gbarkman Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 Greetings. I am new to the forum and relatively new to Subaru. A few months ago my 18 year old son and I became the proud owners of 2 Subarus--one of them a 1987 turbo 4WD GL10 wagon (MPFI)-- a fairly high mileage car that has some rust on it but my son loves it, especially since we live up in the Inland NW, and we enjoy working on it together. A few days ago my son was on his way home when the car quit. We pulled it into the garage and checked for the obvious. When we checked for spark, there was none. I also noted that after a fair bit of cranking there was no indication of any fuel (wetness) on the spark plugs. I have a Haynes repair manual and have used that to do some troubleshooting. The coil checks out ok and there is battery voltage at the coil. However I don't have any spark generating, even right out of the coil. So I went to a local salvage yard and picked up a new distributor unit. The distributor is a crank angle distributor (no vacuum advance). My vehicle is a turbo but the distributor I picked up is out of a non-turbo vehicle with a slightly different part number. On-line it looks like the 2 part numbers cross reference. I installed the distributor and timed to #1 cyl. Still no spark. I also just noticed that I do not have much fuel pressure to the fuel filter. I hear the fuel pump kick in momentarily when I turn the ignition on but I only get one shot of fuel when I crank and then no more--not sure if that is another problem or related. I checked the ECM for any fault codes but unfortunately during this process the battery went dead so I disconnected the battery leads to clean them before charging the battery--all that to say is that I canceled any codes that might have been stored. Does anyone out there have any ideas or past experience with something similar? I sure would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks in advance! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 ... Does anyone out there have any ideas or past experience with something similar? ... Yes. ... I also just noticed that I do not have much fuel pressure to the fuel filter. I hear the fuel pump kick in momentarily when I turn the ignition on but I only get one shot of fuel when I crank and then no more--not sure if that is another problem or related. ... Nope, it sounds Normal, if you consider this: Remember that the Power for the fuel Pump is cut off, if the engine does not run; so there will be Power on the wiring for the fuel Pump, only few seconds after turning the key to the "ON" position. That's a safety measurement; so the pump stops if the engine doesn't run, to avoid a fire / explosion in case of a Crash or a Rollover... ... A few days ago my son was on his way home when the car quit. We pulled it into the garage and checked for the obvious... Two basic things comes to my mind, that often get overlooked: ► Timing Belts and ► Fusible Links. I kindly suggest you to verify the current state of those two things, as a start point; one of the timing belts on the EA82 engine, also drives the gear to make the distributor's Rotor to spin, so it worth check if it spins when you crank the car with the distributor, open. If not, the driver's side timing belt has snapped; but if it spins, you need to check the passenger's side timing belt to be sure it hadn't snapped. The Fusible Links are located inside the Black Box, over the coolant overflow tank, near to the battery; often they gets rusty to the point that they looks alright, but only low voltage / amperage to gets thru them; worth checking them, cleansing their contacts. Let us know the Results; Kind Regards. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 Broken drivers side timing belt. Watch the distributor rotor while cranking. Bet it doesn't spin. GD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 1st thing to check is timing belt, like GD wrote. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 please quote the part numbers of the dstributors stamped into their sides starting 22100AA then the three digits - starts to help us understand These dizzys have two optical sensor circuits inside, one reads the cylinder positions with the four almost same size slots , #1 is longer ?. On the outer rim of the disc is 360 (or 180 - never counted them ) fine holes - think these help regulate when to squirt the juice. If the trouble is with your sons, can you just leave out reference to your other one, confuses my brain a bit or at least state which is which ? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 Once you get this home there is a list of stuff to check and replace for preventative maintenance on these old girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbarkman Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 Thanks all for your replies! I just checked the distributor rotor while cranking. It doesn't move. Sounds like the driver side timing belt is broken. We'll get on it in the morning and let you all know how it turns out. Much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 Good. You'll need 2 belts, and all 3 idlers. Don't get the cheapest ones, get good ones. No worries of engine damage. Once you have it running again, be very watchful of coolant level while reconditioning and checking everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 Top marks to those who said timing belt. Dunno what a record is for life of timing belts on our subes but know of some 80'smazdas with 250,000 km, smothered in oil and still they go! You will appreciate the smarts of Fuji for the timing belt to stop driving the engine when belt snaps. No spark ! Only in some modified ea82 do valves touch pistons on these occasions. The ea82 is known as a free spinner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbarkman Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 Thanks a bunch for all the good advice. Do you all suggest I also change the water pump while I am at? On a scale of 1 to 10 how important would that be. On another note, I have been consistently losing coolant but do not see evidence of an external leak. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 Sounds like a blown head gasket or a crack in the head between the valves on at least one cylinder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 It's well past the time and miles for a reseal. Coolant can dissappear without a trace a few ways. Small leak on block or radiator that evaporates fast enough to not leave noticable wetness. Intake manifold gaskets or throttle body seal. Headgaskets beginning to fail. Cracked head is less common but can happen also. Running these with anything more than a very small amount of air in the cooling system is bad for the headgaskets. Do not use the temperature gauge as a coolant level checker. It's too late then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 Very likely to be a HG problem on that engine. That and cracked heads are pretty much the reason you almost never see those (running) anymore. Too expensive to repair and no parts available to do it right. GD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobiedubie Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Subaru still has a couple of new GL10 cylinders heads. There is one GL10 in Sherwood Pick-N-Pull with Gen 1 cylinder heads. But the coolant leak is commonly attributed to loose cylinder head bolts, or loose intake manifold bolts. If you have a crusty residue accumulating under the radiator cap, then your cylinder head gasket is probably disintegrating. If you clean off the bottoms of the cylinder head gaskets and run the engine for a week or so, a coolant leak out the cylinder head gasket may show up as a green stain (assuming green coolant) on the bottom of the cylinder head. This is caused by loose cylinder head bolts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 after 10 EA82 strip downs never found a blown head gasket. Must be all that asbestos in them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 There's blown, and there's failing. The ones that are just starting to leak through the fire ring are almost impossible to see, but after replacement, bubbles in the radiator stop, and coolant stops dissappearing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbarkman Posted December 27, 2017 Author Share Posted December 27, 2017 Thanks to all of you for the good input on the coolant leak. I am just getting back at the project after a good Christmas and will check it out. Thank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbarkman Posted December 27, 2017 Author Share Posted December 27, 2017 So... we just got at the driver's side timing belt which failed. The belt on the passenger side and the tensioner look great. However the tensioner on the driver's side seized (I can't turn it at all and it looks like it overheated) so it looks like the timing belt got hot as it was "drug over" the seized tensioner until it failed. So its of to buy some parts and then reassembly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 when you get to do up the bolts holding the timing belt idlers they really arent tensioners as such coz we have to adjust and lock them in place. The two bolts each into the front of the block have a low torque setting. Observe that setting....with a torque wrench Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbarkman Posted December 28, 2017 Author Share Posted December 28, 2017 Thanks for the heads up. I will be sure to torque them to the proper torque Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 Yes, and replace both belts and all 3 idlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbarkman Posted December 29, 2017 Author Share Posted December 29, 2017 So we replaced the timing belts etc and timed them as per our Haynes manual--the marks on the camshaft gears aligned with the marks on the inner belt covers with the middle valve timing mark on flywheel (I believe these are the 3 marks on the flywheel spaced about ⅛" apart with no numerical markings) aligned with the pointer on the bell housing. Then I timed the distributor to TDC (according to the timing marks on the flywheel) with #1 cylinder (front passenger side cylinder) on compression stroke. So far so good. However I can't get the car to start--it almost started once but sounds like something may not be timed quite right. We do have spark. Any ideas of what I should check next? Sure appreciate all the good input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 A key steps - Align 1 belt. Set the idler. Rotate the crank 1 full rotation, back to the center of the 3 marks. Then install the second belt. Set the idler. Doing it this way use the timing marks on the top of the rear timing belt covers. Factory procedure. I use a torque wrench to set the tension as per the FSM. After this, I like to turn the engine by hand several revolutions, to let the belts walk to where they prefer to run. Re check the tension, with the timing mark for the belt being checked at it's timing position. Do 2nd belt. Run for 30 seconds. Lets the belts walk, and check for rubbing. Re check re tension again. Finish assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Sounds like you found the " timing belt install marks" look like lll. Best not to call them timing marks to avoid confusion with ignition timing scale. But yeah, as pointed out above did you give it all one full clockwise turn before next belt? This procedure can get the dizzy out 180 degrees depending on where can was to start with. Number one should be closest to firewall when 8* btdc is under pointer and rotor pointing close to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbarkman Posted December 30, 2017 Author Share Posted December 30, 2017 I missed that step--turning it one full turn before timing the second belt. Did that and it worked great. Thanks! 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.