ShockingChicken Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 The best way to explain this is with a picture: Passenger-side, '88 Wagon GL D/R 4wd 1800 ea82 SPFI Car does run hot when off-roading or running A/C in traffic, etc. Otherwise runs under 1/2 on the dial in normal conditions. Couple horizontal cool-spots on radiator, cleaning is in near future. Compression is 126 all around! This is taken when the engine is cold. No real noticible leak when car is running, but that could just because it's evaporating too quickly. That leak is coming actually FROM that bolt, itself. I see no water in exhaust and no white smoke, except a couple puffs when cold starting. Any ideas? I've suspected a rupture in the metal between the bolt housing and the water jacket? Oi vey! Car runs excellent, otherwise, with only a small hesitation problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 My idea: pull the bolts and Y pipe off and look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 if that bolt hole is really leaking coolant (which i'm suspicious of, i'd double check everything) then i'd guess someone helicoiled those threads because they were stripped and hit a water coolant passage in the head while drilling. i would double check everything and verify it is really leaking from that hole, sounds very odd. did you try starting the car with that bolt removed to see if coolant would visibly drip out of the hole? i would suspect the leak is really originating elsewhere and ends up channeling to that bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 ...i would double check everything and verify it is really leaking from that hole, sounds very odd. did you try starting the car with that bolt removed to see if coolant would visibly drip out of the hole? i would suspect the leak is really originating elsewhere and ends up channeling to that bolt. I seem to recall a thread from about 2-4 months ago from someone who had a very similar sounding problem, and it turned out that the leak WAS elsewhere and was just finding the lowest point from which to drip. (I need to take a pre-work nap, otherwise I would search for the thread.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShockingChicken Posted July 22, 2005 Author Share Posted July 22, 2005 Yeah, I had already cleaned and dried the whole area around it to see if it was coming from somewhere else: no dice. The only remotely-near leak is a slight oil seep from the HG. Back when I had the exhaust off (replcaing 02 sensor) I noticed the bolt cavity was wet. Both of those bolts have had problems with stripping so that's what my guess is, that they made a small crack between those cavities and the water jacket/passage. Running the engine with the pipe off is a test I haven't done, and prolly will do, although I'm pretty sure the result. Although, it will tell me if it's coming form the bolt itself, or the exhaust. *shrugs* Well, thanks for the help, guys! No $.50 yet, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 The only remotely-near leak is a slight oil seep from the HG. Well, thanks for the help, guys! No $.50 yet, though. That's where I'm betting my .50 cents! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 dont run long without an exhaust, it's not good for your valves. i meant to run it without the bolt in there to see if it drips from the bolt. without the exhaust on is an option, just don't run it long and drive it around that way, but good to test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKrazy Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 That was the same exact problem with the engine that was originally in my RX. I thought the same thing that is was coming from someplace else...nope it was coming from the bolt. I did a coolant pressure test to rule out any other leaks and it started leaking worse with pressure in the system. When I took the engine out to replace it, and took that bolt out....out came a bunch of coolant from the bolt hole, not the exhaust. Upon further inspection there was a crack in the hole that was letting coolant get into the bolt hole. I found it strange but said whatever since I was putting a JDM in it anyways. My brother however suggested that I could put some (not much) jb-weld in there and then stick the bolt back in and let it cure overnight. That might be a good fix for it, never tried it since I just replaced the whole engine but maybe you might want to if indeed you do see some cracking in the bolt hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShockingChicken Posted July 22, 2005 Author Share Posted July 22, 2005 That was the same exact problem with the engine that was originally in my RX. Yeah, I just found your orignal post from last year about that. Found it interesting, and realized that a crack in the head right up there, like yours, is probably the problem. :-\ Money is tight atm, and everything else on the engine is great, so I think I'll try the JBWeld solution and see what happens. Thanks a ton, everyone, for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKrazy Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Yea only problem with the JB-Weld solution I saw was you may never get that bolt out again...but as my brother said "well damn, might as well try to rig it before dropping tons of cash". But I just went for the new engine anyways since I did have the cash for it and that engine was getting tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjs Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I recently had a problem with the exhaust studs stripping out the head and I had a pretty creative solution I think. Instead of a Heli-coil and drilling I simply took a 7/16-14 tap and tapped it out to 7/16ths and that was just the perfect amount over for the 10MM bolt hole to accomadate the tap. This saves me the drilling and the price of the Heli-coil kit which is quite substantial and now I can still have room to heli coil if it should ever happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I would suggest that you don't use the JB weld since it is only rated and good for low temperature uses...you need a product like from Armeco..good for 2000F deg.. www.aremco.com ...the product is called Pyro-putty and also they have a bunch of different products for all kinds of strange uses...I was able to drive for another 3 years before actually having to pull the head off Yeah, I just found your orignal post from last year about that. Found it interesting, and realized that a crack in the head right up there, like yours, is probably the problem. :-\ Money is tight atm, and everything else on the engine is great, so I think I'll try the JBWeld solution and see what happens. Thanks a ton, everyone, for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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