What's wrong with my 1992 Loyale? Here are the symptoms:

 

I pulled into my driveway this morning and didn't have enough power to make it the entire way up (it's less than a 6% grade). I'm very slowly losing coolant. I also noticed that I had tiny brown spots on the inside of my windshield. Brown, because I added "Bars Leaks" to stop my slow coolant loss (that was about 300 miles ago, or 1 week). The spark plugs were not wet, but they were slightly fouled. I don't have moisture on my floor, so, I'm not sure if it would be the Heater Core or not. Any help would be great. Thanks.

 

Chris.

Heater core. I know of at least one instance where a heater core went in that way - I think they leak out the A/C evaporator drain when they go. Don't use that stopleak stuff again - it will destroy your radiator and damage your engine by impeding cooling. I NEVER use it for that reason. I do not know what is causing the loss of power, could be overheated engine, or bad compression. Run a compression test, and then check the idle mixture. I'm thinking if you cooked it that there might be some block damage or a blown head gasket.

Chris have you been keeping the petrol tank more than half full?

 

H20 in the fuel filter could cause your sudden power loss.

 

Coolant leak, many ideas come to mine so you might want to have a cooling system pressure check done.

The heater core is what makes the most sense...My brother was driving at the time of failure, so I didn't check the temp gauge, but, from what I understand, overheating can cause loss of power. Correct? I started it up cold and was able to pull up the driveway. So...this leads me to think that it is the heater core that has gone bad. Thank you for your input.

Chris.

Just got to thinkin. If the heater core was bad, how involved is it to replace? I know that I have to take out the entire dash and center console. I am by no means a mechanic, though I am willing to try to replace it. By following a Haynes manual, would an average person be able to complete this? I know this is a very general question, but I really don't want to pay 56 dollars an hour for 7 hours of labor.

Chris.

when the heater core failed, you may have overheated the engine and blown out one or both of the head gaskets. the heads could have become warped enough to change the way the valves seat, causing a bad seal, that would surely explain a lack of power..so would a head gasket leak though. how does it sound while running? what color is the exhaust smoke? are you losing coolant anywhere other than the heater core? white exhaust smoke is a sure sign of an internal head gasket leak.

2 years old already? Seems like just yesterday.

 

LoyaleFan hasn't logged in since January.... I'm betting he hasn't even got a subaru anymore

 

GD