CzarMohab Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I have a huge laundry list of tiny little things that, after doing some research, seem to be common to the older Subarus so at least in that I know I am not alone. Most of the things are small, and I could probably figure it out on my own, but I really, really need to know two things: Where is my coolant going? and why does it take so long to spray from the rear washer? I don't know much about the history of the car, and I am still learning about what engine is which. I know from my own experience that it is an EA82 (nifty that they stamped that out for me where I could see it), turbo, throttle body fuel injection, but thats mostly about it that I know off hand. I do know that the engine is not the original, but as to if it was new or rebuild, I do not know. On to the problem with the coolant, shall we? When I bought the car, it had no heat. So, I figured, easy enough, flush and fill... and it worked... for about 2 days, when I had to refill the radiator and the reservoir bottle. Tracing a reverse line from a puddle I found a pinhole leak in the thermostat housing seal, so i removed that to find *DUN DAH DUN* no thermostat. Lucky me, there was a spare, new in box, with gasket and sealant, ready to go. so in it went and there were no problems anymore from the thermostat area. The leak, however, was still there. When the cooling hose to the turbo blew, I wasn't really surprised, and I happened to have a spare hose in the back and on the side of the freeway in the rain, I "upgraded" the hose, and filled the radiator, but still somewhere there is a leak. I've tightened everything I can think of, checked hoses I didn't even know existed, and even put in stop leak... the only thing now is that there is no more puddles and no real warning, just the heater goes cold and I know its time to refill the system. I can usually hear the air flow through the heater on the coolant side when I first start up and whenever RPMs get high. Any thoughts? As to my other "irk"... I love being able to wash my rear window from the driver's seat. I don't like waiting 2 minutes to see water flow from the nozzle. Its a strong stream when it gets there and the bottle is full... Is it possible that there is a leak in the tube? Until i figure out how to make it say my car and not "I love my subaru" I guess I'll have to keep putting this down: Its an 86 GL-10 Turbo 4WD Wagon. And yes, since day one, I've loved my Subaru, its just a big pain somedays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 The simple one first. You probably need a new washer pump motor. Now the harder one. The missing T-stat is telling. The water consumption may not be a external leak. You can be burning the coolant. You need to do a compression test to see if it is a HG or not. There are a few places that you can leak and not be HG, nor leave a puddle. You can get the cooling system pressure tested to check for leaks, but i think we know the coolant is going someplace. The Tstate was removed cause the previous owner had a prblem with the car running hot. That can be a bad radiator, or the Hg, or coolant leak some-place-else. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 For the sprayer you can check the function of the little one way valve in the filler tube, about 10 inches up the hose to sprayer from resevior(rear left quarter). It's probably just stuck or corroded. Pumps working cause it sprays after a minute or two. As far as coolant leaks. does it smoke at all? What's the condition of the heater hoses? when they leak it's ussually as steam while because they are about the highest point in the system, and it ussually shows very subtle or no external signs. Check those hoses and clamps real good. Do(or get done) a compression test, or a cylinder leakdown test. That will tell you if you've got a blown HG. If Compression is good, and really no external leaks, then you may have cracks in the exhaust ports of you're heads. Ussually this is accompanied by smoke but not always. If you pull the exhaust pipe off the back of the turbo, and the wastegate area looks foggy brownish grey that can be a sign of coolant in the exhaust. Could go one further and pull the uppipe/crossover and look up in the exhaust ports of heads. Check the edges where the wall across the middle meets each side. This pic shows one of the cracks. they can crack at the other edge too.(not visible) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CzarMohab Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Ok for the rear washer check the check valve in the tubing and check the pump... Didn't realize that it had a check valve but I guess that makes sense. As to the other... It doesn't smoke, steam, or have bad hoses, in fact the only bad one blew before I could get it swapped anyway... There might be an unseen hose clamp somewheres, and I'll look into that. What other indicators are there of a blown HG? I know that there is an occasional (once every 1000 miles or so, and for about 20-40 minutes when warmed up) super annoying tick-tick-tick that goes fast/slow with RMPs... Even with coolant low its never run hot ( I caught the blown hose in time so there wasn't time to hurt the car) ... I just can't afford to keep feeding it 50/50 when I know its getting pee'd out someplace, and plain water can only be good for so long... Thanks for the suggestions, i will look into what I can and let y'all know what comes of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Have you discovered the cleverly hidden water pump outlet, and its FANTASTICALLY idiotic weak point in the design? the pump outputs into a steel (?) pipe that fits snugly in and seals with an o-ring, and THAT goes up to underneath your alternator, and back into the rest of everything that way.. I ask because this is one possible place for a leak to occur and get missed. IF you do have a blown headgasket, do not let yourself get intimidated by that task!! I have never really felt too overwhelmed by any project my series of old cars has thrown at me; but my recent head job was the first MAJOR engine work I have ever had to do and it took me all of two days work. One easy day for disassembly; a couple days between for cleaning and machining, and one easy day re-assembly and timing. It fired up on the first shot. Now granted, I have a non-turbo so it *is* a tad simpler, but not incredibly so. What does the radiator look like? Is it nice, brand new and shiny; is it just kinda, stockish; or is it all old, foul and nasty? An Old, Nasty radiator or a New, Shiny one could also be signs of recent cooling issues. It sounds like the hoses were a mess. I say this because I am thinking, along with others here, that these things plus the missing thermostat are indicative of previous cooling problems, a la blown headgasket; and the turbo cars as well as non-turbo do NOT like being overheated even once, even mildly, once they get six digits on the odometer. Naturally (no pun intended) the turbo cars will have more of a tendency to do so. This forum can be one of your greatest tools, believe me. Nothing helps solve your problem more than 1260 other active members (20,000 total) thinking about it to help you out. USMB ROCKS!! Seriously, the tools are the greatest obstacle in the headgasket job; it has been done enough that we can all point you in the right directions regarding parts, what to do, FSM (if you want it clicky) and how to deal with what problems arise ("Oh no!! Theres cracks between the valves!!" ) on the other hand, just in case its NOT a headgasket, one good idea for finding a leak is to let it get good and hot, at night, and get a laser pointer to see if you can find any steam. Hopefully you find something short of a head gasket to fix your car, but like I said, the job isn't that major. My guess is that if you have the tools, its well within your grasp. You CAN do it without removing the engine from the car, if you have a ratcheting box end wrench. The one I used came from harbor freight and its part of a $15 set, worth paying to use it once. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickedy Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hmm, that sounds exactly like my problems 1.5 years ago. When you can't find any leaks and blow one hose after another, than it's most likely something engien related (head gasket or crack in the head). To be honest, it would be easier to insert a new engine instead of rebuilding it. Money is the other point... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Turbo and SPFI? Was this normal in 1986, or is this some kind of Frankensube? I thought turbos were all multipoint injection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hmm, that sounds exactly like my problems 1.5 years ago. When you can't find any leaks and blow one hose after another, than it's most likely something engien related (head gasket or crack in the head). To be honest, it would be easier to insert a new engine instead of rebuilding it. Money is the other point... New engines are very expensive. And used Turbo motors are just as questionable. I am coming to believe rebuilding them is the only way to be assured they are good. Surface the heads and block. Get any cracks in the exhaust valves welded. Split the case and fit new bearings. Install new rings. Good to go. If you want to spend more money and can find them you could fit new pistons and bore over. But you probably don't need to. Heck justy having the heads welded if they are cracked and resealing it is probably all you need. Except what is the condition of the turbo if it's been overheated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeshoup Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Turbo and SPFI? Was this normal in 1986, or is this some kind of Frankensube? I thought turbos were all multipoint injection. They are all MPFI. Its either a swap, or an incorrect determination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickedy Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I didn't mean new = unused but new = other/used. But you're right: If you buy the engine or a donor car, you don't really know how fit the engine is, especially if it's a Turbo... Hmm, but rebuilding? Is that so easy? I guess you need some good skills for making this. I haven't done this by myself, yet, so it's only a guess. But if it's such a recommendation, perhaps someone should writte an article for the USRM, what to do, what to take care of and so on. Just an idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CzarMohab Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Interesting enough... I'll have to find this new magical hose/pump/wonderful idea... I was under the impression that Throttle Body Fuel Injection was the one that looks kinda like a carb, but isn't; a big open tube on top with a butterfly valve in there... I know its not a carb, that much is for sure. And as for a Frankensube... wouldn't surprise me at all. edit #1 ---> "all turbocharged models have MPFI" says the haynes manual. I still like the Frankensube idea though edit #2 ---> It was more difficult to find, but now I know where the rear washer tubing check valve is, how crudded up it was, and how easy it was to clean... It doesn't prevent back flow but it allows enough flow that I now get a spray that can soak the cars that tailgate! Time to go get dirty! Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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