January 21, 200818 yr SO I bought this 1987 Subaru RX for $400 and used about $200 in gas getting the thing and dropping it off at my garage. The intake manifold has a blown gasket somewhere... the thing smokes like no tomorrow but only once it warms up. I only have 1 day a week to really work on this thing, that is saturday. I have tags for it, and jsut bought new tires. Should I sell it or can someone help me out here.
January 21, 200818 yr looks like a nice ride. may be worth putting some time and money into... -=Suberdave=- http://www.suberdave.com
January 21, 200818 yr leaking intake? yeah, you definately neeed to get rid of it. it would be a really good idea to just ship it to me j/k no, that's pretty easy to fix...looks like you got a really sweet RX there for a hell of a deal. just about any money you put into it, you're still coming out on top, paying that little. ~Erik~
January 21, 200818 yr Do the basic diagnostics like Compression Testing it. What kind of smoke? Is it white? White is steam, gray-black is oil. Take the down pipe off the turbo and check for turbine shaft play. If the results from the compression test are good, replace the intake gaskets...OEM of course. Once the gaskets are replaced and if it doesn't blow anymore steam do a tune up: Timing belts and components, spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor, thermostat, maybe a coil (money allowing for any of those). That's a nice car, I paid $400 for my RX and I had to reseal the whole engine and it's an 4eat.
January 21, 200818 yr the problem being that one of the manifold bolts broke off at the ehad, the one on the passengerside next to the coolant passage, and the manifold will not budge at all, at elast from when i was there to try to help. its like the coolant has leaked past the gasket there and cemented the manifold to the bolt, or whats left of it. the local subaru shop i go to when i am stuck said that we need to keep spraying it with something like pb blaster and try to rotate the manifold around the bolt. anyone else have any ideas?
January 21, 200818 yr the problem being that one of the manifold bolts broke off at the ehad, the one on the passengerside next to the coolant passage, and the manifold will not budge at all, at elast from when i was there to try to help. its like the coolant has leaked past the gasket there and cemented the manifold to the bolt, or whats left of it. the local subaru shop i go to when i am stuck said that we need to keep spraying it with something like pb blaster and try to rotate the manifold around the bolt. anyone else have any ideas? Engine still in the car? I had this problem twice, once in the car, once out. Having it out was a lot easier. Take one side off then take the head off that's still attached and rotate the head. In the car, takes two people. One person is pulling up on the manifold while the other is moving it side to side. Soaking it with PB.
January 21, 200818 yr Intake manifold is not bad if you take your time and doing the appropriate steps. PB Blaster is your friend on the bolts. When getting replacement gaskets, I cannot stress to you the importance of buying dealer gaskets. I have a picture of where some idiot used the make your own gasket crap and what it looks like after a year or so of use.
January 21, 200818 yr I trick I have used is to strap the intake close to the broken bolt. Use an engine crane to lift - not off the ground but put some weight on the crane. Liberal app of PB followed by some raps on the bolt with a punch equal in dia. to the bolt. (another bolt will do) You do not want to mushroom the broken bolt. Let sit in the hung position come back next Sat. and try again. Hope this helps, nice looking RX (it wasn't Kevins was it?)
January 23, 200818 yr Author Ill try the engine lift idea this weekend. It was some guy named Pete in PA's. Said he bought it from his dad. Hadnt ran in a year and started wiht a jump start lol.
January 23, 200818 yr Get that thing fixed and tuned up, you could turn a nice profit on Ebay these days. If it wasn't white, I would offer to buy it.
January 23, 200818 yr I think you should sell it ...to me, thats a beautiful ride, i would fix it definatly if i were you
January 23, 200818 yr I trick I have used is to strap the intake close to the broken bolt. Use an engine crane to lift - not off the ground but put some weight on the crane. Liberal app of PB followed by some raps on the bolt with a punch equal in dia. to the bolt. (another bolt will do) You do not want to mushroom the broken bolt. Let sit in the hung position come back next Sat. and try again. Hope this helps, nice looking RX (it wasn't Kevins was it?) you could also try this :http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=screw+extractor+kit&Submit=Go nice car for the $$. Me?I would keep it no matter how long it takes, and put an EJ series problem solver in there. ask Suberdave,or Numchux, and others that have done it. good luck . MKC
January 23, 200818 yr Yup, EJ is the way to go. Mine is getting swapped this spring with the help of another board member:banana:
January 24, 200818 yr these cars would look SO BADASS with a quad round headlight setup, and a honeycomb grille.... almost like a VW Scirocco. I say you stick it on the east coast railway bound for transfer to West Palm Beach. I'll fix it. Don't worry about anything, I'll send you lots of pictures.
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