phishy75

pullers make it easy to get the cogs off of the crank. You can get a cheapo one for under $10. When you go to take out the seal, be careful if you go in with a screwdriver - you don't wanna start scratching up the surfaces cause then you won't get a seal with the new one. When I did mine on my 85 t-wagon, i ended up drilling two holes in the seal itself (be really careful not to push through too hard when the drill gets through the seal) and then threaded in two screws and pulled it out with a pair of pliers. I was amazed how stuck the seal was considering you could see a fine spray of oil coming out from behind it when the engine was runnung. good luck

prolly not going to be seeing many of these on the street but still way cool (even thout it's a jeep). Talk about turning on a dime. http://www.jeep.com/autoshow/hurricane/gallery.html

I have done 4 HG's now (both sides on both subies), both on N/A and Turbo, and I have never pulled an engine from either of my cars. Of course it is easier access if you pull the motor, but you no not have to pull it to change out HG's.

1-3 x 2 as well

I'm a cheapass - used felpro. Guess I'll pull the valves and take a good look. You're always good for a quick response Snowman - cheers:drunk:

could be the tracks on the roof itself have started to come off a bit. my '85 must have had lots of heavy loads put up top 'cause if you pushed on the roof, the metal sunk down, but the tracks would stay level. Never had any problems with vibrations, mind you you can't hear much when she's revving up around 6g's:brow:

How can I tell if my head is cracked? Well duh, besides the obvious... I pulled off my pass side head (I know that was the problem side for sure) and all I can see is a very minor crack between the valves on one cylinder. I'm talkin really minor here too... I did the HG on this side about 5 months ago, but when I was pulling it off again, it seemed like the head bolts might have loosened off some, so I'm thinking maybe it is just a HG problem. So I guess my question is - can head cracks that cause real problems (coolant usage and steam out the tailpipe) be internal and not visible on normal inspection, or is this most likely just a HG prob that would have been fixed by re-torquing the head bolts. I'm hoping for the second, but if not I'm off to the JY to pull a head tomorrow...

Is that for the GF, or a DD until you fix the wagon?

It seems to be a cold engine thing. I'm not totally sure because the Gf has been driving it lately so I haven't had a good chance to see how things change as it heats up. When it was doing this before, it would often do it when cold, and then clear up and run fine after it warmed up a while. What does this mean to you Snowman? thanx

Yup, took a good look, but I coulda missed something... Shoulda mentioned - it's carbed.

I was thinkin cracked head too. I checked both of them out pretty well when I had them off, and all looked well, but we all know looks can be decieving. Torqued them all down to a little over spec (like 50lbs I think) so I don't think that is the prob. I didn't get the heads machined when I did the hg's, but I did clean them up immaculately and did the old straight edge check. So what is the best way to figure out which side to pull off first? I ran it for a while and then pulled all the plugs, but didn't find any evidence of moisture in any cylinder. I'm thinkin I'll pull of the exhaust and run her pipeless to see which side is steamin (besides LOUD is COOL haha). Hey bushbasher - you got a head (I suspect drivers side) layin around you wanna get rid of? Vanislru - your GF told me you blew a HG and you have a move coming up on the same day as us too. A whole lot of coincidences goin on . Good luck with your wrenchin and moving man:drunk:

Thought I had her licked, but the dreaded steaming tailpipe is back. Put a new pass side HG in about 5 months ago, new drivers side HG and intake manifold gaskets about a month ago. Before I did the drivers side, I was having a problem with intermittant steam out the tailpipe and low compression in the front cylinder. All of the gaskets are jobber (I know, i know) and everything was fine for the last month - even did a 700km trip up to Tofino. Now the steam is back and it seems to be worse!!! Good compression all around (150 - 170 psi), no water in the oil, no particularly fouled plugs, new manifold gaskets don't show any signs of leaking... And to top it all off, I have a baby on the way and I'm moving in 10 days so the car needs to be mobile SOON. I'd love to get some good ideas on where else to look and what it might be...

Here on the west coast older gen subes are pretty common. At least the wagons are extremely common (I see many every day) and the hatches and sedan are fairly common. Don't think I have ever seen a brat or an RX around these parts though. Mind you, I've only been "into" subes for about 6 months so I didn't really take notice much before. I would definitely be very weary of a scam...

22mm socket will do the trick. Take off the spare tire and remove the flywheel cover, then you can use a large flathead screwdrive to wedge against the flywheel so you can torque it down well. Not sure what the exact torque specs are, but it should be good and tight. Be sure not to take any big scrapes or gouges out of the flywhell when you wedge it.

Sounds just like my '86. Exact same as yours (carbed, d/r wagon, ~25mpg) and 150k miles. I have given her a full tune-up and bumped the timing to about 13 degrees. She runs like a top, but accelerates like a dog. I've just grown to accept it and keep my foot on the floor most of the time.

definitely go for the 20w50 as long as you guys aren't getting below freezing at night still. Everyone here really goes for OEM stuff, and for the most part it is a good idea. I, however, am cheap (or parsimonious as I like to say:lol: ) and often go the cheap route - i.e. jobber parts. Especially since I get parts for wholesale prices from a buddy. I've put in three felpro head gaskets (all different ones I might add) with no problems, as well as lots of other non-OEM parts. As far as t-stats go, you really should go for the 180 degree, and since you can't get it from the dealer, go to Lordco or whatever store you like. Your subie and your wallet will like you for it. Definitely do a good check on the rad before you go and buy a new one. Take off the fan (simply four bolts and the electrical connection) and idle the car with the rad cap off until you are sure the coolant is circulating. Make sure not to let the temp get too high!!! Then shut her down and feel around really well on the rad. If you are finding some cold spots, a good flush just might solve your problem. The easiest way to test the HG is to buy a compression tester (not sure on the price but not too much) and check the compression in each cylinder. You can find the procedure by doing a search - it is very easy. Of course if you are seeing water in your oil or smelling exhaut in the coolant you can skip that step. I agree that you probably don't have a blown HG, but you never know. Best of luck

I wouldn't run 10w30 oil in an old sube like that - especially if you know it burns/leaks some oil. Summer is coming, so throw some 20w50 in there and it should last a lot longer. As for the cooling problem, it sounds like your rad and t-stat are working fine, as long as you are sure the rad is warm all over after running. You might try a 180 t-stat, but it is more likely the coolant temp sensor goen south. just my 2 bits... I hope she holds up for you. If I were a little closer I'd come over and take a look myself. Good luck [quote name=bk2 Well things just sort of happen for a reason. 2 days ago I changed my oil and oil filter....formula 1 Canadian tire special 10W 30 and their oil filter....my vehicle was not smoking at all before this change....lol. today the ol girl is smoking white blue smoke and smells of fresh oil....tink this 1985 soobi will be hitting the heap if someone cannot figure it out....lol. as you can see from my initial troubles they are getting too complicated for this boy....lol. anyone in the Okanagan BC area with a 400 dollar subaru that runs good....I do not care what it looks like.....just want it safe for the kids..... my buddy Frank says get another vehicle....and that it is old is only burning oil....I do think there is something big time wrong with this machine....my gut is calling out to me... thanks guys....any info????[/quote]

The PCV system also tends to let oil into the intake boot between the MAF and the turbo. Check that boot to see if it has a nice oily grime on the inside of it. If not, then it is likely what MorganM said. If there is a good layer of oil in the boot, then it could just be getting sucked out of the cam tower through the PCV system (or both for that matter). Definitely a good idea to check for shaft play in the turbo.

ditto I was just trying to unnderstand where he was talking about, since the oil passage o-ring is on the cam tower (which does need sealant) and not the head gasket.

Too true!!! Three mile island (and then Chernobyl) really screwed us by making everybody think nuke reactors would destroy the world. They are by far the best source for energy we have today - they just need to be well maintained and properly designed.

Good luck for sure!!! I'm eager to see how things work out for you - be sure to post.

Now you've lost me... Are you talking about the cam cover o-ring - being the very last cover over the cams, and far from the head gasket?

For those of you interested in hydrogen power - you should do a search about Iceland aiming to become oil-free in 10 years. Hydrogen will be the basis for this, and there is some really interesting stuff. Iceland is a special case though, because they have loads of free energy from geothermal sources, so producing hydrogen is way more cost-efficient for them. They definitely deserve kudos for their lofty goals, lets hope it works.

And maybe the environment...

I'll come in on the middle ground here. Northwet makes some very valid points, but I think there is definitely more to hydrogen than he gives credit for. I am no expert, but I am a little familiar with hydrogen power. There is no way you are going to run a car on water, or a water/fuel mixture. Water is just way too stable, hence the reason it is expensive and energy intensive to extract hydrogen from it (the process is called electrolysis). You need pure straight-up hydrogen to use - hard and expensive to produce. The next problem is storage. Hydrogen has about 12 times the energy density of gasoline, when stored in liquid form. Now storing in liquid form is very difficult and one of the major hurdles (at least last I heard) to using hydrogen as a mainstream fuel. Storing in gaseous form is relatively easy, but the energy density is only a third (or maybe a quarter - I don't remember exactly) of liquid hydrogen - not economically viable given the cost of production. All of the hydrogen powered cars, buses, battery packs etc you hear about are producing electricity by essentially re-making water from hydrogen (stored) and oxygen (in the air). Like Northwet said, there is a net energy loss between producing hydrogen and using it to generate power. The reason for doing this is because it is clean, with water being the "exhaust". As for actually combusting hydrogen, I'm not sure how good a fuel it is for combustion. I know it is definitely flamable, but not as much so as most people think. Hindenburg did not burn because of the hydrogen gas - the major culprit was the fabric used (or more specifically the chemical used to treat the fabric - aluminum oxide if I remeber correctly). Being filled with hydrogen didn't help matters, but it was also not the real reason for the tragedy. Now where was I going with this???... Oh right - I definitely encourage you do see what you can do with this, but I think you need to do some major research before you jump in full bore. Hopefully one day relatively soon (though having dubya playing in the oval office sets us back a while) we'll all be driving cars that make almost no sound and pour water out the tailpipe. In the mean time, I'll still be lovin the old EA82.