Rooster2

For what it is worth, my mechanic showed me how to use a very long straight tip screw drive as a pry bar to push the hose off the rad fitting. He says this approach always works.

Got the HVAC controls to work. The buttons won't stay "punched in," but if I press & hold the button in for two to three seconds, the, function of that button will work. The buttons have been a source of hassle. Wife & kids like to use the cup holder, but that leads to spilling soft drinks into the HVAC climate control buttons. I don't know how many times, I have sprayed Windex, and wiped away dried sticky soft drink residue from around the buttons to get them to work again. I guess from now on it is the press & hold approach to button control. Thanks to everyone for advise.

You have done a lot of work with radiator and thermostat, which is the logical things to fix first with an over heating problem. Next time that you run the motor, get engine temp up to the middle of the dial, then open the cap on the top of the radiator overflow tank. If you see bubbles in the tank, then you have a bad head gasket. 96 to 99 Subarus with 2.5 motor are prone to developing bad head gaskets. A ton of info written about this on this forum. Read in the archives about this in the "search" section. With Subaru bad head gasket results in over heating every time. I have just replaced the 2.5 motor in my '98 because over heating resulted from bad head gaskets.

Guess I will check for a bad fuse, since the servo motors are electrically operated. I can't see how changing engines affects the servo motor operation. Go figure. All worked well before motor swap.

Had my 98 OBW motor swapped out from 2.5 to 2.2. Now the climate control buttons don't work. No matter which button is pushed, air flows only out the dash board vents. The slider lever controlling temperature works fine. I am thinking something wasn't reattached during the motor replacement. Where should I look to see if something was not reconnected? Thanks for any advise!

Just an update on the engine swap in my 98 OBW. I had my mechanic do the 2.5 to 2.2 engine swap. Donor engine is a 95, so pretty much plug and play. The swap went okay, it is the residuals that are time consuming and frustrating. Upon getting the car back, my mechanic said the spring flange on the exhaust at the cat now leaks. It did not do that prior to the engine swap. I just got that fixed at a muffler shop for $140. Also, had most of the exhaust pipe shrouds torched off to get rid of the vibration buzzy noise. The A/C didn't work........mechanic said they opened the system to make engine easier to remove. Well, I have heard that wasn't necessary, but anyway, he failed to sufficiently recharge the A/C system. I had to take the car back to get the A/C recharged. A day out of the shop, the coolant system sprang a small hose leak on top of the engine, under one of the air intake rams.....blew coolant out, I had to have the car towed back to the shop. He fixed that, then told me I needed to replace the radiator as it now has a crack on the neck where the top hose attaches to the radiator, also a leak on side of radiator. Maybe this is a result of the original 2.5 over heating, or shop screwing it up, I don't know. I will do the rad replacement on my own. Got the car back last night, only to realize that the buttons on the climate control no longer work. No matter what button is pushed, air flow continues to come through dash vents only. However, the heat control slide lever works well. I will seek advise on how to fix this issue with a new post. If something simple, I will fix, if not, then I will return the car to the shop for the third time. The bottom line is that the 2.2 runs good, but swapping out for a different motor brings on a whole new set of issues to fix. Nothing is life is ever simple, or easy to remedy these days, Subarus included.

Thanks for the hose info. I appreciate it!

I am thinking you have a bad battery, prolly one cell is dead in the battery, so voltage is low, but battery is not dead. I had this happen on a VW years back. The battery still had enough amperage to barely get the motor started, but low voltage resulted in crazy dash instrument readings, and caused turn signals to go nuts. If you can, and have the tools and know how, pull the battery, take it to an auto parts house that will check the quality of the battery. Chances are, it is bad. If so, install a new battery, and your problem is solved.

One of the harder parts can be getting the ATF cooler lines off. Those hoses seem to really like to get stuck on there good. Would it do any good to spray the ATF cooler lines with PB Blaster the day before trying to remove them from the radiator??

A friend bought a 10 Forester. I have ridden in and drove it. Seems quiet enough, so Subaru must have added good sound absorbing material, when this vehicle was redesigned.

Thanks to all for the good advise. Rooster2

Thanks..........good advise........Rooster2

I need to replace my radiator in my 98 OBW. I read through the search archives, and could only find someone, who said that two bolts hold the radiator in. Also said that it is not necessary to remove the dual fans to remove the radiator. If all this is correct, then all that is left, is to remove the rad hoses, and ATF lines. Is this correct, or is there anything else I should know? Thanks!

Thanks for all the advise. I am sure you guys have pointed out my problem. Since the 2.2 was just installed a couple of days ago, I had the car towed back to the shop today that did the work. I paid him good money for the installation, so I am sure he will straighten out the problem.

I joined the HG club in my 98 OBW a couple of weeks back. My wife then proceeded to cook the motor. Swapped in a 2.2, was my solution. I think you too have joined the HG club. If you haven't cooked the motor with heavy duty over heating, then replacing the head gaskets is your best solution. Use only Subaru head gaskets, after market head gaskets won't last.

I just had a 2.2 installed in my 98 OBW, so it is understandable that there would be minor start up problems. Thought I had a radiator leak, but now think the leak is coming from in front of EGR unit, and under the air intake runners on top of the engine. It is not coming from the heater hoses, but I can't see where the leak is. It sure kicks up a cloud of steam when the motor warms up. I don't see any dripping of coolant on the pavement under the car. It presents itself as steam, not fluid spray or drip, and sends the temp gauge to hot in a hurry, even though the motor did not have a chance to get little more then warmed up. I just can't figure out what would cause a coolant leak from that area of the motor. Is there a temp sensor buried under the air intake runner? No bubbles in the rad over flow, so HGs are prolly okay. Any thoughts?

I am leaning towards your having lined up the timing belt wrong. It is so easy to think you positively have it right, when you don't. When you crank the motor with the starter, does the sound from the engine cranking sound normal? If it has a strange looping sound that you have never heard before, then it is an indicator that the timing is not right. When timing is off, it creates the erratic spark that you are having.

Thanks!

Glad you joined us. You will find the group here very knowledgeable, pleasant to work with, and genuinely helpful to fellow Subie owners. There doesn't seem to be any immature jerks here to ruin dialogue.

Thanks, good info. I checked other on line sources for radiators. All listed just one type, not two, with no reference to sensor fittings. Since I can't find any sensors on my radiator, and you bought the unit with no sensors, then I have to think the Advance Auto product listing is incorrect. No sensor unit must be correct.

Yes, I want to buy it. Please drop me a private message, or give me a call at 317/254-1919, ask for Larry. Thanks..........Larry (Rooster2)

What kind of condition is it in?

A friend suggested usautoparts.net as a source for a 98 OBW radiator. Anybody deal with this company before? They sell radiators by Behr, Silla, CSF, and Spectra? Anybody have any opinions on these brands of radiators? Thanks.