1985 Gl colling problems?

[offgrid]

I was recenlt given a 1985 GL 4wd wagon with 96,000 miles on it. The car is in great shape with one exception. The original owner had trouble with overheating and claims to have never found a solution to the problem. He was under the impression that the car has some sort of inherent design problem that is only remedied by replacing the engine. Anyone have experience with this?

[86subaru]

check radiator , make sure all the fans are working , or flush out the radiator , or thermostat is bad,

[MudisFun]

Replace the thermostat making sure the the dome is pointing towards the engine and the spring is towards the rad. I have seen EA82s were the thermostat is installed reverse by an ignorant owner because most come with a arrow marking up when the arrow should mark down. Fans are a big part also. Most of the time the electrical fan switch will go out disabling the fan. You can fix the sensor or spend the time to run the fan off of the blue/yellow (?) wire going to the wiper motor. This can be a fun project. In my 85 and 90 there is a five dollar switch near the steering wheel that controls the electric fan. Price wise it makes sense: fan switch sensor $35, getto rig $15 (including two 20a fuses). The third problem I could think of is the water pump but if the coolant is flowing just fine don't even think about it.

[Cougar]

One other thing it may be, if I dare say, is bad head gaskets.

[hooziewhatsit]

you could also pick up an OEM subaru radiator cap. Silly as it may seem, I got a new one for my car and my temps went down radically.

 

Like they mention above, I'd also check the thermostat, new coolant, etc.