91 Legacy EJ2.2 scrap or salvage?

[81EA81]

I finally picked up a 1st gen legacy sedan! Under the condition the car will overheat after 15 minutes of drive time.

P.O. said water pump and radiator were replaced last fall but still overheats,been sitting since then.

 

I was hoping for the best and figured it had an air pocket stuck in the cooling system.

After a quick check of fluids and a battery,she fired right up. The EJ sounded smooth.I checked the tires, newer federal formozas all the way around. Convenient!

 

I didnt give too muck of a codswallop at that point, I offered him $300. He said thats exactly what he was hoping for! COOL! title signed! keys in hand! Que empty wallet!

 

I proceeded to make a plan with a friend of mine, I gave him the keys to my EA82, and told him to follow closely.

The fellow interrupted me to say "the tabs are expired,you are aware? I would recommend trailing it." 

 

Its no biggie to me, I had faith I would make the 15-20 mile trip home. So off I went. 

Of course it was dark and raining, a perfect time to inspect and drive an unfamiliar car.

 

I DID NOT EXPECT A POWERHOUSE!!!!!!!!! WOAH DOGGY!!!!!  DO NOT DRIVE A 5 SPEED EJ22  LIKE ITS YOUR OLD EA82!

 

Lets just say my friend couldnt follow closely,.I know I should take it easy on a new car but wow! 3K rpm launches! casually hitting 80mph.  WTF!OOPS!

Im glad I made it home trouble free. the car never got hot running it like I did , even sitting at long red lights. I now understand the love for an EJ!! And fuel injection!!!

 

Anyway,the next day I drained filled and burped the neglected cooling system and went for a drive. She codswalloping got hot after about 20 minutes of cruising

 

For knowledge sake I decided I would remove the engine from the car and inspect it. It appears the cooling system was constantly topped off with just plain ol water,leaving mineral deposits through out.

 

Next I pulled the heads off just to see. Here is where my concern arises. It appears the coolant had become caustic and ate away some of the aluminum around the cylinder cast.

 

Does this look like it will reseal o.k? Should I spent the money on gaskets?  Or scrap the block and pick up an other at the junk yard?

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

[86BRATMAN]

Slap some headgaskets on there and run it. I highly doubt that antifreeze ate that spot in the block, it's most likely a casting flaw, make sure it's smooth and that the heads are flat. I've seen worse run for years.

[idosubaru]

i've seen that before. on engines that are run awhile with bad headgaskets the metal wears away like that, with a divot that looks just like that where the gasket breech is.  i'm not sure why, i assume it's localized overheating that's partially to blame.

 

i ran one of the motors like this, but it was 10 years ago and i can't recall how bad it was compared to yours.

 

first step is to overlay a gasket on the block and see where your fire ring lands.  it looks like it's mostly clear since the fire ring sits right on the bore, but if the fire ring is on that spot it's probably not going to hold.

 

another option would be to take it to a machine shop and have them fill it with weld.  not sure if there's a risk of localized overheating/distortion of the sleeve or anything but i would assume it's okay and it's already been locally compromised.

 

if you're buying a $300 because of budget constraints then you might consider putting an EJ18 in it, those are easily found and cheap because there's zero demand. your EJ22 intake manifold will bolt right on top of the EJ18.  if that's a dual port EJ22 then the exhaust bolts up, if it's not (all 96 and up EJ22's are single) then you'll need a dual port EJ18 exhaust manifold too.

[Quidam]

 

Looks to me like neglect of the cooling system played it's part in this.

[81EA81]

Thank you all for the feedback. Good info about the intake to a 1.8. I would bet the engine will reseal however I overlayed the firing ring and It has little comfort room to provide a quality seal.

 

Over the weekend a 92 Legacy 2.2 auto wagon showed up in the junkyard. The car was untouched, just minor damage to the pass control arm and fender.

It appeared to be intact under the hood so I decided I would pull the engine. I grabbed just the long block for $105 seeing as I already have a good intake,p/s pump,alt ..ect

 

I was very hesetant about dropping and unknown engine in my car and spending the money on clean oil and coolant to test fire, but guess what! The engine fired right up with the slightest bump of the key.

IT WAS TOO EASY!!I AM EXCITED!! I have lots to learn about the new platform!! Ive burped the cooling system and I ran about 80 miles, so far so good. 

 

I wish I knew for a fact the engine was good cause I know I saw leakage at the coolant crossover and possibly the rear main. I find it funny, the car has 215,000 miles, yet the engine have 256,000 miles.

So Im in to the car $450 total including a tube of "the right stuff". She still needs a basic tune up and alot of body work but all in all it have been a blast just working on the damn thing. 

 

I need to set this one aside so I can finish my EA81.

 

Thank you.