My RX Winter Rebuild Plan

[PlaneDriver]

Since winter is here and I have a month between semesters, I decided that now would be a great time to replace the engine seals and some other parts in my '89 RX. The parts I currently have on my list are:

 

• Head Gaskets
  
• Valve Cover Seals
  
• Cam Seals
  
• Timing Belts and Tensioners
  
• Water Pump
  
• Oil Pan Gasket
  

 

I see that RockAuto has a Fel-Pro head gasket and seal set (part # HS9392PT). The PT means perma-torque which is what I want, correct? This set comes with valve cover seals and a bunch of other seals. It appears to come with cam seals as well.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989-89-SUBARU-RX-Cylinder-Head-Gasket-FEL-PRO-HS9392PT_W0QQitemZ160380688834QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item25576f19c2

 

This is the timing belt kit I'm looking at.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989-89-Subaru-RX-1-8-Timing-Belt-Kit-EA82-EA82T-NEW_W0QQitemZ310186524172QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item48388ebe0c

 

I have also noticed that it tends to idle high after a cold start. Today it was 50 *F when I started it and initial idle was 2500 rpm. Normally it idles around 2000 rpm after a similar start. Should I replace the thermostat too?

 

Posts here recommend replacing the front oil seal. To do this do I just remove the crank shaft pulleys and sprockets?

 

My goal is to do this work without pulling the engine. I could since I have access to an engine stand, but all this should be doable without right?

 

Should I also replace the spark plugs at this time?

 

Lately I have noticed a squeal just after starting that takes ~10min to go away. My guess is the alternator. I know of a place I can take it to get it rebuilt.

 

I have the Subaru service manuals and my dad has done an engine rebuild before so I'm confidant we can do it. My main concern is removing the camshafts and putting them back on correctly. Anything else I should watch out for?

[Gloyale]

Thermostat has nothing to do with the warm up idle. That is controlled by the ECU and the AAV(Aux Air Vallve, above the thermostat)

 

And you will want to pull the engine. SOOOOOO much easier. You can do this work in the car. But pulling the heads off and getting the back on is tough.

 

you will be happier, and able to do a better job with the engine removed.

[Redhill]

I just ordered one of those timing belt kits on ebay, I hope they're good parts. The price shure is right. I'm going to do seals too. Keep us posted on your progress.

[Frank B]

I hope you have a strong back if you want to do it with the engine in the car... I don't, and I have .

 

you will need to unbolt the engine mounts and jack up the engine to drop the pan, one reason why it's easier to pull the engine. But be sure to clean the oil pickup screen while the pan is off.

 

You also want the rubber seals/O rings that go between the head and cam case, and a new oil pump or re-seal the oil pump. Clean and repack the bearings in your timing belt tensioner pulleys, unless your kit comes with new ones. Since your intake will be off, don't forget new intake gaskets, OEM is best. While the intake is off, clean out the egr passageways(carb cleaner). Don't forget your exhaust pipe gaskets too(oem), and be ready to repair the threads in the heads for the exhaust studs!

[Frank B]

oh, and yes the PT is perma torque. Said to be better than OEM.

[PlaneDriver]

We finished the rebuild today and the car is driving again! We ended up leaving the engine in the car which made reassembly quite difficult. We did everything in my initial post except replace the oil pan seal. The engine itself was extremely clean on the inside (not so much on the outside as you can see in the pictures below). The injectors were beautiful and the cylinders perfect. (The crap you see in the #3 cylinder in the picture came when we removed the head. It wasn't there previously.) Not a complete surprise since the car has less than 80,000 miles, but very nice to see.

 

We didn't keep track of which pipes were which when we took some of them off and ended up putting a cooling tube for the turbo in the bottom and not out the front. The front pipe is smaller than the bottom one and was extremely difficult to put on the bottom of the turbo. We only discovered this when we tried to put the other pipe on the front and it wasn't long enough. Not wanting to take the turbo off after how hard we tried to put it on, I went and bought some new pipe to use on the front. It's always the little things like the wrong pipe or a bolt that isn't tight enough that get you. The car started perfectly on the first try this morning and is running great. We spilled some of the power steering fluid (which is actually auto tranny fluid for this car, strangely) so I bought some more to pour in.

 

There was quite a bit of white smoke during the first run we did. It mainly came from near the turbo and the exhaust gaskets. It definitely wasn't burning oil. Probably antifreeze or any sealant stuff on the newly installed gaskets. I've stopped seeing the smoke so I'm not worried.

 

I also eliminated the noise I posted about here. The heat shield below the spare tire holder had some small cracks in it so I drilled a hole and clamped them with washers and a nut/bolt. No rattling noise anywhere in the rev range.

 

Some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PlaneDriver]

New problem. Today I was followed by a massive white cloud of smoke. It was coming from the exhaust pipe and had a sweet smell to it. Just screams burning coolant. When I got home I looked all over the engine and saw nothing except for some oil leaking off the back of the passenger side. I looked at what I could see of the head gaskets, valve cover seals, valve cases, and intake and exhaust gaskets. I saw nothing. All the edges look as clean as when I put them on.

 

What to do? Re-torque head bolts?

 

I haven't been driving the car hard. A week ago I did take it to 6000rpm. I had no issues with smoke or anything until today.

Edited January 22, 2010 by PlaneDriver