MR_Loyale Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I noticed coolant leaking from the thermostat housing so I opened it up and resealed it. In the process I had to disconnect the coolant temp sensor. I reconnected it and now it doesn't move at all. Do I have to disconnect the battery to clear a code or something? Normally the temp sensor goes from the very bottom of travel up a smidge when you turn the key. I get nothing now and fear I have wrecked the connections on it. Even after running for a bit the needle doesn't move at all. It is like it is dead. Anyone ever see this happen before? A replacement costs over $80 at autozone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dj7291993 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Test it. Pull the connector off, see what the gauge does (I assume you mean the one with one wire). Then, ground that wire, see what it does. one of them should be bottom of the gauge, one should be top, but I can't remember which at the moment. Also, check the connection, just to make sure it looks ok. If the gauge works with the test above, but not on the sensor, you have to ohm the sensor. I'd have to look up the specs, but unfortunately for you, you engine will need to be warm when you check it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKghandi Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 My temp sensor went bad after I disconnected it once. Replace it and see what happens its like a 12 dollar part so I'd say go for it If throwing parts at it isn't your thing you can always test it Take it out of the car and put it in a pot of water on the stove.the resistance should decrease as the temp goes up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Loyale Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Test it. Pull the connector off, see what the gauge does (I assume you mean the one with one wire). Then, ground that wire, see what it does. one of them should be bottom of the gauge, one should be top, but I can't remember which at the moment. Also, check the connection, just to make sure it looks ok. If the gauge works with the test above, but not on the sensor, you have to ohm the sensor. I'd have to look up the specs, but unfortunately for you, you engine will need to be warm when you check it. This has two wires. It mounts into the bottom of where the thermostat housing is at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedwagon Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 That is the temp sensor for the computer, not the dash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 the one for the dash is a single spade terminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertsubaru Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 the one for the dash is a single spade terminal.My 85 EA82 with A/C must be weird because the one on the thermo housing has two as does the connector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Loyale Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) Thanks for all the replies. Thought I would update on the situation. I got the thermostat housing all nicely sealed and no more leaks. Idled the car for about 20 minutes and the needle came up to the middle almost and went down. This was in the evening. I took it for a test drive that very evening and the temps seemed fine and everything seemed OK. Drove it the 1.5 miles to the park and ride I normally go to daily and no problem at all. Great, I thought to myself, I got this problem fixed. Next morning, I hop in and drive it to the park and ride, carefully watching the temp gauge on the dash. The temp gauge goes about 1/8th up and stays there, not out of the ordinary as far as I can tell. So I pull up into the park and ride, to wait for the bus and a big rump roast cloud of something rolls out from under the hood. Now in the past I have had oil leak onto the exhaust, so I figure this must be what is happening. But this continues and the cloud is really shooting out of the hood. Holy crap, I thought to myself. I thought it was all fixed up. I open the hood and see that there is coolant all over . I keep distilled water and anti-freeze in the back seat, just in case, so I go get them and hurredly put it in the reserve tank to fill it to the brim and just then the bus arrives - got to go to work. I wonder all during the day if I will be stranded on the evening ride home. After work I get back to the park and ride and make sure to fill up the radiator as well so there is no chance for overheating. The engine starts and I watch with the hood open to see if anything happens. Nothing out of the ordinary so I get in and drive the 1.5 miles hoping it doesn't overheat and wreck the engine. It stays cool as before getting only to the 1/8 mark on the gauge. So in my driveway at home, I leave the engine on and open the hood. I notice that the grease stain under the hood is wet. How could this happen? I don't see anything shooting out, yet again the overfill reservoir is almost empty and steam is all over the engine but no specific leaks I can see. So I reach over to the throttle cable and goose the engine a couple of times and a little geyser of coolant shoots up under the wires somewhere in the vicinity of the water pump. I cannot specifically say what it is because too much is blocking it. This is Monday and because of my schedule, I leave for work in the dark and arrive home almost at dark. Extending wrenching requires the weekend. My suspicion is either the little 90 degree coolant bypass hose or the pipe that goes into the water pump. I haven't yet removed the alternator and AC compressor to check this out. I will do that tomorrow. It is the original hose (from 1993 :-p) and rubber things wear out. I will happily fork out the 11 buck the dealer wants for the replacement. I just hope this is really the issue this time. Edited March 31, 2012 by MR_Loyale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpholz Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) buy an aftermarket guage, stock is no better than a light. spend a little money now or overheat the system later without any indication and spend alot more. edit: check the coolant hose under the intake aswell Edited March 31, 2012 by rpholz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Loyale Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Well I got the alternator off and the AC compressor out of the way. The hose doesn't look bad, but I will replace it anyway. Since there isn't an obvious leak, I am wondering if I will put this all together and have my coolant geyser again. Can I assemble this temproarily without the AC compressor and run it for a while to observe it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertsubaru Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Check the O ring on the pipe that goes into the water pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 In situations like this,I use a bicycle pump to pressurize the cooling system to check for leaks. Easiest way is to hook it up to the radiator overflow. I put a slotted washer big enough not to fall into the rad under the rad cap to hold the rad cap valve open to ensure the pressure gauge on the pump reads correctly. Pump it up to about 15 psi(don`t go much higher) and leaks are usually easy to find. You don`t even need the washer and pressure gauge as long as you are careful not to pump too much and overpressurize the system. Teeing the pump into any convienent coolant hose works just as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Loyale Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 (edited) I replaced the coolant bypass hose and turns out that wasn't it. So THAT hose will last another 20 years:D. I DID figure it out though. I have no idea what the hose is called, but is ia a 1/4 inch coolant hos that runs from the thermostat housing into either the block or the intake manifold - I cannot tell for sure. I am sure that is it because after I started it up, let it get warm and goosed the engine from under the hood, I saw little faithful erupting with each engine surge. If anyone knows what is the purpose of this hose, please let me know. I have no idea what it does or why it is there. It connects between points A and B in the image. The part guy at the Subaru dealership had a hard time even finding it in his catalog. There is no name given there either. Edited April 1, 2012 by MR_Loyale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I "think",,, it's to stir the coolant under the T-stat somewhat as the engine warms up. Only reason for that thought is where the T-stat is located, it's not really in a "coolant flow" position on a "cold" engine. So it would take a somewhat longer amount of time for the T-stat to "feel" any heat. But that's just my thinking...... With that said,, I have pulled the nipple out of the housing and plugged the hole, and plugged off the one on the manifold on 2 EA82 manifolds I've swapped onto EA81 engines. Haven't noticeed any detremental effects from doing that. But,,, you should be able to buy some 1/4" coolant hose from a local parts store to replace it with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
czny Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 (edited) My EA82 engine had a small leak from this "bypass" before I rebuilt it. Replaced the swaged tube with a 1/8" NPT 45*elbow & barbed fitting. The Edelmann # is for the elbow. Gotta be careful when you drill & tap the hole - keep the same angle as original & put a piece of hose over the drill bit for a stop to limit the depth. Maybe the purpose of this is to vent air from the coolant passages at the top of the block so there won't be any hot spots in the cylinder jackets. Edited April 1, 2012 by czny details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I "think",,, it's to stir the coolant under the T-stat somewhat as the engine warms up. Only reason for that thought is where the T-stat is located, it's not really in a "coolant flow" position on a "cold" engine. So it would take a somewhat longer amount of time for the T-stat to "feel" any heat. But that's just my thinking...... It's not for stirring. The coolant crossover between the 2 block halves happens in a chamber at the top of the block. The hose connects to the high point in that passage. It allows any bubbles that would sit in that area to go up into the T-stat hosing and on to the radiator to vent out the cap. Probably not an issue to block it off, but it was put there for a reason......doesn't hurt to leave it and just put a new hose on it. 1 foot of 1/4 coolant line costs $.99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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