pite0007

It needs a headgasket due to overheating in the past. It leaks a large amount of coolant, and has the telltale sign of bubbles in the coolant reservoir. The heater takes forever to get hot, and it must constantly be run on high to keep the engine temp cool. The leaking coolant drips on some of the belts which then spray it onto the hot engine block and tons of smoke starts under the hood. The idle is rough, and the vehicle drives very sluggish like it has lost compression. After running for 5 or 10 miles, the vehicle acts like it wants to die and if it does, it can not be started up again until the engine temp cools down. That is why it needs a headgasket, and why I believe it probably needs a few other things under the hood too. If I have the headgasket done, I know I would also have the wheel bearing replaced, along with the valve cover gasket, spark plugs and boots, timing belt, water pump, radiator, and coolant hoses. I have no clue as to the condition of the clutch, which could also be a possible expense. If anyone can refer me to a good place to have the headgasket replaced/my vehicle worked on (near the Rochester, MN area), or instructions/a manual with photos and very detailed instructions on how to work on the heasgasket, it would be cery helpful. Thanks.

I don't have the time to put a headgasket in myself, and the cheapest I can get a head gasket put in for is around $400. I bought the car for $800 in May 2006. I would love to get it fixed, if I knew it was going to be 100% reliable and not have any other problems or need any other parts for at least a year if I did get everything fixed. I am also worried that if someone goes in there and tears half the engine apart that there are going to be other parts that need replacement also (timing belt and wheel bearing for sure need it, but I am worried about valves, possible cracked head, etc.). I have to pay off my school loan since I graduated in the spring, so I don't really want to throw a bunch of money at the Subaru cuz money is tight. But like I said, if I knew I could get everything fixed and have a 100% reliable vehicle if I put say at most $600 into it and it would last for another year without anything major going wrong, I would keep it.

See next post.

I am contemplating parting out my 1989 DL 4wd wagon, EA82 (3rd gen I believe), 5-speed, push button 4wd. 151k on the motor, believed to have a cracked headgasket. Anything and everything on the car is for sale, so long as I can sell at least $500 of parts off of it. Please email me at pite0007@umn.edu with parts requests, picture requests, more info, etc. Again, this is not a definite part-out, but if I can get at least $500 of parts from this car then I will part it out. Thanks.

But what head should I get? Overhead valve or overhead cam? FYI, I am using http://www.car-part.com as my search tool for trying to locate a cylinder head. And what years of heads are interchangeable for my vehicle? Thanks for the help, and also any additional help/info is appreciated. This is not actually for me, but for the guy who is possibly/most likely buying my car from me. I am trying to help him find parts in hopes of having a definite sale. The issue I have with the car is that it only runs for a mile or two before it begins to smoke and steam under the engine, and then becomes difficult or impossible to start (after it stalls or is turned off); the idle is extremely rough; coolant drips/pours sometimes from what must be the head or headgasket; bubbles appear in the coolant overflow bottle; and the cooling system does not seem to be able to hold pressure. All of these reasons lead me to believe that there is probably something wrong with the head and probably valves itself, and the guy who is going to be buying the car from me wants to have the heads handy just in case they need to be replaced when he has the headgasket replaced.

I have a 1989 Subaru DL (yes, that's right, DL) wagon. 4wd, 5-speed, 1.8L EA82 non-turbo. I am looking to get the cylinder heads and head gasket set for it. I believe there were different versions of this engine put into this vehicle - turbo, overhead valve, overhead cam, multi-port injection, etc. How can I find out what I have without taking anything apart under the hood? Are there visible stamps somewhere, or would some place be able to run the VIN? I've already tried a Subaru dealership, and they said that the best thing to do would be to take the valve covers off and look for any stampings inside by the rockers, write them down, and then bring them into the dealership (evidentially there are at least two different types of cylinder heads and I want to make sure that I have the correct ones for replacement). Can someone please help me out to find these parts, and to find some place (even a parts yard or member on this board) that will sell/ship them reasonably priced? Thanks, I appreciate it very much!

I have the EA82. I'll have to take a look over all of this stuff and see what I have time for and am going to be able to do. This may be a fall project since I am starting my new job. I say that I wanted to use gasket sealant after I flush and before I fill because I am leaking quite a bit of coolant - the leak is not bad when the heater is on full blast but it leaks when the vehicle is both running or turned off. It looks like the leak is coming somewhere from near the valve cover area, so that is why I am thinking it might be a head gasket. But also it could just be a bad water pump or other seals like mentioned above. It isn't a consistent drip, but I have to fill it up with water every so often depending on how much I drive it. Any other suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

I am planning on doing a coolant flush and fill on my 1989 DL station wagon, 1.8L n/a 5-speed 4wd. I was going to replace the thermostat, water outlet gasket, hoses, radiator cap, and water pump. What types of hoses and which water pump do I need? I noticed that there were various available, so that's why I'm asking. I was also going to run a can of a gasket-seal product through the system before refilling it to condition any of the seals - I know I am leaking coolant and am doing this just to try it out. Any other recommendations? Also, I was contemplating replacing the timing belts and various pulleys while I was at it. Which pulleys should be replaced? How difficult are these jobs to do? What types of tools are needed to do so? I have plenty of mechanical aptitude and time to spare, but I have never worked on my Subaru before and don't want to spend the money for a mechanic since my car is just a beater and worth maybe $800. Any advice helps. Thanks!

Hi, my name is Kevin and I am from Minneapolis, MN. I graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus a few weeks ago with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Plant Biology. My first car ever was a 1995 Dodge Stratus ES which I purchased for $2800 a little over 2 years ago. She had 80k when I bought it (107k now), 2.5L V6 4-sp auto, and since then I've dropped about 4 grand into her and she has turned out to be a really nice car - looks good and runs great. I am a member of stratusphere.net if anyone has heard of it, it is an online group dedicated to 1st gen and 2nd gen cloud cars - Dodge Stratus, Chrysler Cirrus, and Plymouth Breeze, along with somewhat of a following of Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring owners. I'll get my cardomain updated on my Strat really soon, when I get a few hours to upload pics. This past week I came upon a deal I couldn't pass up...1989 Subaru GL wagon, 1.8L n/a, 5sp, on-the-fly 4wd. Here is the URL: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/164286818.html $800 cash, I'm gonna pick it up within a week or two. I wanted to get it for a winter beater up here, since the MN winters wreak havoc on auto bodies. She will also come in nice for hunting, fishing, and hauling stuff around too, as you can see with the paint job. I don't know too much about these cars, but I know they are mechanically built like tanks - to last for the long run - and I know generally how to fix cars and keep them running. Thanks for the welcome to these boards. Any advice/suggestions are appreciated. I would also like to find a good Chilton/Haynes repair manual for my new Soob, so some recommendations would be nice. Thanks again.