I have a problem...

[i_c_the_light]

EA82T.

 

Losing coolant somewhere. Misfiring a bit. Temperature gauge fluctuates. Get's hotter under load/going up hill and gets cooler going down hill.

 

No oil in the water and no milky dipstick too. Am I right to assume headgaskets?

[Bucky92]

Run it with the rad cap off and look for bubbles..if its bubbling you are right to assume head gasket. I know the EA82Ts are very prone to head gasket issues.. I am sure someone who owns one will chime in on exactly where its leaking from..but I know the bubbles in the rad are a definate ( the crack would be in the exhaust ...meaning exhaust getting into coolant evaporating it).

[Gloyale]

Don't assume headgaskets just yet. First check below the Waterpump. Is the front of the engine wet from coolant? Check all the hose really good. Reomve the spare and check the Heater hoses. Check the ones going to and from the throttle body, they are small and look like they could be fuel or vaccuum hoses, but they preheat the throttle body. There is the hose from the T-stat housing that goes under the manifold to the block. And of course there are 2 hoses going to and from the Turbo. The return hose is really hard to see but try to check it. Check you're floorboards near the center of car under dash, are the wet? can you smell coolant in the car? that would be the heater core. You've got to rule out all external leaks.

[Skip]

Two items come to mind

 

1) coolant loss from cracked head - as Bucky says

the crack is into the exhaust and will be vaporized.

 

look to see what generation heads you have

look under the car infront of the exhaust port.

there you will find cast into the head

"EA82"

if just plain = Gen I - very prone to cracks

if underlined (i.e. EA82 ) = Gen II -- no so prone

if boxed = Gen III - almost crack proof

 

** Please note: just about all the heads have hairline cracks between the valve seats.

This is not the crack I am talking about, these are usually not terminal.

The crack I mention is in the exhaust port and is terminal.

 

 

2) Temp fluctuation. Your rad needs replaced.

These tend to have the

fins delaminate from the tubes - no flush job will help this.

 

To see this condition you must remove said rad.

Very very common condition.

 

Hope this helps somewhat.

[Cougar]

Along with checking the heads for a problem I recommend you check the intake manifold gaskets for a leak. The coolant could very well be leaking there and going into the intake. Ask me how I know this.

[jonas]

simple thing first. check your radiator cap. if the rubber seal around the cap is even a little worn you will lose coolant. mostly in the form of steam, so you will not notice any puddles of coolant. same thing happened to me. was losing coolant at a pretty good rate (a gal. every couple of days) and could not for the life of me find any leak. began worrying about head gaskets then i thought to myself, "Hmmm". checked cap to find the rubber seal was rippled. replaced and been rock steady ever since.

[i_c_the_light]

I do have bubbling with the cap off. I've also ruled out a leaking cap already because I'm using the one from my Legacy AWIC to make sure. There have been no coolant found externally on the engine at all, and the radiator is newish.

Let's assume for a moment that it IS the coolant evaporating into the exhaust. Would that be a cracked head gasket or a cracked head? I'll have to have a look under the car later on because I've got it parked in a mates garage for the time being.

 

btw, thanks for you's throwing me some answers. This car is going to be a project for a mate of mine and I where at the end of it the car will be fully prepared for rally competition. We are looking at an EJ swap later on down the road, but now the current objective is to get the car 100% operational first.

[buzzcon]

I'm dealing with a cracked head now. It is cracked in the exhaust port. Water was coming out of the exhaust, in the form of vapor. (I looked like a mosquito fogger ) It only came out, at 1st when the car was cold. After it warmed up you could hardly see it, but you could still smell it. It got progressively worse, to the point that I was adding water everyday. I loosened the exhaust pipe from the head and I could see the water dripping from the head, when the engine was running. Hope that helps.

 

~Myles~

[daeron]

bubbling out the radiator? minor blown headgasket. There is a point in the gasket where a water jacket and the combustion chamber don't *really* have enough meat in between them, and the after 100K or so, the gasket likes to blow if it is given any excuse. I had zero coolant in oil, but nasty brownish crap all thru my raditator.. other than that, EXACT same deal. Mine was actually overpressurizing the radiator cap and bubbling into the overflow withing 15 seconds of starting the engine... checked cylinder compression, i was 175, 175, 175, 130 (VERY roughly)

 

HG are an easy job; you can do them with the engine in the car IF you have a ratcheting (10 or 12)mm wrench to get the valve cover bolts off. The ratcheting box wrench is PARTICULARLY needed for the hindmost one on the US Driver side (the one driving the distributor) I spent a day on disassembly, it took two or three days for machining and I took my sweet time cleaning the block and engine bay, and a day of reassembly. These were Taking-it-easy, working by myself doing my first head job, "days" of working here, so in a rush, after having done it once, I could probably have it done in 8-12 hours flat if I had heads ready to go onto the car.. I *have* got some other experience tearing apart the motor (water pump, timing belt, etc.. i've had the longblock exposed a couple of times at this point, so about half of it I've had extensive practice on..)

 

Fel-pro perma torque HGs, from autozone, under $40 for the pair.. dealer only intake manifold gaskets, http://www.thepartsbin.com for the metal reinforced cam carrier o rings.. (they go in between the cam carrier and the cylinder head.. the cam rests in a cage that sandwiches between the head proper, and the valve cover)

 

May as well do T-belts, and a water pump, check t-belt tensioner and idler bearings, and *maybe* reseal or replace the oil pump (have you heard any hydraulic lifter noises? search TOD or "tick of death" for why I suggest the oil pump, it may not be a concern) While you're at it, pull the thermostat and flush the block out real good. You don't get a chance like that every day, and overheating is this engines worst enemy. (have you had any overheats or near overheats?) It always helps to strike a blow for the good side, even if its pre-emptively.

 

Do a compression check to be sure; I certainly wasn't going to do mine without compression numbers.. (and I was losing 1-3 quarts a day depending on how much I drove..) but $20 says you have one bad cylinder on the passenger side. The water passes through driver's side first, then over the crankshaft to the passenger side; if the car was ever run short on water, the passenger side "starved" first so to speak.

 

This is the most common "big-time" problem with these cars; and its a cake walk of a head job. Not counting moral support from the USMB, I did mine almost totally solo, late at night.. and it was the first time I had ever torn a car engine apart so deeply. Good luck.

[Gloyale]

I second the need for a compression check. If the compression checks out good, then I would say pull the exhaust crossover pipe(PITA, have to lift the motor off crossmember slightly and it helps to unbolt the down pipe from the turbo first for better access) But then you can look up into the exhaust port and see if you have cracks. I can't get my picture attached here?(say's I've already attached it in another thread? why can't I access all my attachments I've uploaded? why can;t I upload the same one to a new thread?) anyway, If you look in my photos you will find pics of the exhauist cracks. They are hard to see with all the carbon in the ports, but with a rag, a flashlight, and some carbcleaner you should be able to spot them.

[i_c_the_light]

While a HG does look a tad daunting, I'm ready to give it a go. The gaskets will probably be done outside the car because I have another EA82T already lined up which will be put in while the current engine gets worked on.

 

Again, thanks a lot for your help guys. Expect to see more of me as I get deeper and deeper into getting this car going!

[buzzcon]

I second the need for a compression check. If the compression checks out good, then I would say pull the exhaust crossover pipe(PITA, have to lift the motor off crossmember slightly and it helps to unbolt the down pipe from the turbo first for better access) But then you can look up into the exhaust port and see if you have cracks. I can't get my picture attached here?(say's I've already attached it in another thread? why can't I access all my attachments I've uploaded? why can;t I upload the same one to a new thread?) anyway, If you look in my photos you will find pics of the exhauist cracks. They are hard to see with all the carbon in the ports, but with a rag, a flashlight, and some carbcleaner you should be able to spot them.

 

That was my thread that you attached it to. I don't know how to get it for you, but if you go to threads started by buzzcon, you can pull them up. Sorry I can't make it easier.

[i_c_the_light]

It's easy enough!

[i_c_the_light]

BUMP!!!

 

I did an experiment by running the engine with and without the radiator cap. With no cap the exhaust was colourless. With the cap I'm getting a misty exhaust and on the ground there are spots splattered directly behind the pipe like it's spraying fluid.

 

Should have the other engine by Thursday, so it'll be interesting.

 

Oh and it has Gen II heads with the "EA82" right where Skip said.