Bucky92 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 (edited) I have been trying to run my coupe everyday..for a good 20 minutes half hour or so..without any issues...its been running well...starting right up....until today. LB started with 4 pumps of the gas pedal and vroom vroom. warmed him up..and left him to purr..checking up on him every 5 minutes. Go out to shut him off...and he is making a terrible whining noise...spewing coolant out the overflow...fans not kicked on..and once I got him shut down..and the whining stopped...you can hear the coolant gurging and bubbling basically through the top of the motor. So much for my new head gaskets....I think the motor is toast..will check better once its cooled off enough to touch. If it is..I am through....Just when I was starting to be happy with the motor and feeling confident about what I did....Well..guess I was right all along...everything I touch turns to poo. So those who were looking forward to me failing....you got your wish Update...just checked on him...bone dry on coolant...and not enough on the floor...doesnt look like any in the oil...radiator is cold..cant tell exactly where all the coolant on floor came from...but it wasnt leaking before...and it was full Edited November 17, 2008 by Bucky92 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast I Drive Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 was there smoke coming out the exhaust when you shut it off? If there is no coolant in the block and no coolant in the radiator, and none in the oil and not all of it is on the floor, then it had to have been burning it. Or it could still be in the block. Drain the block and see how much coolant comes out. That is terrible, youve had too many problems with that car since it came to you, but you shouldnt give up on it. Even if you did something wrong doing the HG thats ok, everyone makes mistakes, I know Ive made my fair share. If the motor is blown we both know there are a lot of people here who are more than willing to help you get lil Blue back on the road. Dont give up on that car Connie, you know you would regret it if you let it go, and they arent all that common over here but they are about 10x rarer over where you are, and i would hate to see it go to someone who doesnt have the passion to care for it like you do, that car is beautiful because of the work you put into it. And when its all said and done, you will be glad you kept it and went through all the BS to get it restored like it should be. Ive thought of scrapping the Beast multiple times, namely every time I had to swap a motor into it, it's on its 4th engine now, and I still need to replace all the axles and bearings again. It has left me high and dry many a time, but I still love it, and there is no way I could stand to see someone else fondling my baby. Hopefully I was able to drudge up a little inspiration for ya -Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 check under driver side carpet, maybe the heater core went out or the heater control valve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I think just about anyone on here with a heart doesnt want you to fail. Sorry about lil blue. Theres got to be a spare ea81 lying around somewhere in the lower 48 for your car. Just take what good you can off the blown one (if it is) and put them on the other. Be patient and apreciate the fact that at least youve got a good car to get you to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted November 17, 2008 Author Share Posted November 17, 2008 Motor is toast...Beast is right..it all went out the exhaust. I have about $800 into that motor and now its scrap. Should have never brought that car over here. Not bothering with it anymore. And there is a select group of people on this board who I know are laughing thier heads off. They can speak up if they so choose. I know exactly who you are. Done with this all.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I wouldn't say it's scrap. The EA81's can take a lot of abuse. A bit of coolant burning will just clean the combustion chambers up real nice. Do you know what was making the whining noise? Could the water pump have failed for some reason? You NEED to at least find out what happened. If you don't it will ruin all the work you did. You have to learn something from it to make it worthwhile. Investigative mechanicing.... it could be something simple. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I've got a '82 2wd wagon... motor would swap right in. If I was closer, or if there was some way to get it there, I'd give it to you.... (the wagon is kind of rusted out, unlike your coupe) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Youve got to much into the old girl to give up now. Can you hold off until funds are better to get yourself a different motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Do you know what was making the whining noise? Could the water pump have failed for some reason? I'm guessing the bearings on the water pump failed after it went dry, so it was a secondary failure, not the cause. I had massive coolant leaks into the block on my '85 wagon (20 miles per gallon... of coolant), and it didn't hurt it at all. Once I put new head gaskets in it, it was all good again, or at least the engine was. Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Connie you know that john, jess and I are more than willing to come over and lend a hand getting LB running again. There are too many things it could be to just assume that the head gaskets went. It could very well have been the intake gaskets or the water pump as mentioned. Dont give up. Im in your shoes right now with my camaro. Spent a month of free nights doing a rear end swap only to be left with dragging disk brakes and a blown posi...yay me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subyrally Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 dont give up connie. just step back, catch your breath and start on it again. you know you have friends here that are backing you. some in person, others in spirit. you know that if you need anything, all you need to do is ask. take a few days off of messing with the car, gather your thoughts, then tackle that beast. just remember to take your time and never be afaid to ask for help if you need it. thats why we are here. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Sorry to hear about that! But don't give up! Find out what went wrong! I have a motor as well that I would probably sell fairly cheap, it's my spare but I feel for ya!! So let me know if you're interested! Just don't give up on it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 dont think about hurring up or anything for a suby meet or anything. Just take a step back go over it again and again. And take your time, itll be up and running for ya soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast I Drive Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 look at it from a possitive point of view, now you can fix your clutch while the motor is out of the car. You really shouldnt give up on it, keep the car, you will be tempted to work on it after a while, I always am. If something on the Beast breaks I let it sit for months before i finally fix it, but im always glad I did. -Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Did you have 100% antifreeze in it or 50/50 mix? I ask becuase if it was 50/50 , it would appear as if half the coolant disapeared. Only the antifreeze would be left, or part of it. The water boiled off, that was the steam. Like the others said, you need to find the source of the problem. It may have just been a sticking thermostat, could have been the water pump, could have been an intake gasket. Now that it's cool, top it off with water, look for leaks, double check everything else, and start it up. I have had the temp guage maxxed out on my last ea81 and it was fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted November 18, 2008 Author Share Posted November 18, 2008 upon wake up inspection...refilled coolant...nothing leaking ( didnt put cap on though) all coolant on floor came from overflow. belt to water pump is loose...will re-tighten tomorrow. Car started right up..no wierd whining noise...and I should note..when it was overheated and whining..the noise continued for a good minute after shutting it off. Also..this motor has about everything new on it..that you can put...new water pump..OEM T Stat..radiator..new hoses..all gaskets..oil pump..etc etc. Will drain the oil within a day or so..it was clean and very hard to see on the stick to tell if anything is in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 it could just have not been full of coolant to begin with, along withthe loose belt. if this is a fresh head gasket job i bet its still ok. if the car was only idling it would have been more of a mild overheat. if you didn't cook the oil you should be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 So those who were looking forward to me failing....you got your wish Wow What's up with that? Step back,relax. It's an EA81 you'll be fine. There's plenty of good EA81's at Charlie's place alone. Besides,I'm thinking it could be mighty simple like the others are telling you. Good luck. Let me know if you need Charlie's number or anything else and I'll hope for you to NOT fail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru_dude Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 That's some really sad news... but don't forget to count your blessings. You've got a beautiful, reliable, economical young Hollie who will be by your side for MANY years to come. You have your independence. It's too close to the holidays to worry with this stuff right now. Keep him in the garage until you have the time to fool with him. Enjoy life while you can, it's too short not to. Maybe you could buy a giant glass case to display him in. You did a great job on that claybar . Even if he's not running he sure is a helluvacoupe to look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4_Welder Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Whining was most likely the pressure blowing past the radiator cap- I'm in the same spot with my F250 right now- Built a sweet new FE 360 for it, topped it off with a 4BBL, new clutch, new cap, and the body still looks like crap. Oh, and I blew the rear u-joint out. Twice. The first time left me on the side of I-84 in Pendelton, OR at 5pm on a Sunday, with an overloaded trailer. I was able to get to the store as they closed, got the universal, and changed it in the dirt on the side of the highway. Second time was a slam downshift trying to avoid some idiot stopping in the middle of the road. This time, it took the driveshaft and pinion yoke with it, probably damaged the pinion too. Now I have a very strong hauling truck that's sitting in my yard. This happened about three days after I blew the rear end out of my Courier, so I was driving my wife's Wagoneer to work. Of course, it wouldn't restart at the gas station, but that's just an AMC POS. One of the good things about Subarus is they are sturdy. The EA81 is one of the most solid engines they ever put together. Tip for the future, though- Wire the fan into an aftermarket thermostat switch, or a key-switched circuit so it runs all the time. Those radiator-mounted switches always fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 (edited) It sounds to me that the T-stat got stuck closed so then the engine overheated but the radiator stayed cool and so no cooling fan came on. I would find it surprising that anyone here on this site would be laughing about this Connie. But if there is, there are way more people pulling for you. Glen Edited November 20, 2008 by Cougar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I'm guessing you might have just had an air pocket in there that worked it's way out, fill the radiator back up with coolant (Get one of those funnels that attaches to the filler neck on the radiator, they are great!) and idle it and watch it, see what it does. If you don't have any coolant blowing out anywhere, you are probably okay, just keep an eye on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Didja change the Tstat? Did it have the little hole or jiggle valve in it? If you have some ramps you might get it up on those to purge the air, it usually helps... also the spill free funnel is actually great despite it false claims. Stick with it, it's not that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phizinza Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 My brother drove his EA81 wagon for 20mins with no water.. Blow one head gasket, we just replaced it no machining or anything. It ran fine for another few months and then the motor went into a mates 88wagon which got sold. Don;t know if its still going but they are very tough motors. Over heating doesn't always screw them over., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 (edited) Stuff happens. To the best of us. I may have ruined a freshly rebuilt EA82T that I have been waiting to install for almost 2 years. I finally got around to mating the case halves, installing all the parts, bolting on heads, installing new injectors and new turbo. Filled with oil and coolant. Fired it up, it ran for about 1-2 seconds and abruptly stopped. I tried to restart it and it wouldn't crank. Figured it was a weak battery, put it on the charger and went home for the night. Half way home, I realized what happened. Freeze plug in the drivers side head was removed while I was having cracks welded. I NEVER reinstalled the freeze plug! UGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! So 2 gallons of coolant poured into the crankcase, and was then promptly sucked through the PCV into the cylinders. Can you say Hydro-lock??? So I went back up to the shop. Drained the oil, removed the timing belts, Removed the Drivers side Cam carrier. Removed Oil filter. Removed spark plugs and cranked over by hand to eject water. I then put a new filter on, put 3 quarts of oil in it. Put the air ratchet on the oil pump pulley, and pumped the oil through the motor and watched it splooge milkshaky goo out of the oil ports in the head. Once I saw nothing more than oil, I stopped and prayed I had recoated the bearings with oil. All I can hoe is that the Brand new bearings are not destroyed by coolant contanmination. I'm going to install the freezeplug and reassemble everything and hope it runs. It probably will, but who knows about it's longevity now:rolleyes: So you see Connie, you could have made bigger mistakes and done more damage. It's all about perspective. Edited November 19, 2008 by Gloyale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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