Jellef Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Little back story on the original problem... (you can skip to my question if you want) I have an 87 rx i bought a couple months ago with 180k on it. Ran great when I was driving it home from bend, oregon to seattle. But it diddnt quite make it. I made it to vancover and the turbo stopped boosting. I was driving it kinda hard at the time on the freeway (it was fun though). I tried to rev it up again and no boost. Then, the engine overheated and blew the radiator hose. I Did a quick fix to get the hose to work again, let the car cool off and started it up again. The car ran, but a little rough. I diddn't have much of a choice, i had to try and drive it the remaining 170 miles home. I accelerated very slow being sure not to engage the turbo the whole way home. I averaged about 50 mph on the freeway. But ,It made it home to Seattle! Car still runs, but runs pretty rough. Now for my questions. What caused the initial problem on the freeway with the turbo? Is it fixable? Did i crack the heads when it overheated and blew a hose? Should i forget about my ea82T and swap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suberdave Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Jellef, sounds like you may have a slightly blown head gasket. when you put the engine under a lot of stress, it blows combustion gasses into the cooling system. at idle or under minamal load it dosen't. go get your self a combustion gas tester. they dont cost much. you put it into your radiator when the car is running and try to pull gasses through the rad cap. if the fluid turns from blue to yellow... then its head gasket time. if you drove the car 175 miles this way. and it didnt overheat under light load, i would think your heads and block are fine. but check them when you have them out... but if the car was mine. i would swap that pig out and put a real engine in there... shoot me a PM if you have any questions. im not to far away... -=Suberdave=- www.suberdave.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 it sounds like you know a thing or two about subarus? First question is, how hot did it get? if you didnt get up into the red zone.. you are probably OK on the headgasket; however, it sounds like you probably did. When mine blew, I was bubbling exhaust into the radiator (and thence out into the overflow, which was where I actually heard it) from 30 seconds after I cold started the engine, to about 2 minutes after I shut it off... compression was down to 150 on one cylinder, and at 185 on the other three. no water in oil, and only minimal contamination in the water, so I drove it for several months until it started running poorly. (In the end, that problem wasn't totally solved until I replaced my spark plugs; I do not KNOW if my head gasket was even causing my run problem.) BUT, my car is a non turbo. Just sayin, there are other ways to test for blown head gasket beyond just a test kit for the radiator; compression checkers are not expensive at harbor freight. Also, it *could* be an issue with the turbo water lines instead? Or is there a possibility that your poor run condition is from cruddy water sitting in the CTS plug or some other electrical connection under the hood? I am just brainstorming here; the headgasket is definitely going to be the primary diagnosis.. but these were some other ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellef Posted August 24, 2007 Author Share Posted August 24, 2007 Thanks for all your help. I'm going to test to see if its the head. I wish i wasn't so afraid of the EJ22T swap that I long to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik litchy Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 id try another turbo they are plentifull here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I wish i wasn't so afraid of the EJ22T swap that I long to have. How much do you mean that??? Because it REALLY isn't all that hard... Patience, knowledge, tools, the right parts, and the time and place are all you need. The knowledge is here; you have to take time and read alot, read other peoples experiences, read stories and see what people do wrong. The easiest way to cover all bases would be to have a complete donor vehicle. The fact that the adapter plate is needed to bolt the EJ engine to the EA trans is a godsend because it fills a gap between the EJ mounted in the GL/loyale engine bay, and the EA trans. The input shaft length is also different by this length; IIRC; I haven't done it but I have read what others have done,* so I may get a few details wrong, but the specifics are out there. Anyhow, all you are changing is the complete engine with its accessories and control system; Your car has all of this already (an engine and a control system) so it will be relatively easy to splice the wires that plug into the EJ onto the wires already built in your car, adding new ones where necessary. It is done by many, and every mistake gets figured out in the end. Some people have "nightmares" in the process, but they are almost ALL simple, stupid little things. Fuji knows I understand THAT kind of issue. *(2,700? posts in a just over a year has NOT been frivolous by any means; I am not a post whore, I just like it here ALOT, heh) So think it over, but more importantly while you're thinking it over read alot about it. Search for things about it and look alot in the retrofitting forum... and before you know it, you will start thinking of it as easier and easier, the more time passes. Cars really aren't that complex; the key lies in breaking your vision of a car down into visions of the individual systems and subsystems that make the car work. You need to understand how these subsystems interact (having an OHC engine has only the most abstract impact on whether or not you have independent rear suspension, but it makes a WORLD of difference when it comes to valve timing components) and you need to understand the subsystems themselves. My Subaru taught me that; before I got it I couldn't see the trees for the forest.... and now I can understand it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellef Posted August 25, 2007 Author Share Posted August 25, 2007 Thank you for your encouragement. Im thinking baby steps, or at least no leaps yet. This is for a RX rally beater. Im thinking ill swap in another ea82T, learn from that experience (my first swap:) ). Then after mercilessly beating that engine into submission, ill do an ej22T:grin: I think i found a ea82T and im excited to begin my first swap in the next couple weeks. Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Thank you for your encouragement. Im thinking baby steps, or at least no leaps yet. This is for a RX rally beater. Im thinking ill swap in another ea82T, learn from that experience (my first swap:) ). Then after mercilessly beating that engine into submission, ill do an ej22T:grin: I think i found a ea82T and im excited to begin my first swap in the next couple weeks. Wish me luck! Yarrrrrr!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 EJ anything > EA anything. Even if you swap in a EJ22D N/A it will still be a huge improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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