Well first off hello, my name is chris and this is my First suby. I bought it for $100 Interior is super clean and the body is really straight. Who ever had it took really good care of it.

 

88 Subaru DL 1.8l 5spd, 4wd, 272k.

 

Problems: FIrst it has been sitting for a year or so. When I was looking at it it would fire right up and run for a few seconds then die out like it was outta gas, wait a few it would start again run for a minute then die, etc. I put fresh gas in it and it still did it. I towed it home, let it sit over night, then in the morning started it and it ran great..

 

MAIN problem. The water was milky, I know i know bad to let it run so i didnt let it run long.. When I put water in it it would go straight to the oil FAST like just as fast as i pour it in. Ive spent 2 days searching this forum for culprates. Found it could be the freeze plugs (what a wierd design) Today I pulled the valve covers off Then started filling with water again. At this point nothing came out of the heads but the Oil pan is still filling up.. Am I missing something?? I just cant imagine water moving that fast without a good size hole so I wouldnt think head gasket or cracked block.. Any ideas??

 

A few years ago i owned a 96 legacy sedan gts or whatever the top model was. But overall this is the first older subaru i have ever owned. I am very mechanically inclined and built lots of Hondas and VW>.

 

 

Heres a picture.

 

I would say freeze plugs. There must be some internal ones. Most of the heads on these cars are cracked but really does nothing as far as problems. And I have seen many leaky head gaskets and none of them do what you're saying

Yeah I have seen plenty of blown head gaskets in other cars but never seen this much water move into crankcase that fast.. And when its running it idles good, doesnt smoke and has power..

You can't get to the freeze plugs without removing the cam towers. Basically you aren't going to fix this problem without pulling the heads so just figure on doing a full HG job, timing belt, water pump, etc.

 

And being a DL - your first mod should be an oil pressure gauge.

 

And stop running that engine - you are going to destroy the bottom end.

 

GD

Bump.. Busy forum and no one else has any other ideas? Should I dump money into an engine swap? Should I look a little further into the heads? Anywere else this water could be coming from? Like I said, in order to have this much water flowing that fast it has to be a pretty good size hole so i couldnt imagine it being a head gasket, or am i completely wrong there?

That's out of my expertise, sorry. But it does look great and used ea82 engines are very inexpensive. If you're not under pressure to use it right away, why don't you amuse yourself and put in a more powerful engine than stock?

Lol.. Like I said its my first.. What will go in these that i would be happier with? but wont break the bank?

Do a search for EJ engine swaps, plenty of info

 

-Jaren

How big is the bank? most swappers go with an EJ series engine swap

 

wikipedia has a good section on suubie engines if you google 'ej 22' it'll lead you there

 

I'd think stock ea82 engines would be pretty plentiful in the usmb classifieds too

hell, buy mine and do a 'nose job' on it while it's out, its a spfi 1.8, is yours fuel injected or carbbed?

Mines Fuel injected..

Rock the DL

 

EJ Swaps are pretty straightforward and there are lots of write ups on them. You could always pick up another ea82 fi motor and put that in. Oh and i think your car is mines better looking sister.

 

lol.. I cant wait for summers camping and driving on the beach with this thing thats for sure. My dad had one of these when i was a kid and loved it.

 

Im searching and searching the site and the web for an ej22 swap How-to but havent had any luck yet. I actually found a guaranteed ej22 just down the street from my house for $150 so not i just need to find the swap guide..

Welcome to the board and great find!

 

Here's a place to start on the ej conversion: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73676

Also do some digging in the subaru retrofitting forum, you'll want to get the factory service manuals for the year ej22 of the wiring harness you will get - makes life easier when it comes to the wiring part of the project. Also, there are a few guys on here that can do the wiring harness prep if you don't have that kind of knowledge. The ej22 will give you a serious boost in power and at the same time better mileage. I'm currently doing the ej conversion on my wagon since the ea82 finnaly died at 210k.

If that's a good EJ22 for $150 you won't be disappointed. However, don't discount the EJ18; there are a number of them around, they are cheaper to come by, and they are more reliable.

Hey thanks for those links, they have a lot of really good info.. Little more work then i was thinking, lol. Dont think I want to tackle another project like that.. Im already rump roast deap into an H22 swap into my accord. My garage can only take so much.

Is that 150 for the engine or the car? You'll need more parts than just the engine.

 

I have to ask, are you putting the water in the radiator, or the oil fill tube?

 

In order to find out why this is happening, you have to tear into that engine, which you will have to do to fix it. So pull it, tear it down to inspect. It may be simple. Or just find another SPFI engine to replace it. So you can drive it, and save up the money and parts to swap the EJ22 into it. It's a good chance to get to know the Subaru.

The radiator is the Black thing near the front of the car with little metal fins and big black tubes coming off of it right? Of Course i put it in the radiator. lol..

 

Well I guess i will be looking for a new EA82 for now. With all the research i did I figured Freeze plugs would be easier then having to take off the heads, etc..

I was getting ready to pull mine out, it's a 1990 SPFI 1.8 with 215K on it. It needs a 'nose job', but it has no major issues... shoot me a PM and we can see if it will work for you. I could possibly put it in my Jeep's cargo area and bring it to you - if you could pay ga$ co$t.

[quote name=b16a90teg;802906

 

Well I guess i will be looking for a new EA82 for now. With all the research i did I figured Freeze plugs would be easier then having to take off the heads' date=' etc..[/quote]

 

If you pop the rocker covers off, use a mirror and light, you can visually inspect the freeze plugs in the heads.

 

If they're out, prolly in the oil pan.

 

Last person I know this happened to, had a cracked block as well.

 

Doug

Thanks for that idea Doug, i will give that a try.

Txakura im going to do a little more digging but I might take you up on that. What do you mean by "Nose job" im guessing valve seals/stems?

Thanks for that idea Doug, i will give that a try.

Txakura im going to do a little more digging but I might take you up on that. What do you mean by "Nose job" im guessing valve seals/stems?

 

No, while it's out of the car, it's a great time to change the timing belts and check or replace the idler pulleys. it's time for this engine to have it's oil pump pulled (front of engine behind filter behind timing belt) and new o rings put in too

 

the o-ring kit is $35, the belts, what? $45 without the idlers

 

I'd do the water pump and change the valve cover gaskets too, just for gp

 

if it stops raining long enough I'll warm the engine and do a compression check, I'm not looking to make a killer profit - I think the bbs would beat me up if I was a *&^%head

 

this is helping me out too, it gets me off my @$$ and ends the talk and begins the work of swapping in my rig - after all, if my engine is gone, I just HAVE to put something back in don't I?

 

I'll send you a PM with some background on the car