled it off. Carb heater hose? I've never had it hooked up, and this is the first time I've had this issue. From what I was reading plenty of people run fine without it? I'll look into the timing and fuel pressure. This happens intermittently, and rarely stalls now. If it was timing would it be consistently having this issue? I probably won't invest in the weber swap as $320 is a 1/3rd of what I paid for the car overall. I'll end up buying a new car before I throw that on. I have new NGK plugs and wires coming in. I'll throw those in with a new airfilter I have lying around. My mileage is spoob, 20mpg, when I'm usually at 25-27. I put in 20w-50 as opposed to my normal 10w-30. Not sure if that would have anything to do with my troubles.

Hey there, This is a new problem I've been having with a low and fluctuating idle. I drive the car every day to work and it runs fine at a higher RPM. I checked out the Trouble Shooting section 2.B of HTKYSA and started running through some of the trouble shooting steps. I searched around the forum and didn't see anything conclusive. Trouble shooting done thus far 1.I checked out the spark plugs and wires. Everything looks good there. 2. I also listened for any vacuum leaks, but couldn't hear any. I'll check every connection this weekend when I have some daylight. Oil level is topped out at the full mark. Based on the video below does anyone have an idea of what the issue might be? Thanks!

Drove on the highway for 20 minutes or so for a beer run test drive. The connection still has a very slow leak so I'll replace the hose and clamps, and keep an eye on it.

Whelp I feel like an idiot. I'm pretty sure I found the source of my issues, but I'll keep tabs on it. Today after work (I took a rideshare) I checked the coolant level in the radiator, and noticed it looked to be about the same. I then checked all the connection points for coolant and the only one I noticed that was wet was from the pump to the upper radiator hose. Just some seepage that I could see dripped onto the belt cover. I was overly concerned about the huge amount of steam that I over looked some obvious check points. Also the amount of moisture that accumulated on the front of the engine and radiator made it hard to pin point the source. I'm guessing this was the scenario: Radiator hose has real slow drip, and I never checked my levels so I didn't notice how far down it was getting. I repair my brakes and with the car lifted up on jack stands for a couple days causes this to leak more than usual. I fix my rear brakes, and on my lap around the block, accelerating and stopping repeatedly, the little coolant I have left gets pretty heated and hits the point of least resistance, my upper hose connection. It sprays all over the belts, causing me to lose my power steering for a second, and also reflects off the belt case/engine onto the radiator creating a massive amount of steam from the fins, and a huge wet spot on them. The hose looked fine, but I'll replace it and get some new clamps. For my most recent test run, I changed the position of the clamp, and tightened up as much as I could with a socket wrench. After a few miles with rapid acceleration when I could, I didn't notice any new moisture from the connection. Thanks for the help you guys. Lesson learned, keep an eye on your coolant levels. First time in 13 years of owning a car that I've had any issues cooling related, but this was great learning a bit more about how the system works out of necessity. I feel a bit more confident that I could diagnose the common issues now after trouble shooting.

Thanks for the replys. DaveT - I will continue troubleshooting as you recommend. Steptoe - I will go inspect that hose and others. I didn't notice anything off about the hoses, but I was looking for obvious defects. I'll see what I can find with a closer inspection. Based on both of your recommendations I will probably go through and replace all the upper hoses to start since that is relatively cheap. Then I will run Dave's troubleshooting test next week after I get back from deer hunting. I'll decide next steps depending on the outcome from that.

I filled up the coolant level, and ran the engine at idle with the radiator cap off for a bit. The coolant level slowly rose until it overflowed a bit and I shut the engine off. There was no bubbling that I could see. Just a slow rise of the coolant. I put the radiator cap back on, and then filled up the reservoir until it was in between the low and full lines. I then then drove around the block driving as normal. Temps and pressure were gauges were reading as usual. When I pulled into my driveway and popped the hood, there was definitely a lot of steam coming from the radiator, but I couldn't spot the source of the leak. I popped the radiator cap off, and the level was a bit lower, but only by about 3 ounces. I filled the coolant level back up, put the radiator cap back on, and then had the car at idle for a good 5 minutes. The fan came on, and the heat still blew hot. I had the engine running for a bit longer, revving it up to 3000, letting it drop back to idle, and then revving it again, holding it at 3000RPM for about 10 seconds, and then letting it drop again trying to get the radiator to steam again. It didn't happen. I then drove around the block again, and pulled into the drive way. With the car running I popped the hood to see if there was steam coming from the radiator again, but there was none. The fan was off, but quickly came back on after the car was stopped for about 10 seconds. I turned the car off, and decided to pop the radiator cap off to see if it was hot enough to boil out, and it definitely was. So I take a half hour break or so, and realize I'm hungry as codswallop and need to get some food. I pop the hood, and the coolant level has remained consistent, so I figure what the hell, I'll drive a mile away to where the restaurants in town are. I drive about 2 miles total finding a parking spot and a place to eat. This is about 6 times longer than driving around the block. When I park I pop the hood and I don't see anything abnormal. I have a couple slices of pizza and a beer while looking at newer cars on craigslist, and then head home. I purposefully accelerate fast after stop signs to build up heat and pressure. I pull into my driveway and pop the hood. Everything is fine. I did not pop the radiator cap as I didn't want it to boil out again. I'll check the level tomorrow morning. I would assume that if the coolant came boiling out, that the system is retaining pressure. This makes no sense to me since it was steaming out of the radiator, or the radiator was steaming from getting coolant spewed on it. The car idles smoothly, it maintains oil pressure, and I have no white smoke coming from the tail pipe. Would it be safe to assume the head gaskets are fine? The fan comes on and off as it should, and I'm guessing the thermostat is fine if the heater is working, and my temp gauge is reading accurately as normal. I'm at a total loss here, but I'm also very inexperienced with cooling systems.

History with car: I've had this 1986 Subaru GL wagon for a little over a year. It has 211k miles. I purchased it from an old guy who had records dating back to the early 90's. Well maintained, but rarely driven (45k in the 17 years before I bought it). There has been a gargling after a drive for as long as I can remember. Sounds like it is coming from the coolant reservoir. Recent changes: I put 20w-50 in it a couple weeks back to cut down on how much oil i've been leaking. I've driven enough on this to run through a tank of gas. Longest recent trip was about 60 miles with this oil type. Why I'm Needing Assistance: Three days ago I had some issues with my brakes and figured out it must be my rear shoes being worn/snapped. After further inspection this was the case, and today after work I got the new shoes and drums put on. During my "I hope this spoob works" lap around the block I was speeding up rapidly to brake and make sure the car was stopping as it should. On the last straight away before I turned onto my street I hit my max of about 40mph, I quickly braked and turned onto my street which has a decent hill that descends about 30 yards before I turned into my driveway. As I turned into my driveway I noticed my steering was super stiff like my power steering wasn't working. I pulled into my driveway, which is level, and turned the steering wheel left and right. The wheel turned just fine on level ground indicating the power steering was working. I turned the car off, and popped the hood. There was a ton of steam coming from the radiator/front of the engine. There was also a pool of coolant on the engine bays lower sheet metal and the radiator fins were soaked. The coolant reservoir was dry. My Thoughts on Where to Start Trouble Shooting: I did a quick search and found some threads about similar issues. Most of the suspects were Head Gaskets, Thermostats, and Radiators. My initial thought is get the radiator back up to level if possible by briefly starting the engine with the radiator cap off to burp it, and see if I can find a leak anywhere. Since this was an abrupt/acute issue with the power steering going out and then a lot of steam with a coolant explosion being the source I would think this process would allow me to spot the leak. Advice and thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Please let me know if there is an obvious source to this issue, if I should go about trouble shooting a different way, or if any clarifying information is needed. Sincerely, CarNeededBySkiSeason

That is a legit wagon. Just picked up an '86 recently. I'm definitely going to want some of those fog lights for winter here in the PNW. Any recommendations on fog lights?

Installed this guy with the help of the forum. $30 off amazon for the unit. Also got the faceplate, harness, and an antenna extender off of there.

Rejoined the Subaru family with a pretty clean 1986 Subaru GL. I was reading a thread on replacing the seats and figured I'd better join the forum. I used to have an '89 GL, and loved the 4WD in the snow. Looking forward to using it again this winter. Cheers from Rat City.