phishy75 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Thought I had her licked, but the dreaded steaming tailpipe is back. Put a new pass side HG in about 5 months ago, new drivers side HG and intake manifold gaskets about a month ago. Before I did the drivers side, I was having a problem with intermittant steam out the tailpipe and low compression in the front cylinder. All of the gaskets are jobber (I know, i know) and everything was fine for the last month - even did a 700km trip up to Tofino. Now the steam is back and it seems to be worse!!! Good compression all around (150 - 170 psi), no water in the oil, no particularly fouled plugs, new manifold gaskets don't show any signs of leaking... And to top it all off, I have a baby on the way and I'm moving in 10 days so the car needs to be mobile SOON. I'd love to get some good ideas on where else to look and what it might be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanislru Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 That's fubar guy, how well tq'ed down are/were your bolts on the head? I just had the engine out on my wagon and didn't do the hg's cause I was rushed for time and now it's gotta come out cause the hg 1-3 is gone. figures, lesson learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ru_ Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 actually the subaru heads are known to crack. Basically they crack between the intake and exhaust valve seats. That type of crack is ok. The problem is it works it's way into the exhaust port where there is a nice juicy coolant passage. If that crack is big enough, coolant will leak into the exhaust port, and not into the engine. I have had cases where the coolant would actually leak pretty good. Best way to tell is pull the exhaust off the heads and have a look. I haven't seen them crack soo badly as to smoke like a blown head gasket, but I have seen them fill exhaust pipes in a matter of a month of sitting. Is it turbo or non. More likely to be the case in a turbo model, but the non turbo's have the same problem. I have seen head cracking and a coolant leak into the port on heads with 260,000 kms on them. Mind you that is pretty rough driving too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 edit: oops, its not your turbo wagon Seems to me if the compression is great then it has to be intake or exhaust side of the the valves. Cracked head, maybe cracked intake manifold? That would be really weird but so is the problem you're having :-\ If you need anything, parts, tools, or an extra pair of hands don't hesitate to ask. It sounds like you are in a tight situation, I've got thurs, friday, probably sat/sun off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Did you inspect the exhaust ports for cracks when you had the heads off? If you needed HG's, it's likely that there are cracks in there as well. Something else I'm curious about: I know that coolant flows into/through the throttle body on FI subarus. Is it at all possible for it to leak into the intake from this point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishy75 Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 I was thinkin cracked head too. I checked both of them out pretty well when I had them off, and all looked well, but we all know looks can be decieving. Torqued them all down to a little over spec (like 50lbs I think) so I don't think that is the prob. I didn't get the heads machined when I did the hg's, but I did clean them up immaculately and did the old straight edge check. So what is the best way to figure out which side to pull off first? I ran it for a while and then pulled all the plugs, but didn't find any evidence of moisture in any cylinder. I'm thinkin I'll pull of the exhaust and run her pipeless to see which side is steamin (besides LOUD is COOL haha). Hey bushbasher - you got a head (I suspect drivers side) layin around you wanna get rid of? Vanislru - your GF told me you blew a HG and you have a move coming up on the same day as us too. A whole lot of coincidences goin on . Good luck with your wrenchin and moving man:drunk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishy75 Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 Did you inspect the exhaust ports for cracks when you had the heads off? If you needed HG's, it's likely that there are cracks in there as well. Something else I'm curious about: I know that coolant flows into/through the throttle body on FI subarus. Is it at all possible for it to leak into the intake from this point? Yup, took a good look, but I coulda missed something... Shoulda mentioned - it's carbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Pull the Y-pipe and look in the exhaust ports as best you can. If there's a coolant leak in there, it should steam clean the area around the crack. Does it lose coolant when warm or cold? You could also let it sit overnight with the Y-pipe off and a clean paper towel under each exhaust port to see if anything drips out. On carbed cars, there is a coolant passage into the bottom of the carburetor. There is a spacer and two gaskets under the carb, which could potentially leak as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishy75 Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 It seems to be a cold engine thing. I'm not totally sure because the Gf has been driving it lately so I haven't had a good chance to see how things change as it heats up. When it was doing this before, it would often do it when cold, and then clear up and run fine after it warmed up a while. What does this mean to you Snowman? thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 It seems to be a cold engine thing. I'm not totally sure because the Gf has been driving it lately so I haven't had a good chance to see how things change as it heats up. When it was doing this before, it would often do it when cold, and then clear up and run fine after it warmed up a while. What does this mean to you Snowman? thanx I'm not entirely sure if that indicates anything specific. I mainly asked because if it happens more when cold, letting it sit with paper towels under the exhaust ports will definitely tell you something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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