bobs97c5 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I just spent the last week rebuilding both heads on my 86 GL EA82. Actually I bought one new head and one remanufactured head since the old ones were both cracked and failed the pressure test. I bought the car with one or possibly two blown head gaskets (according to previous owner) and had a local mechanic diagnose that it truly was at least one blown head gasket. I decided to go ahead and rebuild both heads (Which I have done before successfully on other cars). Now after replacing both heads and all of the associated gaskets, the car starts and runs for a few seconds but as soon as I add water it starts blowing thick white smoke. I dropped the exhaust back off and sure enough, it starts dumping coolant/water out of the driver's side exhaust port and what looks like a bit of steam out of the passenger side. At this point I am thinking I either have a cracked block or is it possible the intake manifold gaskets aren't sealing the intake manifold correctly? Unless one of the head gaskets were bad out of the box, then I doubt it's a blown head gasket as the car has only run for a total of 2 minutes so far. I'm sure I did the head build right as I had a friend there with me who has done head gaskets on a Subaru before. Unless I really f'ed up somewhere, I think it has to be something other than the head gasket. Any ideas? What should I check next? If it's a cracked block, then is it time to abandon this EA82 (new heads, water pump, weber, belts, hoses, etc) and drop in an EJ22 or E25? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Doubt it's a cracked block if it's coming out of the exhasut port. Were the new or rebuilt heads cracked and repaired? I don't think there's an ea82 head out there that isn't. But most aren't cracked deep enough to be a problem. They may have not been repaiered correctly. But I don't think that's the problem. It's most likely the head gasket, intake gaskets, or carb base gasket. Those are the only gaskets that would result in coolant in the cylinder or ports. Did you torque the heads correctly? Did you use all new gaskets and super clean the mating surfaces? What brand of head gaskets did you use? I'm not trying to second guess you or say you don't know what you're doing, just going over the possible problems, and remembering the things I've done wrong ..... I'd say start at the top, the carb base gasket, then to the intake manifold gaskets, then remove the heads and do it all again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobs97c5 Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 I used all new gaskets from an ERISTIC head gasket kit (maybe I should have spent more $ on the Subaru head gaskets), and I followed the torquing pattern/process outlined in the Hanyes manual. I cleaned the mating surfaces really well with a NAPA rubber gasket remover tool that goes on a drill. I went and bought a new intake manifold gasket set, but I haven't got around to trying to replace those gaskets again. The intake manifold gaskets that came in the kit were really thin compared to the ones that I picked up at NAPA today. Can I use a thin coat of RTV in addition to the gasket, or is that a bad idea? I was thinking about pulling the intake manifold and putting it on a really flat slab of marble to make sure it really is flat. Since it has a relatively new Webber 32/36DVEG, I didn't think of checking the carb base gasket. Thanks for the ideas! (the head gaskets are in there too, but you can't see them in this pic) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I think everyone here will agree that the best head gaskets are the Felpro perma-torque gaskets, and for intake, OEM Subaru. Great idea on the marble slap, if it isn't flat, lay a large piece of emory cloth on the marble and rotate the manifold(figure 8) to sand it down flat. I've done that on mower and motorcycle heads with good results, it's just hard to tell how much you took off! I hate to suggest it, but it may be a quality issue with those gaskets. But if you didn't replace the intake manifold gaskts when you put it back together, start there. If the ones you have are the paper type, like a thermostat gasket, then use Indian Head shellac, it's at the parts store near the silicone gasket maker stuff. It holds up to gas, silicone will not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobs97c5 Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 Thanks guys, hopefully it's just the intake manifold gaskets. I'll try checking the intake manifold for flatness and I'll pick up some Indian Head Shellac to use with the second set of new intake gaskets that I picked up. Hopefully that's all it is. I really hope it's not the brand new head gaskets. I'll report back in a few days to let you know for sure what the problem was/is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I've used several of those Eristic kits and they seem to be fine. I am putting my money on carb base and/or intake gaskets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I cleaned the mating surfaces really well with a NAPA rubber gasket remover tool that goes on a drill. Did you use that on the block? I hope not. You should never use anything but a gasket scraper and 1500 grit sandpaper on a sanding block(very light and carefully, just to remove high spots of left over gasekt material) If the drill tool you used left any type of scratches or marks on the block, that could be the problem. Fortunately you could have the deck resurfaced, however you'll need to split the case halves to have it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobs97c5 Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Did you use that on the block? I hope not. You should never use anything but a gasket scraper and 1500 grit sandpaper on a sanding block(very light and carefully, just to remove high spots of left over gasekt material) If the drill tool you used left any type of scratches or marks on the block, that could be the problem. Fortunately you could have the deck resurfaced, however you'll need to split the case halves to have it done. It is a soft rubber attachment that is specifically made for gasket removal and it did not appear to leave any sort of scratches on the block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 The white version of that is the Subaru approved tool for removing gasket residue from blocks. I don't see the green version being enough difference to be the problem. Did you pressure test the new heads the same way you did the old ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobs97c5 Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 The white version of that is the Subaru approved tool for removing gasket residue from blocks. I don't see the green version being enough difference to be the problem. Did you pressure test the new heads the same way you did the old ones? One of the new heads did go to the machine shop and get pressure tested, but the other came with a certificate saying it had been pressure tested and certified. I guess it's possible that the remanufactured head could be cracked, but they pressure test them before shipping them out and guarantee them to not be cracked. I am going to start with the intake manifold gaskets and possibly the carb base gasket and go from there. Thanks for the input guys. Keep it coming if you have any other words of wisdom to offer, otherwise I'll update you all in the next few days as I have time to work on the Suby. Thanks! -Bobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobs97c5 Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 I pulled the intake manifold off of the motor tonight and found a couple issues however the intake manifold was flat as can be. First of all, the paper thin after market intake manifold gaskets were crap and didn't hold up to the coolant that made it's way through the intake ports. Second of all, the carb base gasket was crap too. It looks like the last owner who installed the Weber carb did a poor job installing the carb base gasket. There appears to be a coolant port that went up to the stock Hitachi carb that the Weber does not use. Some crappy homemade gasket was plugging that coolant port in the intake manifold and it didn't hold up over time. Can I have that coolant port welded shut now that I have a Weber carb? If I have no intention of ever going back to the stock carb, is there any reason I shouldn't do this? It appears that the leaky carb base gasket was allowing coolant into the intake manifold and into the intake ports of the head. The heads being freshly rebuilt must be fine and I am almost certain now that the problem the entire time was the carb base gasket. I'll be finishing up the car on Monday. I'll keep you all posted as to the results. Thanks! -Bobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 You can weld it up if you like, be a good time to do it with the manifold off. But a good base gasket will seal it up, just like it did stock. Some guys have spooged a bunch of JB weld in there to seal it up, but I'd go with a welder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobs97c5 Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Thanks, I am having a friend weld it up at his shop and then he'll file it down to be flat. Hopefully the new carb base gasket and intake manifold gaskets do the trick. Stay tuned... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobs97c5 Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 So I had the coolant port on the intake manifold welded up as suggested and replaced the intake manifold gaskets as well as the carb base gaskets. I used a bit of indian head shellac as suggested and bolted everything back together. The car started right up and idles beautifully. It was still smoking a lot, but this time the engine was running great. I unbolted the exhaust and no smoke is coming out of the heads, but as soon as I put the exhaust back on there is a lot of white smoke pouring out the tail pipe. There must be a lot of coolant/water left in the exhaust and cat that has not burnt off yet. I let it idle for about 15 minutes and it was still smoking quite a bit so I dropped the exhaust back off of the head. Still no smoke coming from the exhaust ports on the heads so I am just going to drive the car until all of that coolant burns out of the exhaust. I also changed the oil to make sure to get rid of any water that may have made it's way into the oil. Thanks everyone for your ideas and help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 It will take a while for that coolant to burn out. Good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Nice to see it worked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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