GREENSUBIE Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 i have an 88 wagon EA82 spfi , water was comming out the exaust and compression tests showed needed a new head gasket, so i bought a fel pro head gasket set and put it all back together by the book and went to start her up, started fine but still water/steam comming out the exuast. I figured i messed up (late night) or missed something. so i took another weekend and bought another set of fel pro gaskets and tore down and put all back together with a friend helping to make sure i didnt miss anything. AGAIN water/steam comming out the exaust! but ---no oil in the water--. what is going on? i had the heads pressure tested 2 times passed both times had the heads surfaced. am i missing something or whats going on? thanks SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screwbaru2 Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Have you had the head checked for cracks? Sounds like the water jacket is opened to the exhaust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarutex Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 intake manifold gasket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDave Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 How long have you run it since putting it back together? Sometimes it takes quite awhile to burn off all the old coolant from the exhaust. Are you seeing any bubbles in the radiator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 intake manifold gasket? Yes, I Was Thinking in That, and also it can be a Muffler Still Full of Water... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREENSUBIE Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 How long have you run it since putting it back together? Sometimes it takes quite awhile to burn off all the old coolant from the exhaust. Are you seeing any bubbles in the radiator? i ran it for about 5 minutes because i didnt really wanna chance ruining anything. but i will check for bubbles in the radiator tomarrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREENSUBIE Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 intake manifold gasket? How would the water cross into the exaust manifold? ill check it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spokanesoob Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 on my car i had major cracks run from the exaust port down into the manifold those cracks if deep enough lead right into the water jacket behind them then you get steam and water out of the exaust and a coolant goes missing if you have had the heads pressure checked and they passed there shouldnt be cracks of that size there assuming you went to a honest head shop :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobjr94 Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 On some cars (subaru and other) Ive had it take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour for all the water to get burned out of the exhaust. Fastest way is to go drive it up a long hill, if its just sits and idles can take along time. Its best to always have the head resurfaced, it could be warped, in that case the gaskets will keep failing. I have also have seen an ea82 head that had a hole in the casting and water just pored into the exhaust. Easy way to tell if its fixed is take off the water pump belt & rad cap, start it up and rev it up a few times. The water level shouldnt change. You should then let it run for 15 minutes and make sure the fans and everything is working then go drive it. It will smoke alot the first time you drive it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDave Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 i ran it for about 5 minutes because i didnt really wanna chance ruining anything. but i will check for bubbles in the radiator tomarrow You can always drop the exhaust y-pipe to look for signs of coolant leaking in the exhaust ports in the head, but I would run it awhile longer first, keeping an eye on the temp gauge and radiator for bubbles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDave Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 On some cars (subaru and other) Ive had it take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour for all the water to get burned out of the exhaust. The longest I've seen is about 15 minutes, but gawd, it sure does seem like an hour. Time stands still when you get that sinking feeling that you may have to do it all over again. But when it finally does clears up you feel like kissing the radiator! Well, almost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Did you have the heads checked at all? You spell out disassembly, replacement, and re assembly "by the book" but never mention resurfacing, hot tanking, cleaning anything, or any work that might lead to the discovery of theoretical cracks.. Drop the exhaust and see what you have. Its always fun to hear the engine running open pipe anyhow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDave Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Did you have the heads checked at all? You spell out disassembly, replacement, and re assembly "by the book" but never mention resurfacing, hot tanking, cleaning anything, or any work that might lead to the discovery of theoretical cracks.. Quote from his first post: " i had the heads pressure tested 2 times passed both times had the heads surfaced." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik R Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 It takes awhile for the water/coolant to burn off..........maybe 30 min. drive or so. The odor will remain for a bit longer. Check coolant often until you are sure. I have had this problem twice on an EA-82 before in the last 10 years..........currently, another cracked head on it. Bought another head, surfaced and P/Tested + fel-pro head set. Haven't bneen able to get my "ducks in a row" to work on it. Lazy now that I have a newer car to drive......... . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 1. Water is a natural byproduct of combustion. As the exhaust cools, water vapor drops out and condenses at the tailpipe. It is normal for most tailpipes to drip slowely. 2. Your problem is almost certainly the intake manifold gaskets or the throttle-body/carb base gaskets (o-ring in the case of TB's). GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Quote from his first post: " i had the heads pressure tested 2 times passed both times had the heads surfaced." ooooooops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Lazy Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Did you have the heads checked at all? You spell out disassembly, replacement, and re assembly "by the book" but never mention resurfacing, hot tanking, cleaning anything, or any work that might lead to the discovery of theoretical cracks.. Not to hijack but, is there a thread that details a head gasket job? I searched the engine portion of the USRM and came up short. I am about to do my rx head gaskets and need to be well prepared (only 2nd ever head gasket, 1st sub) thx in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREENSUBIE Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 the chilton said to torque the intake manifold bolts to 13 -15 lb so i torqued them to 15lbs. after finding the water in the exaust i figured i would torque them down a little more. thinking that its probly one way water could get to the exaust and not get to the oil. it worked torquing them down to 20lbs stopped the water comming out the exaust. is the chilton wrong or my brand new craftsman torque wrench wrong? or was it just one of those things that went wrong? Thanks SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDave Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 the chilton said to torque the intake manifold bolts to 13 -15 lb so i torqued them to 15lbs. after finding the water in the exaust i figured i would torque them down a little more. thinking that its probly one way water could get to the exaust and not get to the oil. it worked torquing them down to 20lbs stopped the water comming out the exaust. is the chilton wrong or my brand new craftsman torque wrench wrong? or was it just one of those things that went wrong? Thanks SS Hey I'm glad you figured it out! Whatever the reason, you can't argue with results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 it worked torquing them down to 20lbs stopped the water comming out the exaust. is the chilton wrong or my brand new craftsman torque wrench wrong? or was it just one of those things that went wrong? 1. Did you use OEM gaskets? Aftermarket are VERY different and inferior. 2. Did you chase the threads both in the heads and of the bolts (wire wheel, etc)? 3. Did you oil/anti-seize the bolts before torqueing them? 4. What is the range of your torque wrench? in/lbs or ft/lbs? 5. Did you tighten them in a star pattern, starting with hand tight, 7 ft/lbs, and then the full 15 ft/lbs? GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nw_david Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 i had the exact same problem with the intake manifold just about a year ago now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 RUN IT! But just at idle for 15-30 minutes keeping an eye on the temp and oil pressure. Watch in the rad for bubbles but I bet you just have water/coolant in the exhaust. Every head gasket job I've done, Subaru or not, has bellowed steam out of the pipe afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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