blatantb Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 (edited) So I'm back in Montana for a couple of weeks and I took my car in for a set of tires and an alignment. When I got it back they guy tells me that I have an external leak coming from the headgasket. He showed me where (though it wasn't leaking then) and he said it wasn't coming from anywhere else above it. By the time I got it home the system pressurized and sure enough it had a pretty steady drip coming from the bottom of the head right along where the headgasket is (on the driver's side). I CAN tell that it is seeping down from somewhere above, but I can't tell from where. When its leaking there is a wet slick coming down the gasket seam and I can tell that its dripping up above (from the light reflecting off the drips) and when its dry you can see white residue running down from above. So, I'm pretty sure its not actually a headgasket problem but is probably a leaky hose or something. I can't tell if it could be coming from the water pump or the intake manifold. Would either of these be likely in this area? I found a post by GD earlier where he said he's never seen a headgasket leaking externally. Oh yeah and its an 87 GL 1.8 wagon with AT, AC and less than 100k. No smoke or steam from the exaust and the shop said I didn't have any coolant in my oil. I just installed a new radiator, thermostat, rad hoses, the heater hoses are only a couple of years old. I had to disconnect the hose right behind the ps pump so I could replace the ps bracket but that doesn't seem to be leaking. I'm thinking I'll just watch the coolant level till I get it back to boise where I can tear into it but its a 500 mile drive so I'd like to make sure its not something more serious. Thank you! Edited August 20, 2010 by blatantb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blatantb Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 EA82 engine by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 It could be any number of things. I would either guess a leaky hose up under the intake or an intake gasket from my previous EA82's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Yeah - leaky heater core hose or manifold hose or leaking manifold gaskets would be my first suspect. The only time I've ever heard of an external coolant leak on an EA head gasket was when someone used copper head gaskets. These just don't generally fail in that way. It's possible but experience indicates it's VERY rare - so much so I've never heard of it or seen it. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blatantb Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 Thanks guys. I can't really see anything down in that area so it'll just have to wait till I get back I suppose. Britton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 Yeah - leaky heater core hose or manifold hose or leaking manifold gaskets would be my first suspect. The only time I've ever heard of an external coolant leak on an EA head gasket was when someone used copper head gaskets. These just don't generally fail in that way. It's possible but experience indicates it's VERY rare - so much so I've never heard of it or seen it. GD ..learning something new again..I have always thought the "external" leaks were the norm and find your experience interesting and certainly most timely..the 2 mid '80 subarus that I have driven over the last 20 yrs have both once developed external leaks and adding a stop leak took care of it for a long time...just having finished the spfi conversion and thinking all is good, then yesterday, apon starting the car I noticed some white exhaust smoke which never disappeared..its got to be internal since no coolant can be found leaking, plus now, the car is running rough and the 2 spark plugs on the drivers side are too dark in color, and no coolant is going into the overflow container no matter how hot it gets..what I find confusing is that the temp gauge does not go more then the normal half way mark even after extended idleing..the compression gauge reads 160-163 psi for all 4 cyls...I learned my lesson a long time ago, "not" to use the fel-pro manifold gaskets..so OEM manif. where used...is there a way to test, if just by some chance the manifold gasket is leaking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 ..learning something new again..I have always thought the "external" leaks were the norm and find your experience interesting and certainly most timely..the 2 mid '80 subarus that I have driven over the last 20 yrs have both once developed external leaks and adding a stop leak took care of it for a long time... Experience with the phase-II EJ25 head gaskets would seem to agree - the stop leak works great on head gaskets that are only leaking externally. I have the Subaru stop leak in a Forester with 238k on it and it stopped the RIVER of coolant that was pouring out of the driver's side head gasket. I just haven't seen an external leak on an EA. I've done plenty of head gaskets on EA's, but it's always been an internal leak with no outward signs. just having finished the spfi conversion and thinking all is good, then yesterday, apon starting the car I noticed some white exhaust smoke which never disappeared..its got to be internal since no coolant can be found leaking, plus now, the car is running rough and the 2 spark plugs on the drivers side are too dark in color, and no coolant is going into the overflow container no matter how hot it gets..what I find confusing is that the temp gauge does not go more then the normal half way mark even after extended idleing..the compression gauge reads 160-163 psi for all 4 cyls...I learned my lesson a long time ago, "not" to use the fel-pro manifold gaskets..so OEM manif. where used...is there a way to test, if just by some chance the manifold gasket is leaking... Sadly I don't know of any way to tell. But on the bright side you have to remove the manifold for the head gaskets anyway - so perhaps you get a little surprise and find the manifold gasket didn't seal. Hard to see that happeneing with properly prepped surfaces and bolt torque - the OEM gaskets are really excelent and not known for leaking. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 Experience with the phase-II EJ25 head gaskets would seem to agree - the stop leak works great on head gaskets that are only leaking externally. I have the Subaru stop leak in a Forester with 238k on it and it stopped the RIVER of coolant that was pouring out of the driver's side head gasket. I just haven't seen an external leak on an EA. I've done plenty of head gaskets on EA's, but it's always been an internal leak with no outward signs. Sadly I don't know of any way to tell. But on the bright side you have to remove the manifold for the head gaskets anyway - so perhaps you get a little surprise and find the manifold gasket didn't seal. Hard to see that happeneing with properly prepped surfaces and bolt torque - the OEM gaskets are really excelent and not known for leaking. GD GD...I am seeking your best guesstimate..the manifold gaskets were dry on both sides...took off the heads and the gaskets look good, even under a magnifying glass, with no signs of water anywhere..Since both plugs were carboned up on one side, I thought at least I would find some crack or tear in the middle of the gasket or a part of the gasket that is close to both cylinders...I have seen few other blown subi headgaskets and each one showed evidence of coolant leakage...got a call from the machine shop and was told that one head has a very fine crack (hairline) and is of course considered normal,..but the other side has a crack that is wider (slightly open).. also, this is the head that was on the same side that had the darker plugs (is this just a coincidence?)...the machine shop has no experience with subi heads to do any testing or giving any advice beyond what has been said here..I appreciated there honesty because most other places would have just milled them and sent me on my way...(I have had that happen to me already)..before doing this FI conversion, testing and monitoring of the coolant was done, and obviously things don't work out as planned...any thoughts?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horton316 Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 if the machine shop can repair the cracks in the cyl heads by all means do it, white smoke only means one thing coolant burning, so by fixing the cracks and new gaskets all possible causes have been taken care of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Most likely it is the heater core hose that runs under the power steering unit. Very easy fix, but a *************** to get to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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