Giovara Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I bought a 1999 Forester with 147k miles at an auction. On the way home it overheated. I pulled over and saw the reservoir boiling and overflowing. I know thats the tell sign of the head gaskets but the head gaskets were just replaced. You can still see the shiny blue felpro gaskets in there and I can also see the timing belt is new but not the water pump. I see no external leaks anywhere. Something else I see is that there is only one bolt holding the thermostat housing to the water pump. The other bolt is broken off in the water pump. So I went to remove the thermostat and was expecting the coolant to pour out of the motor and when I removed it nothing came out. Thats why Im writing. Why would there be no coolant in the motor? Also the thermostat was a cheap advance auto thermostat. I put a torch to it and it did open and close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 it went to auction for a reason...but let's hope you're lucky. they are notoriously hard to bleed or "burp" - they get air bubbles in the coolant, so you need to rule that out first by properly bleeding the cooling system. some have a bleeder screw on the passengers side top of the radiator, but many do not. nose up, run the car cold with radiator cap on and keep filling until you can't add any more, install cap. run car, let cool down, add coolant again...search for burping and you'll find more info. start there and let's hope it's not a headgasket. the headgaskets being replaced doesn't mean it was done right and doesn't mean the car wasn't overheated atrociously before hand.,....let's hope something simple gets it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 can't speak to everything but you definitely do not want a typical after market t'stat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giovara Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 After looking closer Im really thinking its the heads or head gaskets. I can see that whoever did the work didnt even put the intake gaskets on correctly. They are backward. They didnt even notice to put the alignment hole around the little alignment pin. If they didnt notice that then who knows what else they could of done. Probably didnt torque the head bolts correctly either. I had a water pump and thermostat in the garage so I just swapped them out and am still getting the boiling reservoir. I have a set of heads I have been saving for an occasion like this. Guess Ill be swapping them out. Im betting they were warped and never shaved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I gotta tell you I've fixed a lot of SUbaru's. A 99 Forester almsot caused me to swear them off! Took 3 JY engines to get a "good" one. I did HG's, reselaed, etc them all. That was a 2.5 SOHC on most 99 Foresters - including my nightmare. That's what the first engine was. In the end I made an 02 Legacy work (took a different timing belt) Infact I sold the remnants of the engine go Gary a while ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 I gotta tell you I've fixed a lot of SUbaru's. A 99 Forester almsot caused me to swear them off! Took 3 JY engines to get a "good" one. I did HG's, reselaed, etc them all. That was a 2.5 SOHC on most 99 Foresters - including my nightmare. That's what the first engine was. In the end I made an 02 Legacy work (took a different timing belt) Infact I sold the remnants of the engine go Gary a while ago. 99 sohc 2.5 and 2002 sohc 2.5 you needed a different timing belt? That doesn't sound right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 99 sohc 2.5 and 2002 sohc 2.5 you needed a different timing belt? That doesn't sound right. Yep - I've posted here warning about it. WHen the new belt for the 99 SOHC was really, really tight to get on the 2002 I calle dthe parts store and it had a different part#. Got the 2002's part# and all was well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 A Im betting they were warped and never shaved. non turbo EJ heads don't really warp or crack. they'll have plenty of high spots and it should be resurfaced, but simply resurface and you're good to go. there's a fantastic thread on here by GD on how to resurface your own thread "post apocalyptic head resurface" or something like that is the title. unbelievably easy and i get better results than my local machine shop (not saying much but hey, it's quick and easy, worth the time to source the glass to do it). use the EJ25 TURBO Subaru gasket for replacement, those don't leak. that engine also requires Subaru's Coolant Conditioner, so be advised of that going into it - it's $2.47 from Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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