A fatal error occurred in my engine today

[wawazat??]

The SVX overheated last summer at which time I flushed the radiator, replaced the hoses, t-stat, and cap. After the job was done, everything was A-OK for the rest of the summer.

Today, the first HOT day in MI (88-90), I saw the temp needle climbing after getting off the freeway. Made my appointment and then checked the car over. No fluid loss, no leaks, both fans operational . Called my local dealer and cautiously drove the 25 miles with the windows down and the heat turned up. Even while moving at 70+ speeds the temp needle rose and fell repeatedly. Got to the dealer and opened the reservoir to find black goo on top of the fluid. Quick inspection leads me to conclude its a head gasket, though these guys have seen a block catastrophically fail down cylinder #1 after an overheat.

I'm unsure what to do next. She's got a 143K on her and has served us well. My wife is her pilot on a daily basis (for the last 7 years) and would like to get something else. I have a garage FULL of performance parts and stock parts (including the smashed white SVX pictured in my locker). Fix her, dump her (at which point I'll have the mother-of-all SVX garage sales), take the SVXTypeR route and build the **** out of her. I don't know and I'm seriously disheartened right now.

Just wanted to get it off my chest.

Todd

[Aredubjay]

Todd,
Your message made my heart drop. You've got to fix her before the end of July! I sincerly hope it isn't anything serious. Although, as I've said, many times, I subscribe to Benjemin Franklin's old adage, "Always prepare yourself fo the worst, that way, if it doesn't happen, you're not disappointed."

Good luck.

I'm speachless. There's no way you could... i cant even say it. Fix it before i get really upset.

-Mike

[Mr. Pockets]

Spiking temperature suggests, to me, a bad thermostat. But good in the reservoir...man, I don't know.

Which dealer are you going to? I mean, if you trust them, cool. I am happy with Ann Arbor Subaru, if you want a second opinion. Call Lou - he's a good guy.

I'd like to submit one vote for 'keep it.' If not that, then get another one. I don't think you'll find anything else out there that compares.

And, for crying out loud, get it taken care of before the 10th Anniversary meet. We have to caravan from MI.

[Jamsvx]

Sorry to hear about the car

May I also add a vote to keep it.

Hope everything works out and its not too hard of a hit on the wallet

James

Sniff...

Can't we add a "How to rebuild an svx engine" tech demo to the 10th anniversary meet?

Sorry to hear about this...

[Beav]

Are you certain the 'goo' isn't from a tranny cooler leak in the radiator? It wouldn't be the first time that happened. Import car water pump impellers have a curious habit of dissolving, melting or spinning loose on the shaft at times. In fact I just did a 929 today - the impeller spun loose, the car overheated and the hot water from the top hose torched a nice big split in the top radiator tank. Aren't plastics wonderful in realistic applications?

Anyway, was the car running normally or was it mis-firing, white smoke in the exhaust, smell of anti-freeze burning, etc.?

[wawazat??]

I am still majorly bummed right now.

Beav,
I read your post and wanted to add some details. The "black goo" was very oily feeling. I know that anti-freeze has an oily feel as well. I scrubbed the overflow bottle out last summer when I replaced the components. I didn't smell burning anti-freeze, the car did not stumble or miss at any time, and I didn't notice any white smoke. The fluid level is where it was the last time I checked about two weeks ago. I'll check the tail pipes in a minute.

One thing I have been noticing for the last couple of months is a gurgling/bubbling sound behind the dashboard when the car is started. Could an air pocket trapped somewhere in the cooling system cause this kind of erratic temperature reading? The needle went from its standard position, up to just shy of the red zone and then bounced around between those points as I drove. Moving thru traffic typically lowered the temps and running the heater helped as well. Running the A/C drove the temps up very quickly.

Todd

[svx_commuter]

This sounds similar to the problem Gary had on his car. It turned out to be the head gasket. Exhaust gas leaks into the coolant and raises the temperature. There is some kind of a gas analyizer that lets you know if it's in the coolant. Somehow it is replaceable without pulling the engine. Samething, temperature gauge was going up and down with no other problems.

[Ron Mummert]

Wawa - I really hope this is a less than 4 figure fix, but DO fix her.
A little auto shop 101 here. How would a blown head gasket lead to goo in the reservoir, without you first noticing the billows of steam pouring out the exhaust pipe? Beav to the rescue, AGAIN.
We're all addressing the proper druids in your behalf.

Ron.

[AnthraXFan]

this certainly isn't good news...had the exact same thing happen on my 1994 grand prix about 2 months ago...hense why i bought my svx. temp was overheating, radiator fluid started pouring out my exhaust...blew a head gasket is what they said, did a pressure test...cylinder #6 had a leak, oil was getting into the radiator because of it. radiator fluid went into engine and out exhaust...cost $995 for me. hope all goes well though man.
(hates seeing this happen to one of the few SVX's in michigan)

[kuoh]

Did you try simultaneously stepping on the gas and brake pedals while having someone shut the hood and trunk at the same time?

Sorry this doesn't help, but being a tech support guy, I just couldn't resist.

KuoH

Originally posted by wawazat??
A fatal error occurred in my engine today

[Beav]

Originally posted by Ron Mummert
A little auto shop 101 here. How would a blown head gasket lead to goo in the reservoir, without you first noticing the billows of steam pouring out the exhaust pipe?

Ron.

It all depends on where the gasket blew. A small fissure between the oil feed port and a water jacket will allow the higher pressure oil to enter the cooling system. If I remember correctly the SVX has an 'open deck' engine, where the cylinders are free-standing at the block-to-head mating surface. That makes the scenario much easier than with most cars. Head gaskets don't always blow in the manner that allows water into the exhaust, so the absence of white smoke is not indicative. The presence of white smoke is a fairly good indicator though.

The odd part is the goo being black. Typically when oil and water mix in the bottle you get a grayish milkshake. ATF = pink, unless it hasn't been serviced in a while... The gurgling/bubbles sound you've heard may have been combustion gases flowing through the heater core. When the engine is running (before it's boiling over) can you see bubbles in the radiator? That's an indication of combustion leakage. Most shops will have either a 'block tester' a syringe type tool that aerates a blue chemical solution with the air in the top of the radiator. If ther's any CO present the solution turns yellow. Other shops, myself included, will grab the tailpipe sniffer from the gas analyzer and check the radiator for CO.

The reason for my prior post is that I've worked with a lot of mechanics that always seem to jump directly to the worst case scenario. Even if it pans out to be the head gasket it should come in under a grand, which is about average for the majority of cars these days.

[huck369]

One of my previous Legacy's had the same symtoms <sp?>, erratic temp gauge, and oil in the radiator, and yes it was just oil floating around in the coolant, not the milk gravy looking stuff I'd seen in the oil pans of a few old Pontiac's I've had with a blown head gasket.

I ended up replacing BOTH head gaskets and had them checked and milled, but that fixed it, cost me a total of about $200.00, but did it myself.
Probably wouldn't have been a bad Ideal to have a valve job done while the heads were off, but I bought the car in that condition, and didn't know what shape the engine was in.(hated to waste money)

So my vote is Fix it!

[solarsvx]

wawazat sorry to hear your luck man,, it wouldnt be a headgasket without smoking severly like every one said,, just make absulotly shure thats the problem they told u i would get a 2nd opinion on the matter ..


bast of luck hang in there it will see better days