Symptoms of bad water pump and overtemping solved!

[buckeye]

This is a continue from Mysterious cooling problems. 03 Outback w/ 4 banger.

 

What would be some symptoms indicating your water pump is going out?

 

As I'm driving down the Interstate, 70+ mpg, the temp starts to rise to 3/4 and higher. I have the Transmission, (automatic) in Drive and with RPM around 3000, I drop the shifter in 3rd which puts the RPM to 4000 - 4500 and the Temp needle drops to the center, shift it back to drive and it slowly creeps back up. But not always in the same amount of time and the Temp will drop at any time also.

The only thing I can think of is the pressure increased because of the RPM increase, which would put out more pump pressure, if I'm thinking correctly. And possibly because of the increase of pressure, the T-Stat opened up.

I bought an OEM T-Stat and will be putting it in tomorrow.

The Head Gasket has been changed and I'm not ruling that out as the problem either, Hopefully ShawnW, will help to check if it is the HG, if the T-Stat does not fix the problem.

 

Bought a OEM T-Stat and gasket. Installed it and been driving it for three days with the temp running normal, right dead in the middle like it should be. Spent $22, compared to what a certain national service center chain charged me for not fixing it. I blame myself for not checking further into this or joining this forum sooner. Thanks everybody for all your replies.

[lostinthe202]

Can't tell which it was for sure 'cause I changed both, but I had the same behavior with my temp gauge and after I changed the W-pump and T-stat everything was back to normal.

 

Don't know how far you are from your T-belt service interval, but you might consider doing it while you're in there.

 

Good Luck!

[buckeye]

Can't tell which it was for sure 'cause I changed both, but I had the same behavior with my temp gauge and after I changed the W-pump and T-stat everything was back to normal.

 

Don't know how far you are from your T-belt service interval, but you might consider doing it while you're in there.

 

Good Luck!

 

Thanks. When I had the Head Gasket changed, year and half ago, I had the T-Belt changed also.

[nipper]

replace your radiator cap too. Running hot is typically a radiator cap (as opposed to over heating which is something else).

 

 

nipper

[1997reduxe]

This is just my intuition, and I'm not a mechanic, but I've driven Legacys for like 9 years now, (only 2.2 engines, I forget whether yours was a 2.5 or not), but I've known them to be VERY stable tempwise.

In my experience if they don't run with the needle right under that bulb on the temp gauge (99 % of the time) there's something seriously wrong.

It would almost seem to me that with all those temp fluctuations there's some kind of blockage, maybe as others said the thermostat or water pump.

Like the increased rpms make it possible for the fluid to get where it was supposed to have been.

 

I had my t-stat water pump go last year. I should have noticed it earlier, but the symptoms weren't real obvious (which i need). First thing was that for a long time the car wouldn't warm up fast ENOUGH! In the wintertime I would start it early to warm up and defrost the windshield, and come out 5 or 10 minutes later and it was still very low on the gauge, wouldn't warm up till I actually got it out on road. Also in that period a about 5" hose off of the back of the water pump, down underneath, blew.

 

By the time I finally got it that the pump was bad it was pouring water out the bottom (only moderately slower than I was pouring it in the top, jumping in and driving to get it home). Also had been knocking like a diesel.

 

At that point I had no idea that it had a timing belt, which I'm now amazed survived the ordeal.

'97