falco

Everyone likes a good story, right? Here goes... I bought a cheap 1997 Grand Wagon about six months ago, to use while I worked on my other Legacy. I didn't really care what condition it was in, it was cheap, road legal, and drove well. That went fine, so when I finished the other Legacy, I kept using the Grand Wagon for towing and other fairly hard work. I noticed that sometimes on the motorway, the engine temperature dropped to the point that it was below cold. Checked the thermostat - it had the centre hacked out of it. Obviously someone had done that for a reason, but figured I'd replace it and find out. Did that, and the car still ran fine, but maintained temperature on the motorway as it should. Checked for head gasket leakage - nothing obvious, no water bubbles. So I kept towing multi-tonne trailers around with it, and then, on a long-distance trip while stuck in traffic, the temperature gauge started creeping up. I found that if I brought the idle up a bit, it would stay cool, so I did that while stopped, and made sure revs didn't drop too low while driving, and it made it back fine, despite towing a massive load. Checked the water again, and found that it was losing water, and there were now bubbles in the radiator. So, pulled the engine, replaced pretty much everything (head gaskets, water pump, and mountains of other things... no more oil leaks). Great, water bubbles gone. But, WTF, the temperature is still getting too high. When idling, it comes up to temp fine, sits there for a while, then starts creeping into the overheating region. But, the radiator fans weren't coming on. The radiator also didn't seem nearly as hot as it should be. But none of that makes any sense. So here's the questions: - Anyone have any details on the exact wiring config on a BG9 Grand Wagon, that runs the fan(s)? Looks like the ECU is supposed to trip relays, which run the fans, but I can't find good diagrams on that, and everything on the car is in Japanese. - Why wouldn't the radiator be getting hot (it's warm on the driver's side, cool on the passenger side)? The thermostat and water pump are new, the radiator's been professionally flushed and checked, was filled with the bleed cap open. I could just toss the thing away, but I've spent a lot of time and effort on the engine, so I'd like to resolve the situation. The car also has a reco transmission and steering rack, and drives amazingly well. It deserves to be saved, I reckon...

At this point, I assume every 90s 2.5 I see (250T, Grand Wagon etc) has a leaky head gasket. It's true until I'm certain it's not!

Things to check: 1. Swap bulbs left/right and see if the dimness moves too. If so, it's a bad bulb. 2. Check the connector on the back of the bulb. If it's deformed, cracked etc. it can cause issues. 3. Check all other earths and connectors for heat. If there's a bad connection somewhere, and the headlight is still running to some extent, there will be a lot of heat being generated somewhere. Find that, and you've found your problem.

Less of a problem than failed head gaskets. I think I remember doing the frost plugs with the engine in place. The process went something like: - Remove all engine bay crap near the heads that will get in the way. - Remove exhaust and engine mount nuts, and engine steady bolt, so the engine can be jacked up. - Raise engine as high as you have to, to get at the upper head bits. Don't damage the gearbox mounts etc. - Remove rocker cover - Remove valve gear - Puncture both frost plugs with a nail - Screw a big screw through the hole, and lever frost plugs out - Tap replacement plugs in place. You might want to use sealant, some do, some don't. - Reverse all the above steps. It's a lot less clumsy if you remove the engine entirely, but that's up to you.

Just a thought - in EA81s, milky oil is normally caused by rusted-out frost plugs in the heads. Not to say it definitely isn't head gaskets, but that's not where I'd look first.

Question - will a 2001 WRX STi need a transponder to start? I had a 2001 WRX, and I'm pretty sure that just used a regular key, but it was a few years ago...

Yep - mostly me. Though, I think the tree or power pole coming directly towards the driver's door will be a bit more freaky...

Yep, absolutely. But... where? I've been looking on and off for ages! They must be around, but I'm just not having much luck. Ha, I bet there's one on TradeMe right now. (heads off to look) Edit - ha ha indeed. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/wrecked-cars/auction-993239385.htm

Nope - an older coupe would make it easier. But depending how you define models (being an STi), it should come in under 20,000 units per year. That might be pushing it, but I know of a few questionable cases that went through OK. I don't think NZTA minds too much so long as you aren't being really cheeky. For me, it's all academic now anyway. Just need to find a parts car. Alternative - any EJ20 single-turbo, halfway decent 5 speed manual box, Impreza front suspension/brakes, Impreza rear brakes. Just more messing around, and not as good a result. I'm not in any hurry though, I'll see what shows up.

It wouldn't be hard to register under the SIV programme (there are still even slots available this year), but I don't think that helps me that much. The mileage doesn't worry me greatly either. But I really just want a parts car; at this price and mileage, it doesn't seem worthwhile. Having done rough calculations, I'd be lucky to get away with less than NZ$6000 landed. I don't mind paying a premium for the STi bits, but that's going too far. I was pondering registering it and driving it around for a while, but that idea's completely unrealistic I think. This is for my Brumby conversion project. Anyone know of any better options for engine (+ loom, computer etc), box, front suspension, complete brake assemblies all round? I'd prefer to buy a complete car so at least I know the engine starts and runs before I start pulling it to bits.

Is that definitely true, given that someone here was selling a gearbox for one of these at around $2000?

Hi - value question. I've been offered this car in Japan, and wondering what I should be thinking about paying for it. It's a 2000 STi, pretty original and tidy, but very high k's - 248,000. It can probably be registered in NZ, but I'd be running the risk that it'd be a parts car. What do you think it'd be worth here, both registered, and unregisterable?

Some random thoughts - too hot, leading to weakening of cylinder walls, open block allows the top of the bores to flex and flare. Combustion at near TDC, the top of the bores will stretch and split, there's not much to stop that. A tiny crack would get widened pretty quickly in that situation, I think. If that stud was loose, maybe the thread pulled? I can't imagine the stud itself stretching - I'd imagine steel would resist high temperatures a lot better than the alloy would. Maybe the collapsing of the bores was enough to take the load off the head bolt.

Cripes. 1990 Legacy GX 1997 Grand Wagon 1982 Brumby 1983 Brumby 2014 Forester 2003 Smart Roadster Coupe 1975 Honda Civic RS 1977 Honda Civic Turbo 1963 Mini Traveller 1959 Mini Deluxe 1982 Mini LE 1984 Heron MJ1 1977 Mini tarmac rally car

Agreed - a few years ago I had a tidy WRX, and a rough around the edges Legacy GT, at the same time. I was constantly getting pulled over in the GT, though it was completely stock. Not once in the WRX, also completely stock, as it looked spotless.

Excellent, sounds like everyone's coming up with the same idea as me. I've already bought a new thermostat, and being a non-turbo, shouldn't be too hard to avoid air/bleeding issues. Thanks! (And yes, the heater goes fine, when the engine's at running temperature anyway)

I have a 1997 Grand Wagon, fairly high mileage (230k). It's all pretty solid, but it has an unusual problem with engine temperature. I think I know what the cause is, but just thought I'd bounce it off people here. Around town, it runs exactly halfway up the gauge, never moves. But at about 80km/h or above, the temperature starts dropping, until it hits the cold mark. Off the motorway and into town (or into a traffic jam), and it goes back to normal. It still runs fine, but running that cold, it goes through fuel at quite a rate, and engine wear might be a bit accelerated too. Makes a change from the normal EJ25 overheating issue, I guess. This car has had that problem about 40k ago, new head gaskets and other bits at that stage.

I see what you mean - some of those Google images were pretty clear. I reckon that's the problem, won't know until I check it out tomorrow evening. Fingers crossed... bit of a bastard thing to do though, putting that huge obvious arrow on the front of the belt drive, and hiding the correct mark on the trigger plate behind it.

So, an update on a few things. There is fuel; the plugs do get wet after a bit of cranking, and I get clouds of fuel vapour on cranking with a plug removed. Compression seems reasonable for the age of the engine. One is 190, two about 180, one 170. The compression gauge is a bit dodgy as it's sealed by an O ring, and I can only do it up as tight as I can twist the rubber hose on it, so that could account for some of the variation too. Certainly, on cranking, it sounds completely even. I still can't find any diagnostic connectors. I did find something that looked like it might have been an early version, but connecting it didn't result in any flash codes. Also - the cam timing looks OK. Attached are pics of the cams and the crank. By coincidence, the marks on the belt are in the right place too. It looks like there's only one mark on the crank gear. So... any ideas?

I am getting flow out of the pump, but I didn't check for pressure. Do these ever fail such that they won't build enough pressure for the regulator to work?

True - I need to remind myself how to meter these. However, I do get spark. Does this ECU still try to run if one of those are missing? If either is bad, I would have thought that would prevent it from timing ignition properly at all, so it wouldn't try. Yes, this is the kind of thing I'm worrying about. I tried not to blast anything that seemed fragile, and the fact that I have spark and injector drive suggests that the electrics are fairly sane, but who knows. That's the thing, I've gone through everything I can think of, and come out the end of my troubleshooting process still without a running engine. For me, unheard of! I've never had a problem like this, all the way through EA and EJ series engines. I've never had a problem with an EJ flooding. I did leave the engine with plugs out for about 24 hours, wondering if this was the case, and was disappointed to get exactly the same behaviour afterwards. I would think that should do the trick? Yes, maybe. Not too sure where to look though! There's not much that would stop the engine running in this way, that I know of. Not even a dead/confused AFM. On this engine (early EJ22), there are two main banks of connectors for the engine loom - one set on the back of the engine, and one that hangs over the left side (near the battery). The back ones are the sensors (crank, cam, knock), and the side ones are all the injector and coil drives etc. In this case, we were talking about getting injector plugs mixed up; that wasn't possible as the injector plugs were never removed, only the main loom connectors. I guess... I think the engine should still run with the wrong injector order, but getting the coil packs mixed up would make for interesting behaviour like this. Thanks - I did look there, and the plugs do look as I remembered them, but now at least I have a more accurate idea. I'll recheck. I'll try listening. I've verified that the power supp.y to the injectors is OK, and I've used my patented old method for testing drive - a pinball playfield bulb connected to the injector drive. At crank, you can easily see the pulses. I've always found it impossible to hear injectors while cranking, though while running, it's easy. Good point. I'll try that. I never noticed any moisture on the plugs at all. A warning sign, I should have thought of that. Maybe the fuel pressure regulator has failed. Yep, perfect. Not even any lifter noise. It was a really nice sngine, so I'm keen to get it going again. [quote name='Rosssub said: Check the timing marks again. Make sure the right crank timing mark was used: I'm not sure this car has two marks, but maybe that's part of my problem! Will check. Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I've transferred my attention to my Brumby for now, but over the next few days I'll have another look at the Legacy.

I'll reply in more detail tonight, but I had to ask about this one right now... 'IF it has the black and green diagnostic plugs'? Do some cars not have these? If not, it must be damn difficult to use the test modes!

It does turn over at a reasonable speed, so I think the earth is probably OK. Thinks... I did forget the main earth strap when I first fitted everything, and when I tried to turn it over, it did the no earth thing. It was pretty obvious, so I just connected the earth, but I wonder if I fried something on that first start attempt with no decent earth? Edit... thinking about it, I have injector drive, I have spark, I have fuel pressure. I can't think of anything I could have fried that would stop the engine from firing, but not take out one or more of those.

Do people really do that? It sounds like an incredibly difficult way to go about it! [quote name='evowrx said: Run a comp test on all 4 pots. Yep, would have done that, but my comp tester doesn't fit. I'll have to get a new one.

Neither injector connectors nor plug leads were removed. It's pretty hard to get them wrong anyway, given the way they're routed.