kyamyadog Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I have a 1997 Legacy L Wagon. With 2.2. Recently replaced water pump & thermostat. Engine is over-heating and driving me up the wall. I thought I got the air out. I only drive for about 5 minutes before engine overheats and water fills expansion tank. Please Help, I am at my wits end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru_dude Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Did you remove the heater hoses? And be sure and fill the block via the upper radiator hose and not just the radiator cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyamyadog Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Replaced both hoses at the pump and yes I did fill the block from upper hose. Could blown head gasket be the issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 What brand thermostat? Cheapo thermostats don't work well on these. If you start the car from cold and run for about 30 seconds to a minute do you feel pressure in the upper radiator hose? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyamyadog Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 I will go out and check. Anything else I should check while I'm out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Only other thing to check is if it starts pushing bubbles into the overflow container after warming up. Pressure in the system shortly after starting or bubbles in the overflow are signs of bad head gaskets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Subaru 2.2 motor seldom has head gasket problems, buy yet I had that problem on a 91 Leggie years back. As mentioned, if your replacement thermostat is a "cheapie," that could be your problem. You need to spend around $30 to know that you are buying a good thermostat. Also, did you "burp" the refill on the radiator. It is better to fill the radiator with the car on an incline, as it lets the air out of the radiator easier. Also, loosen the vent plug on the opposite side from the radiator cap. That too, helps to get rid of air in the cooling system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 I was driving my Subaru with the 2.2 today and overheating after some lugging up hills on the hot day; usually the head gasket blow by is manageable, with the bubbles of steam not being out of control. So I had to pull over, as when I put the heater/defrost on full blast, no heat was coming out. So when the heater started working again, I was able to drive it at around 65 mph without overheating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccrinc Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Once any Subaru overheats, especially repeatedly, the head gaskets are, at the very least, damaged. Every time it happens, they get worse. There is no "maybe" about it. Now, as to what actually caused it, yeah, it could be an air bubble, bad thermostat, failing radiator, coolant leak from hoses, etc, etc, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 1. radiator is clogged 2. there's a coolant leak and fluid gets low/overheats 3. headgasket - pushing exhaust gases into the coolant 4. fans not coming on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstevens76 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Subaru 2.2 motor seldom has head gasket problems, buy yet I had that problem on a 91 Leggie years back. As mentioned, if your replacement thermostat is a "cheapie," that could be your problem. You need to spend around $30 to know that you are buying a good thermostat. Also, did you "burp" the refill on the radiator. It is better to fill the radiator with the car on an incline, as it lets the air out of the radiator easier. Also, loosen the vent plug on the opposite side from the radiator cap. That too, helps to get rid of air in the cooling system. Wow, $30 for a thermostat............ I've never spent more than $20 and the last one I bought from Amazon was around $15 for an OEM Subaru. That being said, if you search around there are some Stant and another brand that are recommended as well for around $10 to $15. It's the sub-$10 ones that appear to cause problems (i.e. parts store in house brands, etc...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyamyadog Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 I put in a fail-safe thermostat , refilled and bled air from the system. Drove the car about 3 miles when it started overheating. Came right back home and checked. The overflow tank was full. Haynes manual says it could be crank sensor or igniter. Could the timing be off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertsubaru Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Take that crappy fail-safe thermostat out. They are junk! Rock auto has the good stant that is like oem for $10. STANT Part # 48457 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyamyadog Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 OKAY. But is it the thermostat causing the issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertsubaru Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Did it over heat before pump and stat replacement? If not then the stat just may be the problem. It is the cheapest easiest first step to see if it is the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyamyadog Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 So much drama with this car lately , I honestly don't remember . I think it did overheat but I think that was due to coolant loss via the pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xdeadeye1 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 (edited) 96, 2.2, automatic Mine was doing the same thing. 175k miles. I put new head gasket in. No more problems The water pushing out into the overflow due to gas bubbles escaping into your coolant via the bad Head Gasket. As fast as yours is doing this.. start the car let it run for 2 min. Then have someone step on the gas and look inside your overflow tank.. If you see bubbles ,,,its head gasket. Edited August 2, 2015 by xdeadeye1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmithmmx Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Why did you replace the water pump and thermostat to begin with? Was it overheating before you did this work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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