Cumberland Rhode island 91 alltrac in need of some big help

91celica1989

New member
Hey everyone. I'm from Rhode island. Just got myself a 91 alltrac for the winter. And to be my reliable daily driver. It is black and has 160k. Picked it up for a good price. I've replaced the radiator, cap, and put a thermostat in it, previous idiot owner didn't run one. I believe there is air or something in the system. The heat blows cold my overflow bubbles bad leaks out coolant and the hoses upper and lower have insane pressure. My temp sensor needs replacing but this sure is anything but reliable. Hoping for some help. I'm in Cumberland ri. Shoot me a text 508-282-2222 or message here. Thank you all for welcoming me into your world :)
 

alltracst185

New member
Try jacking up the front and letting it run with the rad cap off to get air out of the system, also make sure your fans are kicking on at about half way.
 

WarTowels

Active member
"And to be my reliable daily driver. " - lol

Good luck. :twisted:



As stated above, first step would be to bleed and/or flush the cooling system. Jacking it up can help the air bubbles rise to the top and out the radiator cap. Keep adding fluid until you can no longer add any. Do a search for more specific instructions on how to properly bleed the system if needed.

After doing that, let us know what happens-

-Towels
 

mx6er2587

New member
nothing says reliable dd like a rare 20 year old rally homologation special that you picked up cheap :rofl:

but seriously try burping the coolant system as sugested and if that doesn't help I would try looping off the the heater core to see if its possibly blocked/clogged... ok back to this :rofl:
 

concealer404

New member
91celica1989":3pdpn89o said:
Just got myself a 91 alltrac for the winter. And to be my reliable daily driver. It is black and has 160k. Picked it up for a good price.


/me spits drink all over keyboard
 

91celica1989

New member
Let me rephrase what I've said.

I have a 1992 eagle talon tsi that is more reliable to me with 89k miles than a 2005 subaru legacy GT with 78k by that I mean the talon didn't blow an engine due to a malfunctioning oil pump **claps** go subaru... therefore my statement would be toyota makes a great vehicle too, and I believe the reliability to be about even if not better than my talon. I love my AWD 4 cylinder cars, had a WRX and that was at 150k before I traded it in for a legacy GT biggest pos I ever owned and ever will own. With the celica being obd1 and new cars being made to break down a few years after you buy them due to the complexity of OBD2 computers being programmed to fail so you have to go out and get the new model a few years down the road. I drove my legacy GT nice and easy, ran 93 gas, changed my oil every 3000 miles and it still shit the bed (then again yahoo news says every 15,000 miles is fine in new cars because they're new) < lol and people likely believe that. Back to the matter at hand. so long story short, I find 160,000 miles on a car to be the halfway through life point of Japanese cars. I've had an Aw11 mr2 NA which was easily able to put 25,000 miles on it in one year, and a couple mk3 supras non turbo, and an SW 20 Mr2 as well. (all these older cars may not have rode as nice or had the little cabin noise my legacy GT had but they were a hell of alot stronger mechanically, so i'm never going to question build quality of an old car) We live in a World of lies and conspiracy and to say that buying something new is the best choice you can make is foolish. Inflation is a beautiful thing. 20 years ago when DSMs, Celicas, supras, and sports cars alike ruled the roads a typical guy could own one on a minimum wage part time job and afford their insurance, now you need a full time job making at least $10 an hour to afford a colbalt, gas, and insurance not to mention the cars don't run, last long, nor are they cost efficient to maintain. So for the doubts of an older car being reliable I have no worries, it's been proven and will be proven again and again if you love your old car you maintain it, and if it breaks down you fix it, it'll always have a lower cost of ownership than buying a "new" car. IDK why I just wrote this maybe because it's 5:40am and sleep is over rated.

I replaced radiator, t stat everything bled system as instructed but there's no coolant flowing to the radiator? It's like the waterpump isn't pumping it through the system. When I went to change the thermostat there wasn't one in there at all? for what reason would someone want to do that? I'm not finding oil in the coolant, or coolant in the oil (all headgaskets blow different I know) but for what reason is the coolant not getting to the radiator? The heat blows cool nice and cool. :] Regardless the rocker panel rust is a little too much for me, and the overall condition of the seats have me shaking my head. Anyone want this badboy? $2200 firm.
 

alltracman78

Active member
WarTowels":1f0txetw said:
"And to be my reliable daily driver. " - lol

mx6er2587":1f0txetw said:
nothing says reliable dd like a rare 20 year old rally homologation special that you picked up cheap :rofl:

concealer404":1f0txetw said:
/me spits drink all over keyboard

These cars become unreliable when people that don't know how to fix cars start working on them. Or are too cheap to fix them right. A lot of the problems on this board are from that.
I've owned more Alltracs than all of you combined. The VAST majority of problems I've had have been from me learning to fix cars years ago and from previous owners hack jobs. I've had 2 almost to 200k [both were in accidents and totaled] Even modded they will last a long time.
They're no less reliable [or all that different] than any other Toyota. Nor are they all that difficult to work on.

Oh, and the ST185s aren't homologation cars. We never got the homologation ST185s in the US.


91celica1989":1f0txetw said:
new cars being made to break down a few years after you buy them due to the complexity of OBD2 computers being programmed to fail so you have to go out and get the new model a few years down the road.
This is completely wrong.
You need to go back and relearn whatever it is you think you know about OBDII [and maybe cars in general].

And please don't try to tell me I'm wrong, I didn't come in here to start an arguement and you're not going to win it; this was just so incorrect that I couldn't ignore it.

91celica1989":1f0txetw said:
I replaced radiator, t stat everything bled system as instructed but there's no coolant flowing to the radiator? It's like the waterpump isn't pumping it through the system. When I went to change the thermostat there wasn't one in there at all? for what reason would someone want to do that? I'm not finding oil in the coolant, or coolant in the oil (all headgaskets blow different I know) but for what reason is the coolant not getting to the radiator? The heat blows cool nice and cool. :]

If you're going to sell it, no problem. But this is fixable and these cars definitely can be reliable as long as you maintain them.
People leave thermostats out when the car is running too hot and they're too cheap to find/fix the problem.
A bad headgasket is a definite possibility, but it wouldn't be my first guess. It sounds more like your coolant isn't circulating.
You may have a blown HG, but it is more likely cause by another problem.
Has the timing belt been replaced? It's possible they put an aftercrap water pump that doesn't flow enough water.
Or the radiator is clogged. The heater core could be as well. Both would be from lack of maintenance.

I would start with those. If they are all good then you can move on to other stuff.
 

91celica1989

New member
My apologies any obd2 car made by subaru is meant to break down.
by passed the heater core, still no success. System bleed. The passenger side of the radiator is cool the drivers side alot warmer. Not sure I want to rule out hg and am almost 100% sure its the water pump. Also 200k plus miles is awesome want to add mine to that? Don't know any new Subies with that many miles that still running lol.

Thanks for the help. Waterpump job anyone?
 

alltracman78

Active member
There was no need for an apology. :)
I just hate seeing misinformation spread.

I would start with your radiator. Half hot, half cold is a classic symptom of a clogged radiator.
There may be other issues once the radiator is fixed. It also sounds like you have a neglected cooling system, and you definitly could have a blown HG. Also, IMO an autocrap thermostat is junk.

Do you want to try to start fixing this?
Or just unload it?
 

mx6er2587

New member
alltracman78":37puz8vg said:
These cars become unreliable when people that don't know how to fix cars start working on them. Or are too cheap to fix them right. A lot of the problems on this board are from that.
I've owned more Alltracs than all of you combined. The VAST majority of problems I've had have been from me learning to fix cars years ago and from previous owners hack jobs. I've had 2 almost to 200k [both were in accidents and totaled] Even modded they will last a long time.
They're no less reliable [or all that different] than any other Toyota. Nor are they all that difficult to work on.

Oh, and the ST185s aren't homologation cars. We never got the homologation ST185s in the US.


while the rcs may have been the offical homologation cars its fairly safe to say the only reason the 185 exists is group A. it exists because of homologation rules.

i agree with you that 185 can be reliable. the problem is they need to be properly maintained and because they are performance vehicles with awd and a turbo they need more maintanence then say a honda civic.

combine that with your statement about poor owners and these cars can become nightmares. Im going to take a guess that most alltracs that have been picked up cheap have not been properly cared for. So again to expect one to be a reliable daily driver without putting a lot of work in is amusing
 

WarTowels

Active member
91celica1989":966drq8i said:
My apologies any obd2 car made by subaru is meant to break down.

You think that Subaru, as a company is a conspiracy?

My God, if you know this for a fact it's your duty to take them up on charges my man.

:wink:
 

alltracman78

Active member
mx6er2587":1wvvdic2 said:
while the rcs may have been the offical homologation cars its fairly safe to say the only reason the 185 exists is group A. it exists because of homologation rules.
Not necessarily.
There are other Alltrac models. Nor was the regular 185 required to be produced. And they're different than the homologation models.
The fact remains they're not homologation cars. Plain and simple.

mx6er2587":1wvvdic2 said:
i agree with you that 185 can be reliable. the problem is they need to be properly maintained and because they are performance vehicles with awd and a turbo they need more maintanence then say a honda civic.

combine that with your statement about poor owners and these cars can become nightmares. Im going to take a guess that most alltracs that have been picked up cheap have not been properly cared for. So again to expect one to be a reliable daily driver without putting a lot of work in is amusing
The AWD has almost no effect on the reliability.
The turbo does effect it some.

Buying one cheap is no different than buying a 93 Corolla cheap, and the expectation and reliability shouldn't be much different. There's things you should expect to do. Generally speaking the work needed to make it reliable shouldn't take more than a day.
Hoses, radiator [maybe], timing belt, some seals, a coolant flush. Same shit that you should be doing to a Honda Civic. Reliable isn't the same as a show car and doesn't require crazy work. Even if you have to put a new engine in it, it's not that much work [for a mechanic, if you have no clue what you're doing it's a different story].
 

WarTowels

Active member
Alltracman78, you've owned more than (a minimum of) 8 All-tracs?

You must know more than everyone in this forum combined, you are so awesome.
 

91celica1989

New member
It's been awhile my mechanic determined head gasket and now it's time to say goodbye to it. I bought the hg for it and studs and a whole gasket set but when I was quoted 900 I shrieked. So anyone who wants this celica it's $2000. The interior seats are junk, the rocker panel on the passenger side needs replacing and it needs the hg done.

508-282-2222 for more details.
 

91celica1989

New member
WarTowels":28sfiicc said:
($900 seems pretty standard for a head gasket replacement)

Had friends quote me $300
My friendly mechanic said $900
Other mechanics say around $1000

all those are more than I have! lol
price is reduced from $2000 to $1800

I have $10,000 worth of receipts including a transfer case replacement, some transmission work was done as well, the drivetrain on the car is SOLID. The head gasket gets done, put a new passengers rocker on it, a couple seat covers and you've got yourself one hell of an alltrac :]
 
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