Well hi everyone, I've not posted for quite a while, but I have been reading over your shoulders!

 

My 78 was stopped dead the other day! We ahd really cold temps, although no snow.... I started it up to go to work and it acted like the battery was dying. Well I have not had direct experience with eastern cold tempatures and batteries but I understand they get older faster. Any way, it finally chugged to a start but was very rough. It ran for a few seconds then started smoking!! BAD! I wasn't prepared for that! So I shut it down immediately, but the cab had already filled with smoke. It smelled like a cross between electrical and old oil. Looking under the hood breifly I noticed it was originating from the drivers side.

 

I haven't had a chance to take a good look at it, and I don't know what happened yet, but a couple theories are floating around in my head.

 

1. The starter gear got caught on the flywheel on startup and spun out, burning up the starter.

2. Something on the engine was frozen: IE belt, water pump etc.. and refused to turn causing a fire.

 

But those are my only two theories right now. Any Ideas? She was running like a charm just the day before under normal temps. (40-50's)

 

Kurt

78 should have the starter in the center - you say drivers side.... might still be it tho - hard to tell. You didn't actually move it? So must be engine related.....

 

At that temp check to see if the water pump was frozen solid - maybe you just fried the belt....

 

GD

Kurt,

what oil are you running.... I usually go to 5W30 in the winter.

 

and yes, it's been damn cold !!!

Usually 10W 30 in all my vehicles. But then I'm used to the west coast. I thought of the belt / water pump combo.. I'm going to leave it sit until I get the axles done on the 82 then bring it into the garage to warm up. see what happen then.

My moneys on the water pump/fryed belt combo!

 

A shot of gas treatment to get water out of the tank would not be a bad idea too. Ice in the fuel line sucks too!

 

My .02

Glenn

82 Summer, almost done....

01 Forester, bent but not broken.....

I don't think the oil is the culprit. 10W30 hasn't caused me any problems in the cold up here.

 

Time to bite the bullet and pop the hood. Engine block heater on this?

No engine block heater , Shawn. Where would I find one aftermarket that would work witht the 78' Don't they involve insertion into to the oil pan? I'm familiar with the basic idea, but never used one.... (Gotta love Oregon..) Are some of them like heat tape?

 

Kurt

You can get all kinds of heaters to put on your car. The stock subaru heater screws into the block near the head I think. Maybe your car has a place to put one and you could get a heater from a junkyard and put it in. Another popular one is the "heat tape" kind that sticks onto the oil pan, but that really only heats the oil, which is good but not the best. What I think is probably the best heater setup is the kind that splices into the lower radiator (it could be the upper, but I think it's the lower) hose. Those heat the coolant, causing it to circulate and warm the entire engine. As an added bonus, your heater will be hot as soon as you start it up.

 

For most uses, a stock block heater will be fine. With the heater, mine starts up at 15 below better than 35 without the heater.

For right now Kurt you might want to use those halogen spotlamps that you have and put them in the engine compartment to warm the compartment up to managable temps and see if it works then and oh yeah when it thaws out check the oil for water (remember the engine out of the green brat?)

Coulda just been the belt. It was around 30 here the other day, I started up the brat, and cold idle is about 2500, but the belt was moving so slow it didn't look like it was spinning. Didn't sqeal either. I revved the engine to 4K and the belt didn't go any faster. After about 20 minutes of warming up the engine the belt started screaming, then grabbed hold and spun with the engine. And that was at 30, I can imagine what -13 could do. Although this was a serpentine belt, v-belt could behave differently.

Also on both my rigs the first crank is slow, like a dying battery, then it fires up and goes. Hope it isn't anything serious.

Did you check the antifreeze in the radiator? could be frozen, which would jam the water pump up. It can also crack the block.

Just a little update-

 

Yestarday it warmed up to about 50 so I didn't have to wait for the garage. I fired it up while my wife watched the engine bay and nothing bad happened and she ran normal. I shut it down and took a good look at the belt and it was definitely the culprit. I was cooked halfway through yet still had it's shape! Water pump had to have been frozen. Any way with that mystery solved I will drain and refill the radiator with a 30/70 mix and see if that makes a difference. I don't know what's in there right now, I have never been particular about the mix ratio.

 

Lessons learned.

 

Kurt

Hey Kurt I would still check the oit for water cause of it might have popped the freeze plugs in the head. Just remember my problems with the green brats motor

I got ya Jason, will do.

Kurt