Hi all,

 

I'm hoping that someone can help me here.

This vehicle has done 307K. Timing belt has been replaced, etc. First problem has been with the car for 3 years. (frustrating)

 

First problem.. On a cold start, fires up good, drives good, but within 4 km, it starts to misfire, (dead miss) then slowly gets worse, until unable to accelerate, loses power and speed, then stalls. By the time it does stall, sounds like its on one cylinder. My son has reported seeing white smoke under the bonnet and out the back.

If you wait for 5-10 min, it will restart, misfire clears, and your good to go and won't do it again while hot.

Does not do this every day.

 

Second problem..Cooling. I'm thinking head gasket.

Short trips, no probs, gauge sits on a bit below 1/2. Long trips, gauge moves up to 3/4's, and upon pulling over you can hear the water boiling in the engine. Most times, top hose has no pressure, soft. After 5 min, hose has pressure. Coolant bottle is quite full at this stage.

Wait until cold, and coolant bottle is empty. (drawn back into the system) No obvious signs of water leak.

 

So, questions with the cooling. What symptoms does a faulty thermostat have?, and also a blocked radiator have?. Or has it done a head gasket?

 

Will eagerly await your help, thanks.

Check the water pump. When i bought my 95 impreza ej22 it had a seized water pump causing the same problem. It would idle all day til u drive then itd overheat. This blew my head gaskets

At 300k miles, I would have to guess head gaskets, the misfiring and pressure in the cooling system, and the loss of coolant all add up.

+1 on HGs.

its 300k kilometers. which is roughly 180k... maybe. install a dealer thermostat or stant xact thermostat and try again. DONT use a parts store thermostat. worst case scenario, you have peace of mind on the thermostat.

Thanks for the input guys. I think my best option would be to replace the motor. I just found a '99 EJ22 for $700. 4 months warranty.

I might do it

99 will not work, unless yours is a 99, it is a phase 2 ej22 engine.