timing belt 99 Legacy Outback - Still overheating and no heat after timing belt and water pump replacement...

[jasonbarber]

Hi All,

This is my first post here. I recently did a timing belt on my 1999 Legacy Outback Wagon, with a new water pump. Job went well, all parts bolted up and timing came out fine, no problems running now. However, even after burping the cooling system with a radiator bucket, multiple times, the car still overheats and I don't feel heat. There are no signs of a blown head gasket that I can tell, the car runs fine and doesn't smell or smoke or anything, has full power. What should my next step be? I replaced the thermostat with a genuine Subaru thermostat. My water pump is one of the old style pumps, with the teeth as opposed to the disc. 

 

Help!! I'm not sure what to do!

Edited August 8, 2018 by jasonbarber

[3Pin]

Are you seeing coolant circulate in the radiator?  Maybe you have blockage there?

Edited August 8, 2018 by 3Pin
grammer

[heartless]

another possibility is a blockage in the heater core...

or you have a major air bubble that is not clearing....

Most of us have learned to fill the block from/thru the upper radiator hose first, then, once that is full, connect the hose to the radiator and top off as needed.

[jasonbarber]

50 minutes ago, heartless said:

another possibility is a blockage in the heater core...

or you have a major air bubble that is not clearing....

Most of us have learned to fill the block from/thru the upper radiator hose first, then, once that is full, connect the hose to the radiator and top off as needed.

That's a good idea!! I'll try that tomorrow. Has anyone ever heard of having to take the upper hose to the heater core off while burping? Am I doing something wrong by just using the radiator bucket and waiting until the air stops coming out? 

 

The car warms up, but then starts spitting the coolent back into the funnel once it reaches temp. I forgot to mention that. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by jasonbarber

[el_freddo]

I don't think the funnel is really the way to burp these vehicles without it being on ramps or taking it for a short spirited drive after a quick top off with the engine running. 

Thenback up on ramps, let cool off, top up again then run engine, top off if needed, cap on then go for a good drive that maintains highway speeds for a while if possible. 

Once that's done and it's cooled down again, check the coolant level and top up if needed. 

With the thermostat did you install it with the correct orientation?

Does the upper and lower rad hose get hot? Do the Thermo fans cycle on and off?

these are other factors that need to be known to help properly diagnose the issue. 

Cheers

Bennie

[jasonbarber]

20 minutes ago, el_freddo said:

I don't think the funnel is really the way to burp these vehicles without it being on ramps or taking it for a short spirited drive after a quick top off with the engine running. 

Thenback up on ramps, let cool off, top up again then run engine, top off if needed, cap on then go for a good drive that maintains highway speeds for a while if possible. 

Once that's done and it's cooled down again, check the coolant level and top up if needed. 

With the thermostat did you install it with the correct orientation?

Does the upper and lower rad hose get hot? Do the Thermo fans cycle on and off?

these are other factors that need to be known to help properly diagnose the issue. 

Cheers

Bennie

Is the correct orientation with the jiggle-plug thing oriented to the front of the car? That's how I installed it, I didn't know there was a correct orientation...:/

Both hoses get hot, and both thermo fans kick on and off like they always have. 

The radiator seems to be working fine. The cooling system was working perfectly prior to the timing belt/water pump change, it was only the tensioner that failed, but I figured I'd do the whole service while I had it apart... Now all of the sudden I get this issue...it's gotta be air in the system. I'll try putting it up on ramps as soon as I can. 

[GeneralDisorder]

It's just inexperience. We do this (fill Subaru cooling systems) about 3-5 times a day at my shop and this never really happens.

1. Do use a fill funnel that raises the level above the filler neck. 

2. On a cross-flow system (yours), remove the bleeder screw and fill till it pours out this port then plug it. At that point the system is pretty much full. 

3. Run the engine and once the oil has warmed (about 10 minutes), rev the engine repeatedly to 5k RPM. 

4. Continue revving the engine and also massage the upper hose to clear air pockets.

5. When you feel the left radiator tank get hot it is starting to flow. Once both hoses are hot keep running it till the fans cycle on and then back off.

6. Cap the system and fill the overflow to about 1-2" above the full mark. 

That's really all there is to it and you don't need ramps or any special equipment. This is not difficult at all. Just takes patience.

GD

[idosubaru]

it's not hard and there's no tricks or extra tools needed - deliberately fill (nose up) and give time for the air to come out. 

Use radiator bleeder (if equipped), Fill, put tools away, top off, check the mail, top off...wash-rinse-repeat.

short drive/idle up to operating temps - turn it off, let it cool, and top off. 
never have any issues.  

if any cooling suspicions prompted the tbelt/water pump job then this is a different story though the tensioner seems to strongly downplay that possibility. 

[jasonbarber]

9 hours ago, GeneralDisorder said:

It's just inexperience. We do this (fill Subaru cooling systems) about 3-5 times a day at my shop and this never really happens.

1. Do use a fill funnel that raises the level above the filler neck. 

2. On a cross-flow system (yours), remove the bleeder screw and fill till it pours out this port then plug it. At that point the system is pretty much full. 

3. Run the engine and once the oil has warmed (about 10 minutes), rev the engine repeatedly to 5k RPM. 

4. Continue revving the engine and also massage the upper hose to clear air pockets.

5. When you feel the left radiator tank get hot it is starting to flow. Once both hoses are hot keep running it till the fans cycle on and then back off.

6. Cap the system and fill the overflow to about 1-2" above the full mark. 

That's really all there is to it and you don't need ramps or any special equipment. This is not difficult at all. Just takes patience.

GD

Thanks a bunch! 

I'm sure it is inexperience. Never done the job before and although I've been working on cars for some time, I definitely still run into problems I have to ask about pretty much every time haha.

The bleeder screw is the plastic screw on the passenger side at the bottom of the radiator with the o-ring, correct? Should it flow pretty consistently, kind of like oil out of a drain plug? Or is it more of just a dribble? 

[jasonbarber]

1 hour ago, idosubaru said:

it's not hard and there's no tricks or extra tools needed - deliberately fill (nose up) and give time for the air to come out. 

Use radiator bleeder (if equipped), Fill, put tools away, top off, check the mail, top off...wash-rinse-repeat.

short drive/idle up to operating temps - turn it off, let it cool, and top off. 
never have any issues.  

if any cooling suspicions prompted the tbelt/water pump job then this is a different story though the tensioner seems to strongly downplay that possibility. 

Yeah, the cooling system was peachy before the job, since it has high miles I didn't know when the belt was done last so I wanted to change it, and found the hydraulic tensioner to be leaking pretty bad and not keeping the best tension, so I'm glad I got that done.

[GeneralDisorder]

No the bleeder is at the top of the radiator on the passenger side. It's either a Phillips plastic plug or some are square. It is there to "bleed" the air out as you are filling. 

GD