First off I have a 1991 Legacy LS 2.2 4eat with ~95K... Today I went to go to the movies, and I got to the stop sign infront of my house at noticed the engine felt a little weird, and then noticed there was a large plume of white smoke covering the front yard... I turned the car off and popped the hood, no smoke there, nothing dripping below By this time people were stopping and asking if everything was ok and stopping traffic around me so I could decide what to do. I figured I'd back it into the drive way and decide from there. I started it but it really didnt feel good, put it into reverse and it stalled. Restarted it and made it back to the drive way and cut it (barely made it, couldnt see anything behind me). Smoke was still coming from the tailpipe for like 2 min after I turned it off. Still nothing noticable under the hood or dripping below. I've had 2 people tell me its probably the head gasket.
Any suggestions as to where I should take it? I live in Hayward, so the closest Subaru dealership is Oakland or Livermore. Anyone with connections work at either of these places? Or any other good place to get it done at? There was a little smoke after I put on a new perrin air filter, but that just might have been the oil getting sucked in. Thanks for any help, I need it...

 

It almost sounded like when people turn old cars off in the movies, that puttering-ish type sound...

 

check your coolant reservoir and see if theres oil in there. if you see oil in there, then its the headgasket.

 

I checked, but no oil. The car ran for less than a minute after it happened, would that be enough time for oil to get in there?

 

Check if the coolant level is low. The coolant might have went in the oil.

 

BTW, What color was the smoke.

 

Coolant seems to be going down a little, after it first happened it was near the top, but now its an inch or so down. Thick white smoke.

 

white = coolant
black = too rich condition

any others?

FWIW, toyota truck V6 (3vz-e) owners know this too well. once, while driving up to cal state hayward, this dude behind me starts honkin his horn. he pulls up next to me. he yells, "your headgasket's blown!"

i pull into a parking lot. check my coolant resevoir. sure enough it was empty. poured enough water to get home. went to toyota next day. sure enough head gasket blown. was under warranty though.

then a few year later, toyota succumbs to all the pressure from other owners to offer a special service campaign for the 3vz-e engine. as a result, i received a new block!

 

Blue is oil

 

Sounds like a blown head gastket to me, but it also may be a cracked block.

 

You know how much it would be to fix it at your place of employment?

 

I'll check.

 

Spiffy, I owe you one

 

A few things you can checK:

1) Look under your oil cap and check for white foam, it'll look like spooge
2) Check your oil and see if you see coolant. It'll sink to the bottom because it is lighter than oil.
3) Check your radiator cap for motor oil.

If you have the tools or want to spend $30, you can buy a compression test tool from your auto parts store and see if your cylinders hold compression. Better yet, if you have a compressor, get a leak down tester and do a quick test. A leak down test will tell you a lot more... like valve, rings, gasket, etc..

Good luck..