Slow Overheating SVX; please help!

CaliSVX95 · #1 08-12-2011, 12:03 PM

Ok, so here are my problems:

1. SVX overheats anytime power mode or AC is used for extended periods of time.
2. Coolant bubbling in reservoir and hear it boiling elsewhere.
3. Drives SLOW; using 2nd gear near redline to go up steep hills at 45mph. Constantly downshifting just to keep up with traffic at 60mph.

I see an engine on Ebay for $1150 shipped to my door. It looks clean and obviously has a newer alternator which is a plus. So I am tempted to replace the Complete Engine instead of spending thousands just trying to find the problem with the possibility of needing to replace the engine anyway....you can see the one on ebay just by searching for an EG33, its the only clean one. The Ebay EG33 is a JDM, but I'm not concerned about state testing for this vehicle. it never needs to undergo an emissions test ever again so I am free to mod to my modding delight.

How much labor should I expect for a straight swap EG33 for an EG33?

Ideas?

I should also mention I can and do drive it to and from work everyday through nothing but steep hills and canyons about 80 miles per day in this condition and the problem seems to be getting worse. Last night was the last straw and now it's parked until I can get it fixed or until I need to use it again. I am worried about getting stranded. I feel eventually there will be a hill it won't climb or something will finally give out, whatever is wrong.

I'm in California and the car drives (slowly) so I can take it anywhere for someone to look at it on a weekend. I'm not a mechanic and I know very little about doing tests or what I should even say to the mechanic when I drop it off. I also hire private mechanics to do any work needed, so if your a shade tree mech in CA and want some good money, give me a message !!!

Details: car is running the 4.44 tranny/diff mod. The fans work and I don't see any contamination of coolant. No stalling or weird idle present. No leaks leaving any visible puddles. And it's about 90-100 degrees here everyday. All fluids are full and have been staying that way; I check often. I did the CEL test and got no errors. Car has 220,000 miles and this is the original motor.

Price is the steering factor behind this repair and how I will go about it.

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Below here is what one dealer / repair shop said without looking at the car:

Bad radiator cap - $15 repair
---Yeah right, wouldn't it push steam through the cap if it wasn't sealing? And why would this make the car so slow?

Failed head gasket - $ at least $2500 because the engine would have to be pulled.
---Would make sense why it drives so slow, but wouldn't it smoke and contaminate my coolant reservoir?

Failed water pump - $ at least $900, the refurbished pump alone is $400.
---Wouldn't it be leaking water then? And why would this make the car so slow?

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Maybe a professional tech out there in the forums somewhere would like a round trip ticket and free meals/room/board to come swap my engine for me? I'll show ya around Cali for free

Would be better for me than dumping 2k for a swap at a shop. Hell, plane tickets are only $400. I can't find any good subie shade-tree techs out here, they all drive honda, acura for their little sports cars.

I have very very very very very very bad luck with finding good shops and I just moved so I have to start over again.... for instance....I just broke down (timing belt snapped) in my 98 Ford Escort LX and took to a nearby shop for timing belt replacement because I needed to get to work and didn't have time myself. The ford 2000 SPI is a very simple motor to work on and they quoted me $150 for the belt and labor. It took them 2 weeks to replace the belt and another week to start it because they didn't re-attach grounding wires.....and they charged me and said it was my fault....$355 to install a $50 belt. And no, that's without the water pump. I couldn't imagine what they would have charged if I bought the pump too.

Huskymaniac · #2 08-12-2011, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliSVX95

--------------------------------------------
Below here is what one dealer / repair shop said without looking at the car:

Bad radiator cap - $15 repair
---Yeah right, wouldn't it push steam through the cap if it wasn't sealing? And why would this make the car so slow?

Failed head gasket - $ at least $2500 because the engine would have to be pulled.
---Would make sense why it drives so slow, but wouldn't it smoke and contaminate my coolant reservoir?

Failed water pump - $ at least $900, the refurbished pump alone is $400.
---Wouldn't it be leaking water then? And why would this make the car so slow?

I sympathize with your struggles on finding a good shop. I finally found one near me and even they are not perfect.

One other thing to check, which you haven't mentioned yet, is the thermostat. It is also inexpensive and can cause overheating.

On the cap, it will release steam into your overflow tank and you are seeing bubbles so, yes, it is possible. And it is cheap and you can do it yourself tonight.

On the pump, it may not leak before it fails to pump. If it isn't pumping, that certainly can cause an overheat. That should be easy for any decent shop to check, along with the thermostat.

You will surely get good advice in the coming hours and days. For myself, the most concerning symptom is the loss of power. Have you checked your oil dipstick for signs of water? Have you checked the oil filler cap for signs of "mayo" or foamy looking stuff? While waiting for folks to chime in, I would get a new radiator cap for the hell of it and see what happens. It is wicked cheap to try......

CaliSVX95 · #3 08-12-2011, 12:27 PM

EXACTLY !!!

I am really only concerned about the loss of power. I don't want to try to even look for anything other than what can cause a loss of power. And I certainly don't want to pay any shops to test for anything that won't cause a loss of power.

I need my speed back before I will care about whether or not using AC makes me overheat.

Will-do on the Rad Cap.

The power-loss is pretty extreme. It's never been a fast car, but this is redonkulous

92snowmachine · #4 08-12-2011, 12:41 PM

it would be easy for you to replace the thermostat and check the water pump at the same time. just two 10mm bolts on the housing for the lower hose holds the thermostat to the bottom of the water pump. if you replace the thermostat you can look up to see if the impeller is damaged and if it turns when you turn the car over. it sounds more like a transmission problem to me but another easy check is to unplug things the car doesn't need to run and try driving it. unplug the maf and oxygen sensors, also try pinching the return fuel line to see if you are low on pressure. the more information we can get about the car the easier it will be to point you in the right direction.

i wouldn't jump the gun on a new motor yet because if it was that worn out it would most likely smoke (pull off the oil fill cap when it's running to see if you get puffs of smoke), and the new engine most likely won't come with all of the sensors and electrical harness which could ultimately be the source of the problem. pull the connectors off each injector one at a time and listen for the idle to drop about the same for each cylinder, if the idle doesn't drop then you found a dead cylinder.

CaliSVX95 · #5 08-12-2011, 01:07 PM

I know for a fact that if you unplug the MAF sensor the car shuts down immediately.

And the trans was replaced last year so I'm doubting that.

Good point on it the harness, a new engine won't come with harness. It does come with the engine-side plugs, but not an entire harness.

icingdeath88 · #6 08-12-2011, 01:21 PM

If you don't have the MAF plugged in when you start the car, it will run. If you unplug it after the car is already running, it'll die.

92snowmachine · #7 08-12-2011, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliSVX95

I know for a fact that if you unplug the MAF sensor the car shuts down immediately.

And the trans was replaced last year so I'm doubting that.

Good point on it the harness, a new engine won't come with harness. It does come with the engine-side plugs, but not an entire harness.

unplug the maf before you start the car, it will run. i drove mine for weeks without one. had bad idle but otherwise ran exactly the same.

CaliSVX95 · #8 08-12-2011, 01:26 PM

I would have never thought to try that, thanks !

CaliSVX95 · #9 08-12-2011, 01:30 PM

Same thing for 02 sensors then right? before i start... and how many sensors are we talking about? I think I remember seeing 2 under the car on the exhaust. I picked up a rad cap on my lunch break so i will replace that tonight, it has the oem one on there now.

Thanks for the quick replies everyone, I need to get this sorted so I can decide how I am going to get to work through inches and inches of fresh snow every morning this winter and my Escort certainly isn't going to do it.

CaliSVX95 · #10 08-12-2011, 01:43 PM

There is also a strong smell after I drive and park it. Nothing that I recognize; and I've smelled burning oil and burning atf before. But I still wouldn't say it's not either of those two.

icingdeath88 · #11 08-12-2011, 01:45 PM

Guessing from your username that it's a '95 so there are 2 O2s, one on each side. Be sure to zip-tie the cables out of the way of all the moving stuff down there.

The first thing I'd do in your situation is go in to a shop for a compression test. If you've got a loss of power and bubbles coming out of the coolant/overheating, then I'd strongly suspect a bad headgasket. But I'd also replace the headgasket rather than swap engines. The EG33 is a very easy engine to remove and put back.

icingdeath88 · #12 08-12-2011, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliSVX95

There is also a strong smell after I drive and park it. Nothing that I recognize; and I've smelled burning oil and burning atf before. But I still wouldn't say it's not either of those two.

Does it smell vaguely sweet? Coolant smells kinda sweet.

92snowmachine · #13 08-12-2011, 01:57 PM

two smells most people don't recognize are gear oil (front diff) or axle grease (cv boot leaking onto exhaust). something to check

CaliSVX95 · #14 08-12-2011, 02:20 PM

If it's so easy to pull and replace gaskets, why does it cost thousands of dollars to do so?

Or am I getting bad quotes?

I could replace the engine with one that has 160,000 less miles on it for the cost of only doing the head gaskets at the shops I visited.

CaliSVX95 · #15 08-12-2011, 02:30 PM

What are your guys' take on this? Because I had to remove my resonator because it got clogged with something that was making aweful noise so the cat might be blocked too. I found this on aa1car.com

*Excessive exhaust backpressure -- A clogged catalytic converter will restrict the flow of exhaust and cause heat to back up in the engine.