I have an 87 subaru GL 1.8 liter non turbo 4wheel drive. I have a coolant leak that appears to be internal because I never see any coolant leaking from the engine or steaming out but after about 50 miles it starts to heat up and when I fill it up it is obvious it is low. The car is running decent, it is definately underpowered at low rpm's but it has its good old kick once it starts getting up to about 3.5 rpms. I recently had oil burning out my exhaust but that problem is gone, now it would seem that coolant is coming out the exhaust. I can deal with this leak until snowboard season but by then it must be fixed. Thank You kindly for your time.

JOe

I have an 87 subaru GL 1.8 liter non turbo 4wheel drive. I have a coolant leak that appears to be internal because I never see any coolant leaking from the engine or steaming out but after about 50 miles it starts to heat up and when I fill it up it is obvious it is low. The car is running decent, it is definately underpowered at low rpm's but it has its good old kick once it starts getting up to about 3.5 rpms. I recently had oil burning out my exhaust but that problem is gone, now it would seem that coolant is coming out the exhaust. I can deal with this leak until snowboard season but by then it must be fixed. Thank You kindly for your time.

JOe

 

You have actual COOLANT running down your exhaust? In liquid form?

 

Cracked head or bad head gasket(s)...

Sounds like the head gasket. My '85 did this -- no symptoms except the coolant was always getting low. Got to the point where I had to fill it up every 100 miles before I finally broke down and did the head gaskets. If you're lucky it could also be the intake manifold gasket I guess.

coolant does not leak out. I think its coming out because it smokes sometimes and it doesnt smell like oil. The coolant probably instantly vaporizes because the exhaust pipe is hot.

I heard if you run your car with the radiator cap off and theres no pressure it means your heads arent cracked, is this a fairly sure thing?

False; your coolant system is always under pressure reguardless of headgasket problems or not. Your water pump generates water presure. Heat generates pressure because hotter liquids expand.

 

HOpefully it's just your intake manifold gaskets. They can leak directly into your combustion chambers right where the intake manifold meets the heads.

Could this be resposible for it being underpowered? Obviously so could a cracked head. Well anyways, I will be ripping into it this weekend, cuz I have to drive to school and work this week.

Definitely not. Coolant expands and pressurizes the system as it gets hot, regardless of whether there's a headgasket problem. Just moreso if the hot exhaust and/or compressed gases are going directly into the coolant.

The engine seems more powerful at low rps when it isnt heated all the way up, could this be because the coolant is not flowing yet so it not getting into my heads and fouling up the cylinder and such?