Leeds Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Good afternoon. What I have: 1984 Subaru GL 1.8L, 4-cylinder 141k miles, in decent condition (kind of, have had a host of problems lately but nothing big, or so I hope). Two weeks ago, I parked the car and the dreaded white smoke came pouring out. After a quick examination I determined it was coolant, I had to replace my upper radiator hose which was an easy fix. I flushed my radiator and it ran okay, until yesterday. Two days prior, I was driving and noticed the heat hiking up (where it normally stays at about 1/3 on the gauge). So I turned on the heater (which doesn't work very well, BTW, this may be a tell-all to the problem?). I checked my coolant levels and there was hardly any in there (if at all), so I filled it again. I should have suspected a leak but I thought since I replaced the radiator hose so soon, it might be related to that and the flush. Yesterday, I parked and lo and behold, same white smoke. Different hose though, it appears to be a lower one (although I haven't had a chance to trouble shoot, I have had a busy night and am at work now). What can I do to troubleshoot this? Should I replace the lower hose and see how it does? I've read a few things, that it might be the dreaded head gasket, it could be as simple as my radiator cap (and is there a way to fix my current one, or "clean" it so it works again?). Is this related to the heater hardly ever working? Any advice would help. I love this car and want to baby it. Thanks in advance. I hope I gave enough information. I really hope there's not a leak in my radiator or something, because if the hose is collapsing (it looks old and stiff, it feels like it's cracking when I push on it now), it might be because I had what...? Insufficient levels of coolant? Or a leak, which means it's acting as a vacuum rather than a hose? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerandt Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Hey! I believe we have the same car! When you say the white smoke came pouring out, just from under the hood? What about out of the exhaust? Or how does the motor oil look? (cause anti-freeze in there is bad). I'm no expert on these cars. Thought I'd reply since no one else had. But I would have changed all the (coolant) hoses if any even look questionable. It's cheap. Look closely at things and try and pin down the leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeds Posted May 21, 2010 Author Share Posted May 21, 2010 Cheers Kerandt, it's the white '84 Subaru GL, little boxy guy, great car (automatic w/ 4wd). The white smoke is the coolant, there's no smoke coming out of the exhaust. I think I have identified the problem and I believe it may be my thermostat giving inaccurate readings and not activating the cooling system, which then causes my coolant to boil over. The first time, my hose blew, this time the lower radiator hose looks fine (could still use to be replaced), but I think the antifreeze came out of my overflow. Not sure. Will troubleshoot it later. I was just hoping someone had any suggestions because at this point I'm just looking at replacing anything suspect.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgpz Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 I would change both the thermostat and the lower rad hose. also as everyone else here says make sure to get you new thermostat from the dealer as they are significantly better made. my last one that i got from schmucks just came apart in the housing after a few years :-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeds Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 Well, I found out what the problem was. While changing the thermostat, I noticed that coolant was leaking from my antifreeze. I don't know how I didn't see this before or why I didn't look at the radiator. Apparently, the owner before me or whoever worked on it last drilled the fan directly into the radiator rather than mounting it, putting big holes in it and therefore rendering it useless. Now I have to find a radiator and this is where you guys come in. I found one new online for $102, also found an OEM one for $125ish. The local pick and pull website shows there's an '86, '87 and '89 GL in their inventory with radiators. Will the '86 fit my '84? They have it listed for $52 and this would be great as I don't have to wait a week for it to ship. Again my car is a 1984 Subaru GL 1.8L, automatic transmission, non-turbo. Cheers and thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 The local pick and pull website shows there's an '86, '87 and '89 GL in their inventory with radiators. Will the '86 fit my '84? They have it listed for $52 and this would be great as I don't have to wait a week for it to ship. Again my car is a 1984 Subaru GL 1.8L, automatic transmission, non-turbo. Cheers and thanks in advance. Those radiators will not fit uless those are GL *hatchs* which they probably aren't If you want to be sure to get hte right one tell them you need it for a Brat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brat82 Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 I took a used rad to a radiator repair/rebuilder and it was totally wasted. He had one in his used/repair stock(someone didn't pick up), $75, and works good. You might call around to some radiator repair shops. A used one might be clogged or need some work, boilout/rodding/rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeds Posted May 25, 2010 Author Share Posted May 25, 2010 Well, I went and bought a radiator out of an '85 with a standard transmission. It didn't fit, but I got it in there and after some ghetto rigging, it is working just fine (or so it seems -- anyone have any advice?). I looked at quite a few cars, but none of them had the transmission running through it that I could tell. Now the transmission fluid is low and the car is making a weird noise at lower speeds, I can't describe it, but it's especially evident when going around corners... I am hoping I didn't damage the transmission by unknowingly driving it with low transmission fluid (I am waiting for the girlfriend to get home to give me a ride to get more -- don't want to drive it). I am a little disappointed, every week since I got this car it has had a problem and I really like it, despite all of its problems, and am kind of at the point where I don't want to admit the car is a total lemon now. :-\ Bummed and now poor, to say the least. If the transmission is going bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo'J Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Aw, heck, don't give up now! Its 26yrs old! I got an 82 that had way more problems than yours so far and after fixing them all up one by one as they show up, I'd just about drive it to florida now. I might be worried and check everything twice, but it would make it. These things do need work being old and all, but they last forever. They arent like an audi with dual fuel pumps pushing $300 each and bushings from Germany, that last 4 yrs off the showroom floor before needing major work. (its what the circles are for, one for every year it runs:lol:) If you can fix the hose and the thermostat, you're probably capable to fix it till your 80, for cheap. Heck a jy trans is like $200. And your already modding it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brat82 Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 You need to be cooling the trans fluid, thats why it went thru the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeds Posted May 28, 2010 Author Share Posted May 28, 2010 Well, the noise is still persisting and I can't tell if it's a grinding in the gears or the brakes. The brakes do need to be replaced (anyone got a suggestion for a cheap place to order them from?) and you said $200 for a tranny??? I was expecting $1,200. Any links or an idea of where I should look? Also, I think I need to get an overflow tank or a reservoir of sorts, will look at it more later but I want to keep this car working okay. I also think the voltage gauge stopped reading today after I jumped the car down a dirt road just for kicks, so will have to start fiddling with wires again. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeds Posted May 28, 2010 Author Share Posted May 28, 2010 Also, every now and again when I put the car into park it starts idling very high (only happens every so often), and if I take it out of park it jerks into gear, like it wants to go forward on its own. This is an automatic, btw. Any clue what that would be...? Shifting from park into drive or from reverse into drive gives a jerk also, could this be the motor mount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeds Posted June 29, 2010 Author Share Posted June 29, 2010 Well, just some updates on my adventure with the '84 Suby... Noticed there was transmission fluid leaking out underneath the radiator, so I replaced that hose. It's still leaking some oil from the pan, not sure what I can do about it. We replaced the front left axle with a brand new one. Got an overflow tank for the radiator. Now, we just put a new rod on the car and today we're going to install a new bearring. The grinding noises were coming from that I presumed, so replacing these should take care of that... Tomorrow, fix my tail light and get new tires on Thursday (pay day). Hopefully this will be it for a while. I need two new speakers and want to rip some better condition seats out of a similar Subaru (does anyone knows which years the seating brackets are compatible?). All in all, it's been a good learning process for me and I'm feeling very fulfilled at the moment (at least, in between when I fear for my life driving it). Anyone placing bets on what I'll have to fix next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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