blatantb

Thanks guys. I can't really see anything down in that area so it'll just have to wait till I get back I suppose. Britton

EA82 engine by the way

So I'm back in Montana for a couple of weeks and I took my car in for a set of tires and an alignment. When I got it back they guy tells me that I have an external leak coming from the headgasket. He showed me where (though it wasn't leaking then) and he said it wasn't coming from anywhere else above it. By the time I got it home the system pressurized and sure enough it had a pretty steady drip coming from the bottom of the head right along where the headgasket is (on the driver's side). I CAN tell that it is seeping down from somewhere above, but I can't tell from where. When its leaking there is a wet slick coming down the gasket seam and I can tell that its dripping up above (from the light reflecting off the drips) and when its dry you can see white residue running down from above. So, I'm pretty sure its not actually a headgasket problem but is probably a leaky hose or something. I can't tell if it could be coming from the water pump or the intake manifold. Would either of these be likely in this area? I found a post by GD earlier where he said he's never seen a headgasket leaking externally. Oh yeah and its an 87 GL 1.8 wagon with AT, AC and less than 100k. No smoke or steam from the exaust and the shop said I didn't have any coolant in my oil. I just installed a new radiator, thermostat, rad hoses, the heater hoses are only a couple of years old. I had to disconnect the hose right behind the ps pump so I could replace the ps bracket but that doesn't seem to be leaking. I'm thinking I'll just watch the coolant level till I get it back to boise where I can tear into it but its a 500 mile drive so I'd like to make sure its not something more serious. Thank you!

just to update... after triple checking my hoses and not really figuring anything out, I put a half a can of seafoam into my tank and that definitely cleared up the problem. I had run other cleaners through a few hundred miles previously but seafoam just did the trick. I did replace my fuel filter afterward as a precautionary measure. anyway it runs great! idles around 700-750 and i recently put some seafoam into my crankcase 80 or so miles prior to my last oil change and i have noticed a dramatic improvement! that stuff is amazing!

Yeah I just replaced it maybe 1k ago but i've used some fuel system cleaner since and that probably loosened some crud up so i'll check it again.

hmm yeah i was discussing that with one of my friends just last night. I'll give it a look. If that turns out to be the case do you think the valve is just clogged open or shot? Maybe I should just try to rebuild the carb and replace/clean everything. I have pretty much no experience with carbs but I'd really love to learn how to work on them myself!

So I've not yet been able to id the problem but I have noticed that sometimes when it's dying I can give it a little bit of gas a couple of times and it will stick and idle ok. Other times it won't do this. Does this indicate anything in particular?

No its not it has no o2 which I believe means its not. right?

Well I took some time today checking out as many vacuum lines as I could and didn't find any noticeable leaks. I started it and it idled great for about ten minutes, higher while warming up of course and perfect when I kicked it down. I plugged the egr line and decided to take it for a short drive. It ran reaally well and at the first 6 or 7 stops it was idleing great. Then it started dieing at idle again and did it the rest of the way home. So I think the egr might not be the culprit. Is it normal when a car is dieing like this for the voltage to be low (12ish) and wavering when it's below 750 or so? It sits right at 14 when it gets going like it should.

Yeah I've been thinking vacuum leak but I've been unable to find anything. I'll try spraying around the hoses again to see if I can find anything, especially under the air cleaner. Is it possible that its something like the egr sometimes being stuck open? Wouldn't a vacuum leak make it idle higher? I guess it might depend on where it is. Thanks for the input I'll be spending some time on it tomorrow.

A few months ago I bought a 87 gl with 92k on it and have been doing some little things like replacing the plugs/wires/cap, pcv valve, all the filters, the alternator and battery, had an exhaust leak fixed and more recently cleaned the carb with some of that spray stuff. It was running REALLY great! until... Yesterday, after tightening the heater hose which I deemed to be loose, the car started intermittently sputtering and then dying at idle. Sometimes. Other times it will idle right around 750-800 just like it should. I also notice that it isn't quite as responsive when it's dying as opposed to when its running fine. Today I took the can of cleaner to it again and took it out on the interstate and it seemed to die less and run better but then quickly went back to dying. It seems to drive ok but will die at lights and stop signs. I took it to a mechanic friend of mine's shop and they were stumped. Any suggestions? Clogged jet? Failing valve? Thank you much in advance for answering my first post!