sssosborne Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Hello, we are having issues with our 2003 Baja overheating. It happened once, it was all the way on the H before I noticed it. Never had too much trouble out of it. I pulled over, the reservoir cap was off and there was fluid everywhere. We got it home, flushed the system, replaced the thermostat, checked for leaks, checked the radiator and hoses, there are no bubbles coming from the reservoir, all seemed well. (The head gaskets were replaced barely 2 years ago). It ran fine for about a week. Then same thing...hot, pulled over to let it cool...got it back home, getting hot again about every 1-2 miles and pulling over again to let it cool (took forever to get home lol). Then, we replaced the radiator cap and it ran fine for about a day. Next, we replaced the water pump and the thermostat again. This time, it ran for about 45 miles and then got hot. We pulled over to let it cool. It ran for about 10 more miles before it got hot again. After letting it cool a second time, we went about another 10-15 miles to our destination and it didn't get hot again. It won't get hot while running in the driveway, even when reving the engine. It has to be driven before it will overheat. We believe we have gotten all the air out so the thermostat will open properly. The fans are kicking on. We have driven it short distances 3-4 miles to town and back with no problem for about a week now. Today, drove it further, about another 45-50 miles (not at once, 8 hour break in between) and it got hot again on the way home. Getting hot again after a cooldown about every 1-2 miles instead of 10-15. Is this a head gasket issue? And why would they fail if they were replaced only a couple of years ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 (edited) When you filled the engine, did you do so from the rad cap or did you fill directly into the disconnected upper radiator hose ? IF... you filled from the cap there is a chance that you haven't gotten all the air out. Disconnect the upper hose and pour the engine full ,then reattach and finish filling via the rad cap, gently squeezing the upper hose to burp out the last of the air. Also you should be using a subaru thermostat only,the cheap parts house ones do not work well at all... If you're lucky, one of those will be your problem ... otherwise it may be your head gaskets again. The longevity of a head gasket job depends on the quality of the parts used. Subaru gaskets are best , felpro makes a gd quality gasket , china makes poor gaskets (they are very cheap though) heads should be checked for flatness and machined if necessary. Edited August 21, 2015 by montana tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 +1 And every time you overheat it, you're reducing its life expectancy....the rod bearings will not last after repeated overheats. TD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Sounds like head gaskets, but that engine doesn't typically have those symptoms. I would suspect either poor quality gaskes were installed, or the gasket surfaces were not prepped properly and the gaskets have now failed due to surface imperfection or dirt/oil betweennthebgasket and surface. The metal gaskets used on the 2.5 engines are not very tolerant, and WILL fail early if the surfaces are not perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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