I swapped an engine from a 91 into my 90 Legacy. The 91 had been sitting for a while but I was assured that it ran when it was parked. I got it in, everything hooked up. Turned the key and after some sputtering and grumnling it started. It wasnt running very good so I took the plugs out to check them. Two of the plugs were fine. One of the plug holes had a lot of oil in it and another had a little water inside and on the bottom of the plug. I have no idea what to do. I was told maybe to try taking the two plugs out and running it to see if it will just blow whatevers in there out. I have'nt tried that yet, Im planning to put some time into it this weekend. I was just hoping someone had some kind of advice or maybe knows something I could try. Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

engines that have sat even for short periods of time (months) can run bad. particularly Subaru engines with HLA's....I think those early EJ's have HLa's and they can sound terrible when first started after awhile and all the HLA's have bled down. how long did you run it?

 

vacuum leaks are common with engine swaps too, spary some carb cleaner, starting fluid or whatever around the engine while it's idling and see if that changes the idle at all. if it does then there's a leak somewhere.

 

Not running good - how old is the gas in the car? How about tune up items like air filter, PCV, plugs, wires.

Run it till the accumulated crap burns off. You could also run some seafoam through the manifold at the same time - it's an upper cylinder cleaning product. Sounds like the accumulation of water may have rusted up the rings or something.

 

Gary makes a good point about the lifters - they will need time to inflate. Subaru says up to several hours.

 

GD

I didnt run it real long maybe 20-30 min. until I pulled the plugs and saw the oil and water. Another thing I didnt mention is that I did check the oil before I even pulled it and it looked super clean. I have repumped the HLA's on my other EJ. Maybe Ill check them rather then them filling on their own. The gas was new I had drained the tank prior. I havent done any tune up stuff yet, when I found the oil/water I got a little frustrated and was worried my engine might be toast. I will try the seafoam the carb cleaner and letting it run. Thanks

hmm, yeah the water thing sounds bizarre, you're sure it's water and there's that much of it? not sure what to say about that, but could it just be stuff condensing and burning off from sitting for so long, i don't know?

 

you have water or antifreeze in the radiator.

 

i was talking to a good friend today about heading back to Hawaii if that's where you location implies. big island was my favorite, actually walking up to flowing lava and poking a stick in it, that was awesome. can you still do that?

if it is really water on the plug, then that cylinder is not firing. it would cook off pretty quick, wouldn't?

 

RIGHT?

 

new plugs, wires, air filter, oil and filter, check the coil, replace the fuel maybe.

 

mine made a racket when i swapped it in, after 30 months sitting. it ran ok but it made a lot of noise. i just let it idle for a long time. i had nothing to lose. the swap was done, it was going to be a good engine or it wasn't. worrying was not going to change the outcome. but revving it might.

No Im not sure its water. It was just wet and wasnt gas. Yes I have the radiator filled. I think Im going to start with the new plugs and wires, get some gas and just let it run for a while and see what happens. Many thanks for the help! Ill update my progress.

 

Yeah you can still get pretty close to see the lava but for the most part the dlnr guys are there to make sure no one gets too close. If its flowing in a more remote area you can hike in and get as close as u got the nuts for. Its an amazing place!

Thank u guys for the advise! Ok I changed the plugs/wires and ran the seafoam through. It seemed to make a small diffrence. Its still running very rough. I sprayed carb cleaner around and when I got around the drivers side rear around where the starter is, it reved a little and seemed to smooth out. So..vaccum leak? right? I looked and couldnt see anything but it does have a sucking sound from that side. Im going to look again in better light. Im going to check for anything that might be loose.