Deener

Another update... I ran the vaccum guage on it again last night and based on the chart here (thanks to a post by naru): http://www.classictruckshop.com/clubs/earlyburbs/projects/vac/uum.htm According to their chart, I have a blocked exhaust - the scenario I found is this one: "Needle jumps 2"- 5" above normal upon quick deceleration, but hesitates at a higher pressure before returning to normal. Restricted exhaust system causing back pressure" I started the car with the guage on the intake (long enough hose so I could see the guage while sitting in the car), then held at around 3000 rpms, and took my foot off the pedal, the guage immediately pinned up around an extra 5", then stayed there and slowly moved back to 20. It stayed solid around 20 during idle. I did the test like 20 times just to be sure and it happens every time. That being said...how does one go about diagnosing WHICH part of the exhaust is blocked? Cut it apart and try to play it like a didgeridoo? Put a mouse in there with a piece of cheese at the other end? Dean

I put it all back together, new HG's, oil pump seals, intake gaskets - the driver side HG was shot and it was missing the cam carrier o-ring. Cleaned all of the PCV inlest and hoses out with carb cleaner and compressed air, replaced all questionable clamps, new filters and filled the tank. So I established a baseline testing scenario...and took it for a burn...unfortunately... The original issue (big poof of smoke, mild loss of power until it stopped smoking, oil in the airbox polluting the new filter) resurfaced after aropund 30 km of driving or so - it wasn't on a hill though. Maybe in 3rd gear, doing 70km or so. It stalled so I pulled over and started the car again, drove another 5 KM or so home and the issue didn't occur. An hour later I took it for another drive so I could get a handle on when the issue actually happens but it didn't happen again until another 10Km or so, didn't stall this time - just blew the smoke so I kept going to see what would happen. Another 5 K or so and it did it again, this time it stalled and I couldn't start the car, it would just trun over and wouldn't hold idle. It would just die within 2 or 3 seconds of 'running'. I towed it home with my GL and cleaned off the MAF sensor (little resistors inside the boot) and tested the sensor for resistance - it checked out good according to haynes and it started up after that...whew I thought I had broken something serious, the 'blowback/oil/junk' must have coated the sensor enough to fail I suppose. So as per an earlier recommendation/test for an exhaust system blockage, I added a vaccum guage to the intake in place of the brake booster line. I sat in the car and ran it at around 2500 rpm's steady and the guage would stay at around the '70' mark I think. The needle didn't move at all while I held it at 2500 unless I changed the throttle up and down. I held that 2500 RPM for a good minute or so. Do I need to hold it there longer or something? Judging by that test, my vaccuum tester works great, it doesn't seem to indicate a blocked exhaust though. Is there another test I can try short of 'shotgunning' in a whole new exhaust? Or am I not testing properly? Thanks guys, sorry for the essay... Dean

Yes, the burp mauever - get your front end up high - park on a hill, or crank your floor jack then squeeze the rad hoses until all of the air 'seems' to be out - like when you squish the hose, it no longer ingests fluid, it just kind of ebs and flows, then fill it up to the top and start the car with the rad cap off. With the nose of the car up high, it should be the highest point in the system, higher than the thermostat housing, the air in the lines will naturally flow towards the top. Keep the car running until it reaches temperature so the thermostat opens up, possibly ingesting more fluid. If your system is fairly full already you won't notice much except for a couple of burps/bubbles along the way. A few bubbles here and there is ok, but lots of bubbles isn't good. Fill the expansion tank and take it for a good drive. Signs of air in the system: Heater might not work and gurgling behind the dash. If those symptoms reappear, then burp your child again. The idle/skip does sound timing related. Are your tensioners on snug? I ran sloppy when I had a 'stretched' belt.

I agree, the covers are just a PITA when you have to get in there for anything. I leave the ones behind the cams on just so I don't stick my finger in there while checking for problems. I use little zip straps to fasten the sending unit wire to the dipstick, works good.

Yes. 6 bolts - Three per side, the 17mm egr pipe at the rear of the intake and the upper rad hose need to come off. (Drain your coolant first) Be gentle with the bolts, they tend to get rusty. I always clean them up before I put them back in. Use ONLY the Subaru intake gaskets for their replacement. Part number: 14035AA150 (no turbo I assume). They are only about 10 bucks or so from the dealer for a set and they are far better than the aftermarket gaskets. When torquing the bolts back down, don't 'wang' them on. They don't need a lot of torque. I can't remember the exact value but its not more than 15 ft/lbs or so. Haynes manual or someone here will know the exact value. Dean

Yes that's the Coolant Temp Sensor. It is located right beside/sort of under the thermostat housing. It probably has a light green electrical connector that has two wires. Get a multi meter and check the sensor for resistance. I am not sure of the resistance value but it is low. If you don't get a resistance value then the the sensor is shot (the wires tend to break right at the base but you can't tell unless you peel the rubber back). Also while you are there with your MM, check the feed for power with the car idling.

Hi Clay, Nice to see another VanCity member here. I had my my 88GL front diff changed out/rebuilt and we had a really hard time finding one that fit in Canada, you might have better luck over the border if you plan on replacing it...however, there is ONE scrap Loyale in the Chilliwack Pick a Part right now though. Note that Aldergrove Auto doesn't carry anything older than 95Legacy anymore. Check the diff oil...is it clear or is it black? (short little dipstick, passenger side of the tranny accesible from the engine bay) It should be clear. If it is black then you know your diff is in need of service or could have a bearing on the way out - which is what happened to mine. I had the tranny (3at) and the diff rebuilt and the diff costed about 200 and roughly another 200 for the rebuild. Anyway, the sound it made while it was on the way out was almost the same as the whine of a remote control car....if that helps any. Good luck, Dean

Yeah, coolant was really low. Ha ha, I suppose there are some questionable tactics that would arise out of desperation/need/creativity/lucky guesses.

Check engine light on? Any codes? I had a similar issue when my temp sensor (green electrical connector near the t-stat housing) was dead AND I had vaccum leaks at the intake manifold. How did you test the leaks? Carb cleaner worked for me, by spraying directly at the mating points with the engine running the RPMS shot right up. Does the temp sensor get power and does it have resistance?

I finally got under it last night and well, I was mislead. I was going off of what the previous owner told me. There is only one 'cat'...its the usual setup. The Y pipe, then the 'cat', then the 'resonator' (forgive me - I don't know which is which name or what) then straight back to the muffler. I knew having two 'cats' sounded dumb. I yanked the engine out last night and during the process I found milkshake/mayo everywhere. The intake boot has a layer about 2 or 3 inches thick thoughout it, its in all PCV hoses (kind of expected that), in the air box, and under the rocker covers. There's so much of it in the big rubber intake boot, it kind of looks like pudding...Bill Cosby must have been in there.

Thanks Rob. I have an 88GL and two other Loyales in the family (91 and 94) that are absolutely clean under the cap and in the filler tube year round. The exhaust on this one (93) smells a little too sweet, it blows a bit of white smoke, has that mayo problem, the last shop had the heads off and did one HG...I am going to just redo the HG's anyway because it has an oil leak, so the cams are coming off anyway and I have to make use of this engine stand and crane that are taking up room in my shop! Plus that way I will have peace of mind knowing that it's all sealed nicely. Yes, the restriction idea...I was going to start at the 'resonator' or whatever it is actually called since it's puking right there. I will update once I have been under it for more than 30 seconds, just haven't had much time yet. Thanks again for the info. Dean

I am the proud new owner of this very car!!! (93 5spd loyale non-turbo) I bought it off of this super nice fella over the weekend. The body and interior are both immaculate - only 156k with most of the original Subaru inspections documented up to 4 years ago or so!!!! I haven't tested it out much yet or tinkered but it needs a HG for sure - its got some serious mayo under the cap and in the filler tube. He has a new OEM pcv valve in there so I plan on approaching the exhaust restriction suggestion after the HG's, PCV clean and a reseal (oil pump/pan/covers/belts etc...). When I fired it up I saw some exhaust leaking from the resonator and as mentioned earlier in this post there are two catalytic converters...one at the Y and another just before the muffler. The previous owner said the shop installed the second one because it was 'easier'. Ricearu mentions a vacuum guage - is there a particular type or any adapters that I need or will any old vacuum guage work? Or is there another way to check for exhaust flow restriction? Dean

All done. Its back together and running like a top! Fired up first try and everything works! No rattles, pings, tings, smoke, drips, stink, shimmy, warble, scrape or fuss!!! Thanks guys. You just walked me through resealing my engine. Thats pretty rad. Dean

Yup, its a manual. I still have my floor jack supporting the tranny at the same magic angle that I removed the block at. I hope she slides right in there just like it came out. I am still a little shy about the clutch/pressure plate/flywheel pieces - this is the first time I have ever seen an engine out of a car so I am still identifying parts and reading up as I go along. Thanks for the pressure plate tip. Dean

Missed your post there Kanurys. I put the cams on last night without any trouble, didn't know about the springs. I didn't break any bolts last night so I am off to a comparatively good start. My Ultra Grey tube sprung a bottom end leak hlf way through, but that was the only issue. Tonight I am going to put the covers on and lift the engine back in and hook it all back up. I just unbolted the intake, swung it aside and its hangin by a bungee, so the rest should be quick. Anything I should be aware of/careful of when lifting the engine back in? I have a crane and some chain with quick links that I used to get the block out when the heads were off but the wieght distribution is going to be different now with everything on when I go to lift it back in. Just a guess but it looks like I might have to jiggle/spin the crank to line the flywheel notches up with the notches on the little starter gear...?

Will do. I have permatex ultragrey. The previous little carrier rings were pretty beat up and I suspect the source of its leak but the new ones (from the dealer) fit nice and tight. Thanks again for all your help everyone. I will update when I have it all back together and running if I don't have any more questions before then.

Well, the RTV coating over the cork pan gasket looks pretty good. I now understand why you suggested it. The pan is back on, the oil pump is back on, the heads are back on, and I am about to install the the cam carriers and valve/rocker covers tonight, then swing the engine back in. I am pumped. I assume the torque values for the cam carriers and the valve/rocker covers are in the Haynes - unless anyone has a conflicting opinion on what they should be. I read here that when coating the cam carriers with RTV you should first clean the seam out really well and then apply a small, even bead to each side (head and carrier), then let it dry for about 30 minutes to set up little bit - this makes sense for the mating surfaces to have somethinig to adhere to. What I am wondering though is about the bolt holes on both the carriers and the covers where the grommets meet the metal. There was trace amounts of old RTV in both of those bolt locations, so should I be doing the same thing for those bolt holes or will the grommets and outside bead of RTV/ultagrey on the carriers be sufficient? Or was that RTV that I found an artifact of someones failed attempt at stopping an oil leak? Dean

I am not 100% sure but I think that the 'blend door' is vaccum accutated and thats what the sound could be. My 88GL does the same and I don't have any noticeable issue there. Unless...it IS a boa...?

Rats. The gasket I put on was a Felpro, and I didn't use any RTV. Permatex ultra-grey I suppose? I will get a new gasket and try again with an RTV coating. Inch pounds it is...how many? Somewhere between 120 and 180?

Right on, thanks for the thread. Ha ha...I snapped an oil pan bolt last night, drilled it out no problem (getting good at this now) and used one of the shorter timing belt cover bolts in its place with a couple of washers to match the original length/depth since the threads seemed to match nicely. The manual said 15ft/lbs but I swear it didn't even hit ten and that was using the wand type wrench (ever since I snapped that headbolt the clicker wrench is now used as a door stop). The pan bolts weren't even finger tight when I backed them out so I am confident that I know where some of the leaking was coming from. I will still do the oil pump since it is right there, I just won't pull it until I can get all of the seals.

Sounds good, thanks - I thought there had to be more to it than just the one seal.

Yeah, this one is a 5spd standard. I just got the top cleaned up nicely and its resting on the engine stand and waiting for Subaru to call with the head bolt I ordered - the longer of the two (800211050). This is my third EA82 timing belt job, just the first time I have had an engine seperated. The parts store I use couldn't find an 'oil pump seal' per se. They gave me an 'oil pump o-ring' instead that kind of looks like a Mickey Mouse outline - like one big ring and two small rings all connected. The internet pictures kind of suggest that it's correct but since I haven't ripped the pump off yet, will I need anything else to get it back on and sealed properly aside from that one seal/o-ring?

Ah sweetness! Thanks NorthWet. That puts my mind at ease. The valves are still in the heads - to be cleaned tonight.

I am on my way to pick up a block that had the broken head bolt removed (25 bucks at Heads Unlimited in Surrey, BC) and I am about to start the assembly process. I turned the crank while the block was out of the car to get at the dirty pistons so I could clean them off. The fact that I spun the crank - is that going to cause a problem for me when I go to re-assemble the engine? I would just like to be sure that I don't have to spin the crank back to the position it was in before I took it apart in or set it to a certain 'stroke postion' or whatever for re-assembly. Also - the valves/valve stems (round things on the side of the heads where they meet the block/pistons - at least I think thats what they are) are fairly dirty, as dirty as the pistons were. Should I be exercising extreme caution when cleaning them or would it be safe to run my (soft) brass wire disc in my drill on them with some carb cleaner or acetone? They have caked on carbon deposits and I just don't want to scar/damage anything by cleaning them too much. Dean