1993 Loyale re-seal

[kas447]

Hello, I recently acquired a 1993 Loyale, AT, AWD, with about 160K miles (my first subaru) and have a few questions:

 

History: The previous owner had purchased it with a broken timing belt and after many attempts and an incorrect repair manual (it recommends both pulley dots up apparently) finally got it running again only for the fuel pump to fail. At this point they were done and I bought it, replaced the fuel pump, fuel filter, plugs, wires, etc... only to find it still did not run "right". I found the green test connector (I think) under the hood near the master cylinder was connected (and from the looks of the dirt had been for a long time) so I disconnected it and now it runs much better (although still weak) I have since replaced brakes/rotors (they were really bad), which brings to my next project on the car, the engine, and my questions.

 

1) This thing leaks all over the exhaust, which of coarse make a nice smoke cloud when you stop. It doesn't appear to go through lots of oil, but whatever it does leak ends up on the exhaust, just ahead of the catalytic converter. Should I perform a full gasket replacement or try to localize the leak?

 

2) Can I perform a re-seal with the engine in the car or am I better off pulling it? All of the hoses are very brittle, they have a tendency to snap when I try to move them, so I will probably be replacing all the vacuum lines. (and I noticed one tee with a screw in it so I need to find out where that was supposed to go.

 

3) If I need to pull it should I do a complete overhaul or is this engine reliable and I should follow a "if its not broke, why fix it" philosophy? (I know very little about the EA82)

 

4) With the green and white connectors disconnected I get the CEL and error 35 on the ECU (with green connected the CEL goes off) I have pulled the canister purge valve and plan to try and get it unstuck or replace it if the solenoid is toast. I have read I can use a valve off of toyota's or hondas as well with some connector modification.

 

I am not a mechanic by any stretch, but am mechanically inclined and can generally take apart and put things back together with very few extra parts left over

 

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any advice, I'm looking forward to getting this car running well and using it as a daily driver The body and interior are in great shape and the drivetrain looks good. It currently is a spare vehicle but I plan to sell my old truck after I get this running well, so now is the time for me to tear it down if needed.

Edited January 9, 2012 by kas447
typos and clarification

[kerandt]

Have you done a good pressure wash to clean things up? Might allow you to narrow done where that leak is? How is your cv boot on that side? You can do the easy stuff like valve covers, front seals with the motor in. Of course most would do these, plus the oil pump and water pump, with the timing belts. Sounds like you just need to keep "tinkering" and get to know things a little bit. Your code 35 is pretty common too. It's an emissions thing and shouldn't effect how the car runs. Hope this help.

[kas447]

Thanks Kerandt, I think I'll buy some de-greaser and try and clean it up in the driveway. It has leaked for a long time from the looks of it and is filthy right now. It seems to only leak after/while running, and stops shortly after being shutdown.

 

I noticed the repair manual states the timing should be 20 BTDC, is this correct? I cant seem to get to that point without really hurting the idle. It seems to run best at about 10 degrees.

 

thanks again

[MilesFox]

Hello, I recently acquired a 1993 Loyale, AT, AWD, with about 160K miles (my first subaru) and have a few questions:

 

1) This thing leaks all over the exhaust, which of coarse make a nice smoke cloud when you stop. It doesn't appear to go through lots of oil, but whatever it does leak ends up on the exhaust, just ahead of the catalytic converter. Should I perform a full gasket replacement or try to localize the leak?

 

Valve covers ar most likely leaking. There is also a o-ring in the oil passage between the head and the cam tower, which it can leak (under pressure) The cam seals are probably definitely leaking, which the oil runs down the front, the bottom, and drips off near the exhaust. There may be axle grease on the exhaust cats, look for a ripped inner boot.

 

2) Can I perform a re-seal with the engine in the car or am I better off pulling it? All of the hoses are very brittle, they have a tendency to snap when I try to move them, so I will probably be replacing all the vacuum lines. (and I noticed one tee with a screw in it so I need to find out where that was supposed to go.

 

If you have the capacity to remove the engine, go ahead. Otherwise, he cam seals can be changed by removing the cam retainer wheich contains the seals, and do them on a bench. You can remove the radiator to get at the front seal and oil pump. The quality of work will be best if you pull the engien, and this allows you to rebuild the cam towers and replace the o-ring, as this is the only way to cure lifter tick if it persists after fresh oil and oil pump seals.

 

 

3) If I need to pull it should I do a complete overhaul or is this engine reliable and I should follow a "if its not broke, why fix it" philosophy? (I know very little about the EA82)

 

Pull the motor and clean it up, install new cam, front and oil pump seals. rarely does the oil pump itself need to be replaced. Replace the water pump and the timing belt components. If you remove all the belts and pulleys, ditch the covers as this will make future routine service infinitely easier (a timing belt job becomes 20 min instead of 2 hours). Leave the rear main seal alone if it is not leaking. Only replace if brittle and cracked. In improperly installed new one will more likely fail thean the original one left alone.

 

4) With the green and white connectors disconnected I get the CEL and error 35 on the ECU (with green connected the CEL goes off) I have pulled the canister purge valve and plan to try and get it unstuck or replace it if the solenoid is toast. I have read I can use a valve off of toyota's or hondas as well with some connector modification.

 

YOu may just have to live with egr or purghe control codes. you can relace the component with a resistor to fool the ecu. The purge control you can bypass. The egr you can disconnect. But yes, there are write ups that explain changing these parts with toyota or nissan, once you adapt their connections. original pieces cost too much, but are pocket items at junkyards. Usually the plastic nipples break off before anything else.

 

I am not a mechanic by any stretch, but am mechanically inclined and can generally take apart and put things back together with very few extra parts left over

 

you can put this motor half together with missing parts and it will still run. This engine is fairly simple without too many little things to lose track of.

 

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any advice, I'm looking forward to getting this car running well and using it as a daily driver The body and interior are in great shape and the drivetrain looks good. It currently is a spare vehicle but I plan to sell my old truck after I get this running well, so now is the time for me to tear it down if needed.

 

Keep the old subarus alive. I was the only one in indaiana with old subarus 10 years ago. Welcome from a former hoosier.

[kas447]

Thanks MilesFox, exactly what I was looking for! I cleaned the canister purge valve internally with PB blaster and it works now, so hopefully I will lose the 35 error.

 

Should I also replace head gaskets? I am noticing that most full gasket sets also ship the head gaskets.

 

Also, when you say ditch the timing covers, do you mean leave them off completely or is there an aftermarket cover that is easier to remove?

 

thanks again!

[robm]

Don't change the head gaskets unless they are leaking.

 

Most people find that front timing belt covers can be left off without any problems. I use only the centre one as it is not too hard to remove, and covers the lowest, most vulnerable bits of the system.

 

You are checking the timing with the green connectors together, I hope?

[kas447]

Yes, that is with the green test plugs connected. My fear is that the previous owner put the belts on a little off (if that is possible, I havent had the covers off yet and am not familiar enough with this engine to know for sure)

 

I thought he said he put them on 180 degrees apart (one up, one down) But I have read that the procedure is put one on with dot up then rotate engine, and add the other. Just not sure if both of those accomplish the same thing or not.

 

Thanks

Edited January 11, 2012 by kas447
typo and clarification

[MilesFox]

If you can find the specific tool or modify a socket, you can perform the head re-torque procedure described in the FSM.

 

as long as the cooling system is kept up with water pump, frequent coolant change, and non-corroded radiator, and fresh hoses, it will see 300,000 miles easy.

 

I would only pre-emptively do a head gasket if the engine has known overheats, or frequent overheats.

[kas447]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. One last question (for now anyway..haha) Is there a particular brand to lean towards or away from on the gasket sets? I see several different ones on-line, varying greatly in price. Don't want to buy a junk gasket set...

[Skysm182]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. One last question (for now anyway..haha) Is there a particular brand to lean towards or away from on the gasket sets? I see several different ones on-line, varying greatly in price. Don't want to buy a junk gasket set...

 

for head gaskets, people here like to recommend using fel-pro permatorque cause of not having to retorque after driving or get oem ones from the dealership.

[MilesFox]

felpro kit is not bad. if you get the bottom end conversion set, that will include the front crank, oil pump, and oil pan, rear seal. Susally the seals are supplied by national (canada, usa, mexico) but sometimes you will get NOK seals (japan)

 

unless you need head gaskets, you can buy the top end seals as separated. Felpro supplies oem valve covers and grommets uder their 'perma-dry' brand, but intake and exhausts are cardboard stamped in-house.

 

Bosal id good to go for metal exhaust gaskets. I am not sure if bosal supplies intaked. Ideally, the best quality intake and exhaust gaskets will be metal with graphite facing (oem, victor reinz)