Cylinder Head Leaks, common problem?

[colosuby]

Here's my story: I bought a 86 GL 4dr, D/R, EA82 carbed, for $200 that was smoking badly. The smoke smelled like anti-freeze and was white. The car started easy, ran well and I drove it home about 8 miles (no one knew though because all you could see was smoke.

The guy I bought it from thought that it had a head gasket leak on the right side, thats what I assumed also. When I got home I pulled the plugs but could not see which cylinder was leaking , all the plugs looked the same, black like it was running rich but none of them looked white.

I thought that maybe there was a common leak that might have contaminated all the cylinders. The best bet for that was maybe the intake but it was sealed.

Reading the forums it seems like a head was probably cracked. I pulled the engine so I could clean it up and also to pull the head easier. I pulled the right head and there are what looks like cracks between the valves on both cylinders. I don't have any dye penatrent but they look like cracks.

My questions:

1. Is this typically where the heads crack?

2. Is there other places where the heads crack?

3. Is there a way to repair this head?

4. Should I check the other head?

5. Is thare any other places that anyone can think that may leak coolent into tha cylinders? There is a small hose that comes off of the base of the Crab and connects to the metal tube that leads to the heater hose.

6. Why would it blow so much smoke and not show on the head?

7. Does anyone have a right side head, looks like I may need one?

Thanks For your help in the past and Thanks again to CCR for helping me get my Hatch running.

[MitchP]

I just went through the same senario with my 87 GL Wagon. Compression checks were fine, plugs all looked great and car seemed to run fairly smooth. It just blew a lot of smoke out the exhaust with the strong odor of coolant. I pulled the engine and jerked the heads off only to find everything looked great. The cracks between the valves sounds to be very common and not a problem in most cases. I learned from this site that the casting in the exhaust ports is thin to the coolant passage and is prone to cracking. I couldn't "see" anything in my heads. So I ended up buying a lower milage used engine and installed that.

[asavage]

Originally posted by colosuby

. . . EA82 . . . smoke smelled like anti-freeze . . . Reading the forums it seems like a head was probably cracked . . . pulled the right head and there are what looks like cracks between the valves

 

1. Is this typically where the heads crack?

I am going through this on my '93 EA82 myself. Based on discussions with three Subaru shops and my four cracked heads, I'll say "yes". Typical was this response, "They ALL crack there", "We don't weld them up, because they crack again within 8k miles."

2. Is there other places where the heads crack?

Yes. In your case, the crack likely extends into either the intake (sometimes) or exhaust (more often) port area.

3. Is there a way to repair this head?

I don't know. Aluminum Head Rebuilders in Portland charges $150 per EA82 head for a rebuilt one, which is a very good price, and the core charge is an additional $50. They don't care if the heads have cracks between the valve seats, and even if cracked into the ports area, will still give $25 core refund. I just packed up my cores tonight, in prep to ship them back to them tomorrow.

 

The two heads I just bought from them are quite good, no cracks in between the seats (which surprised me). I would have liked new exhaust studs, but bought my own and the old ones came right out, no problem.

 

The EA82 heads are Right and Left; the only difference I've seen is that the EGR port is drilled through and threaded on the right head. AHR told me that the right head is the one that cracks most often.

4. Should I check the other head?

IMO, no. If you've got the typical head gasket leak of oil to the outside of the head, you might want to pull it and regasket it, just to eliminate that leak. Ditto for the camcase-to-head interface (no gasket, just RTV, but you do need a special o-ring there, get it from Subaru, the replacements apparently last longer), the camshaft seals and o-rings around the seal carriers, and the oil pump mounting gasket (see my oil pump thread for details on how this gasket fails). Timing belt and idlers/tensioners replacement is a lot easier now that you have the engine out. And look hard for oil leakage at the rear main seal, as now's the time to replace it if you have any leakage at all.

5. Is thare any other places that anyone can think that may leak coolant into tha cylinders? There is a small hose that comes off of the base of the Crab and connects to the metal tube that leads to the heater hose.

You have a cracked head, almost certainly.

6. Why would it blow so much smoke and not show on the head?

Leak in exhaust port.

7. Does anyone have a right side head, looks like I may need one?

If you want a good used one, I've got one off of Caleb's (then Turbone's) engine. I haven't run the engine it came off of, but Caleb says it ran OK. If you don't need it immediately, you can have it for free, just pay shipping. I need to hang on to it for about two more weeks, then I'll have most of an EA82 engine core left over for parts (No. 1 cyl. scored). Mark & Rob have both gone out of their way to get me used parts for nearly nothing, I can afford to pay back the community.

 

USMB is a very useful place to gather information -- and opinions, and occasionally, both

[MilesFox]

the cracks between tha valves are normal, even if the extend down to the VALVE GUIDES

 

an crack in the exhaust port is what to look out for, that would explain coolant in the exhaust, but no loss of compression, or coolant in the oil

 

if you take the head off, look for signs of "steam claening" as that is whewre water could be getting into the cylinders(from the radiator pressure)

 

the gasket should want to stick to either the head or the block if its good, but pull away from both if its bad (as you pull the head)

[Nug]

Intake gaskets could be leaking coolant directly into the air charge.

[asavage]

Originally posted by snotrocket

Intake gaskets could be leaking coolant directly into the air charge.

He said, "I pulled the plugs but could not see which cylinder was leaking , all the plugs looked the same, black like it was running rich but none of them looked white. "

 

Can't be an intake coolant leak if the plugs are black and dry.

[colosuby]

:banana: I love that Banana, go figure.

Hey I really appriciate the help, this is a great board.

Gary