Firemanjim Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I just picked up a 1991 Loyale ,was told the motor was rebuilt 2 years ago.Guy was driving it and it simply overheated,he pulled over and towed it to a local Subaru performance shop here in Florida.I picked it up and about to tear into it.How likely is it that it just needs a simple regasket/reveal and I'm back on the road,oil is brown not milky.Should I just snatch it and pop it apart? Get heads checked ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 On all the GL's that I resealed in the past I just took out the engine, took of the heads, inspected them for cracks / warping, (never had to do any machine work), put in new head gaskets, all oil seals, water pump, and timing kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I guess it would depend on how hot it got, how long. I've done the reseal only job a few times. One I should have gone further possibly. It was a long time ago, the car my wife usually drove. IT ran great after, the connecting rod bearings were a little worn, but not bad or damaged, still in spec. But I didn't hone the cylinders when I put the pistons back in. It burned oil like mad. like a quart per tank of gas mad. IT was however, run over temp an unknown number of times, and I discovered the problem when I took it for a drive and it went over normal - while 1 gallon low on coolant. IT also was run by me for a number of 30 minute trips on the highway with 50/50 mix of water and synthetic oil in the crankcase before the reseal. So I don't know for sure what caused the oil burning - the overheating, the removing the pistons, thus moving the rings from their set positions, or the water mixed with oil on the highway running. I ran the engine like that for years, running all my waste oil mixed with the cheapest new oil I could find, and only gave up on it when one of the heads cracked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemanjim Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Seem to be tough little motors from what I hear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Dawg Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 (edited) I borrowed out my ea82.. got it back with a blown intake and head gasket.. it was pushing exhaust into the cooling system... they had it for the entire month of July 2 years ago.. they ran straight water for coolant.. Whereas for me I drove it to work to find out I had a major problem... 17 miles to work and then 17 miles home 17+17 = 34ish miles on blazing pegged redhot!! I sanded by hand the heads and replaced the head gaskets, flushed cooling system and put in a new radiator... new oem thermostat,still have the Dawgmobile... I will Never! Borrow my car out to anyone ever again! now matter how long if known them!! Very very tough motor!! Still rolling at 283,000 miles and still get about 25 mpg And again thanks for help of the members here Dave T/ Grossgary and a few others... Here's my story... - -> http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/155547-my-compression-test-resultsea82/?do=findComment&comment=1332752 Edited January 6, 2017 by Len Dawg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemanjim Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Best place to get gaskets ?cant find OEM anywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Fel Pro have a good reputation in general on here, I've had good luck with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemanjim Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Looking for a source Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Any Suby dealer should have OEM. http://1stsubaruparts.com/oemparts/subaru-1994/gasket_cylinder_head_11044AA013.html Any local parts house should be able to get Felpros or there is Rockauto etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 You are looking for Fel Pro number HS 9392 PT-2 and CS 9390 for the conversion kit. Amazon and a lot of other places sell them online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Why not diagnose it first? thermostat, radiator, coolant leak, intake gasket leaks? maybe the headgaskets are fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemanjim Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) Already tore down,very reputable shop already did the diagnosing,customer didn't want to fix so I bought it Edited January 17, 2017 by Firemanjim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemanjim Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) just ordered the conversion kit. Edited January 17, 2017 by Firemanjim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 If it overheated due to a coolant leak and then blew the headgasket - that seems more causative and maybe a better fit for rebuild. Resurface the heads. If it blew a headgasket for no reason, id have more questions. Why did it blow? Why was the engine rebuilt the first time 2 years ago (overheating, oil starvation?). It was possibly poorly maintained or in poor condition to require a rebuild and then that repair didn't work. Not quite warm fuzzies for a rebuild. still a good chance of success it's just not anywhere near 100%. What caused the overheating, what kind of headgasket failure was it and what brand headgaskets were used the first time ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) Duplicate Edited January 17, 2017 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Google Amazon eBay parts stores online will show those part numbers and what they contain The FSM is available at subaruxt.com for free download if you don't already have it. I highly recommend having that for now and later. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemanjim Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Was told it ran hot , happened about 6months ago and don't have a ton of history on it ,oil wasn't milky and looks great inside,turns smooth and no scaring of the cylinder walls,sometimes you'll see a "super" clean piston top from the water basically steam cleaning the top of the piston,I didn't see any of that and really could not pinpoint where the head gaskets seemed to fail. Gonna have the heads looked at and reseal it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 great, those are good signs. i'd replace the thermostat with OEM (the difference is visually astounding). I'd just assume the shop misdiagnosed it, pretty common on older subaru's. once you hit 10+ years it's fairly common to be given ominous reports and diagnosis without compelling reason and often ends up not being the case. Not because they're ill intended but largely just how the market is driven right now. my friend was told she needed a new car and had major engine issues a few months ago. she drove 6 hours so i could fix it for $80. that's not at all uncommon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.