plane2sea Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 HI I have a 97 leg. outback with 92K miles on her. I just had my first overheating problem. Could anybody help diagnose this- the top radiator hose is roasting hot while the bottom one is very cool. the overflow goes up and down a little but is also very cool to the touch. The temp guage is a little jumpy-it will be normal then jump up a lot then start quickly falling back down. I am not losing any coolant ,but there does not seem to be alot of circulation in the system. would a gummed up tstat keep the bottom rad. hose cool? the manual says it is open if the top one is hot it does not mention the bottom hose. If this is obviously a HG problem just tell me to go search the forum if you can think of another culprit please i am all ears. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 The T-Stat on the EJ's is right under the water pump - on the lower hose. It's easy to access and cheap - you should remove it and boil the T-Stat to see if it opens, then you'll know if it has failed or not. Being that you live in OR your radiator is likely fine (my 94's orginal rad is doing fine) so if it's not the t-stat then it very well could be HG's. At any rate I would stop driving it till you have figured it out - the phase one 2.5's often exhibit HG failure and driving it like this sometimes results in bottom-end failure not long after the HG's are replaced. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plane2sea Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Im actually just leaving Alaska right now. We were just getting ready to leave on a 4000 mile road trip to New Mexico. Im glad this happened now rather than half way into canada. i changed my own tstat and coolant before our trip up here and followed all the advice on keeping air out of the system all was perfect. Just 2 weeks ago i had a mechanic change tstat for the trip and this happened on my first long drive since. i think he blew the job and probably filled it with air. i will check on things when the sun comes out. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 One BIG thing to remember about the t-stat's is to ONLY use the Subaru ones. There's a huge difference in quality. After I changed the blown water pump on my 94 (bought it that way) I realized I forgot to buy a new t-stat for it. I boiled the OEM one that was in the car and it still operated flawlessly. No problems and already driven it 1,000 miles. I'll probably change it at the next flush but really the OEM ones are tough as nails and built like tanks. The aftermarket stuff is cheap in the extreem. Air will naturally evacuate the system (should) once it's run but if you fill it with the bleed plug out it should not have any air in it. At least that's my experience with them. I also massage the upper and lower hoses and take my time filling it to insure it's completely air-free. If you need assistance it looks like we are pretty close - I could take a look and offer my opinion. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 T-stat should be Subaru. Make sure all the air is out of the system, particularly if the system has recently been worked on which it sounds like it has. Water pump could have issues. My first guess as to the real issue is headgaskets. But, you certainly wouldn't rule out much cheaper and easier issues first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 With the heater on max do you get good heat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrturbo Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Sounds like you are on your way to headgasketville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Sounds like you are on your way to headgasketville Population: You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plane2sea Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Yes, raging heat with the heater on. though at one point as i was pulling over to let it cool down, cold air came out while the heat was on. it was definetly not a subaru tstat it was carquest or some other cheepo company. thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I have some pics at home comparing the Subaru OEM thermostat to a stant aftermarket. The OEM looks like Russian military surplus compared to the aftermarket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 well that sucks it's an aftermarket because they do suck. if you have someone do it, take note of the subaru part and the aftermarket, it will surprise you the difference, you would never guess they were for the same vehicle. i'm still betting it's HG though, but like i said it's certainly pointless not to address simple $7 parts first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plane2sea Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Just had a hydrocarbon test and looks like i am indeed up shiit creek. I am the newest member of the badly engineered DOHC HG club. Thanks alot Subaru! almost made it all the way to 100,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Just had a hydrocarbon test andlooks like i am indeed up shiit creek. I am the newest member of the badly engineered DOHC HG club. Thanks alot Subaru! almost made it all the way to 100,000 miles I seen something on the DIY channel that its fairly common to have to do headgaskets around the higher mileage mark especially with an aluminum block. Head gaskets are going the route of regular maintenence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_gasket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Sorry to hear about that. It is unfortuate that Subaru has this issue on certain MY's. It is definitely not isolated to Subaru though; many other automakers have this issue much worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plane2sea Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 Well just wanted to post the outcome of this gasket problem. I bit the bullet and had the head gaskets done and timing belt tensioners and water pump. We finished our 4300 mile road trip one week after getting the car back. Running like a new car, even gained a few mpg's averaged 28 the whole way. i am glad i spent the money instead of trying to trade it in a screw someone over. thanks for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana105 Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 I'm no expert on Subies much less any of the new cars,and I happened to see a program of the same nature mentioned before,and they mentioned that alot of the problem headgaskets are caused by aluminium meeting cast iron,they have different heat dissipation so it causes the heads to move which in turn breaks the head gasket.I can relate to this as i owned a taurus wagon with over 200000 miles bought brand new, and replaced head gaskets 3 times,2 times under warranty,the 3rd time i did it myself,ultimately the tranny gave out and I'd had enough,gave the car to a guy who had a bad engine and it's still running today with no additional head problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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