Bushwick Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Have you tested the actual fans to see if they even work? i.e. disconnect, and jump them to power, or if car has AC, turn on AC, and see if they come on with the compressor engagement? Are you by any chance running a lower temp thermostat? A low temp thermostat OR no t-stat can delay the fans coming on. I used to run a non t-stat in my '79 Mustang (mild 306, iron heads + block & 10:1 comp.) and IIRC, it ran something like 35 degrees cooler than what would be "normal". It had a mechanical fan and a carb, so was never an issue, though more modern cars would/should throw codes griping about taking too long to reach the "ideal" temp in X amount of time. Years ago my ex had the last gen VW Beetle with the 1.8L turbo (the one where you have to pull half the front end off and remove a motor mount to do a timing belt and water pump (q= ) and after getting everything back together, it's lower hose stayed cold, fans never seemed to kick on, and temps were slightly off. It had one of THE most stubborn systems to fully bleed air out of. Took a couple days with me obsessing over it to finally get it acting right. Once the air was gone, the lower got hot AFTER the t-stat opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 ^^^^^^ +1 I was complaining about trapped air to a mechanic once and he said there's Toyota that requires filling through a hose first - it isn't rare or a Subaru-only issue. Purging air out seems tricky on certain engines. An old Honda I had , had a bleeder screw (like a brake caliper type) I had to loosen, then begin filling with coolant and close the screw when coolant shot out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 i had a similar issue with my fans and found a pinout of the ecu then checked with a volt meter if the ecu was sending the signal to the fan relay. in my case my ecu was not commanding the fans on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5wolvesf Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 ^^^^^^ +1 I was complaining about trapped air to a mechanic once and he said there's Toyota that requires filling through a hose first - it isn't rare or a Subaru-only issue. Purging air out seems tricky on certain engines. An old Honda I had , had a bleeder screw (like a brake caliper type) I had to loosen, then begin filling with coolant and close the screw when coolant shot out. Toyota Pickups and 4Runners are that way. When you fill them put the vehicle on an incline and you're good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 i had a similar issue with my fans and found a pinout of the ecu then checked with a volt meter if the ecu was sending the signal to the fan relay. in my case my ecu was not commanding the fans on.model and year? In the US it’s only sometime after 2000 that the ECU is involved right? Looks like he’s in another country and should probably figure out if his is ECU controlled or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeryst Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 You can buy mechanical temp guages on ebay that measure the temperature of the block instead of the coolant. You may want to get one of those to get true readings while you operate the vehicle with and without a thermostat. Since you believe the current sensors and guage may not be correct, this is probably the best way to monitor the temperature under various conditions. Engine blocks and upper radiator hoses get extremely hot under normal conditions, so basing your observations on that or on particular smells may not be accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 You can buy mechanical temp guages on ebay that measure the temperature of the block instead of the coolant. Thanks for the details, that's what i was suggesting: I would get the temp gauge working properly. Replace sensor and swap in another instrument cluster (which is really easy just get a used one). Or pull and inspect yours to see if you can repair it. Or get an aftermarket gauge while you figure this out. Either way Get some real data. It seems silly to proceed with anything before knowing the actual data rather than perceptions. I get it at first glance we make assumptions and are often right if it's obvious. But It's not like we haven't been stuck before only to find our perception of a situation was derailing us from progress. Get some real data. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 I see nothing in here that says there even is a problem. IMHO, all this speculation about different causes are pointless until we get an actual temperature on the engine. 4 different temp sensors say nothing is wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) model and year? In the US it’s only sometime after 2000 that the ECU is involved right? Looks like he’s in another country and should probably figure out if his is ECU controlled or not. 1998 outback i would think it is controlled by the ecu. Edited April 10, 2018 by sirtokesalot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 model and year? In the US it’s only sometime after 2000 that the ECU is involved right? Looks like he’s in another country and should probably figure out if his is ECU controlled or not. All EJs (in the US anyway, there may be an exception elsewhere) have ECU-controlled fans 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I see nothing in here that says there even is a problem. IMHO, all this speculation about different causes are pointless until we get an actual temperature on the engine. 4 different temp sensors say nothing is wrong. +1 An EJ15? soooo much water around those small barrels in the EJ case!!! Man I wish we got a few of those. Doesn't surprise me at all it would not need to open thermostat or run fans at idle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Test the fans and relay circuit by setting heater to "defrost" setting or turn on A/C if it has it. Fans should turn on. If they do, then I'm gonna say this car has no issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quentindc Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 Hi All, My Mechanic friend took the car back to the garage, he told me the heater core was fine, he did several pressure tests and for him the HG is fine too. He talked about this to a friend of his who is a Subaru Mechanic who hopefully can have a look. Meanwhile I have been driving without Tstat. I know it's not the best but still better than having a Tstat constantly closed. Keep you guys posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidbaja Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 blown headgasket went through same with baja ej25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 blown headgasket went through same with baja ej25 naaahh no bubbles in overflow, no loss of heat, no coolant loss. No overheating. If anything the opposite, he says car runs right int eh middle of the gauge. The lower radiator hose should be noticeably cooler than the upper if the radiator is working well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rae houghton Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 may I ask...on the radiator there are TWO fans. Is one supposed to 'kick-in' at a certain temp. I noticed my main fan is on immediately, whilst the second on is not on. I am NO expert on how cars work. There used to be an airconditioning radiator in front of the existiing radiator. But it didn't work, and the normal radiator was not cooling the engine. So I took it out (air con) and now the flow of air is fine to the radiator. But the second fan. It's purpose.? For the first time in several years the engine is overheating and water is being lost in the rad and the rad overflow. I can see no leaks . And am non-plussed. So checking this out I noticed the second fan not turning and thought I would ask the forum what it is I don't know. Thanks in advance. Rae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike104 Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 One fan is controlled by the ECU for engine cooling and the other is activated when air conditioning is selected on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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