running hotter (not extreme yet)

[Subaru_dude]

how do you go about getting the replacement o ring for the pipe in the water pump?

 

Most parts stores have rubber o-rings in stock and you would just match it up with one. I work at O'Reilly's, that's what they do there.

[McDave]

I'm not crazy about those Prestone flush taps. I had a truck in the shop a couple weeks ago with a small coolant leak somewhere. Having a hard time finding it, I finally just drove the truck to get it hot enough and found a slight drip off the tap. When I gave the hose a little twist to get a better look at where the leak actually was, the thing exploded in my hand and sprayed me down with scalding coolant. Fortunately I was right next to a sink.

 

I've had to remove many of those taps as it seems they all eventually start leaking.

[brokebill]

got my new plastic/aluminum radiator.

 

how do i cap/plug the 2 lines on the radiator for the automatic application that i dont need?

 

thanks, Bill

[edrach]

got my new plastic/aluminum radiator.

 

how do i cap/plug the 2 lines on the radiator for the automatic application that i dont need?

 

thanks, Bill

You can cap them if you like with a rubber hose or some of those vacuum caps that Fuji liked to use on sections of the carb vacuum lines.

 

But you can leave them open since if you're not running ATF into them, there won't be anything coming out.

 

If you have the single connector on the temp switch that goes into the body of the radiator, don't forget to install the ground strap to the front, top cross member from the radiator. That's the ground return for the fan and your fan won't work without it. The two pin temp switch has a ground return in the existing harness.

[brokebill]

thanks.

double connector so good there.

 

put it in and ran it up and down some hills.

seems to be ok.

 

my old radiator is a lot better built than this one so i'm gonna see about maybe having it boiled and cleaned out.

 

with this cheap plastic and aluminum one, the temperature sits at about 1/3 and seemed stable under load.

my old one (when it was working right) sat at about 1/4 and stayed there under load.

 

i also removed the ac condenser while i was in there to get some more air flow.(anything nonfunctioning i try to remove to clear up room to work anyhow)

 

flushed and backflushed the heater core with a 5/8 female garden hose repair end .(neat trick)

 

looks like i have the water pump with the longer measurement.(gap between water pump body and hub is pretty obvious compared to the shorter one once you look at it) so thats good if i need one since the shorter ones seem to cost more.

 

i'll know for sure in the next couple days if that fixed him.

 

thanks, Bill

[edrach]

thanks.

put it in and ran it up and down some hills.

seems to be ok.

 

That's good to hear.

 

my old radiator is a lot better built than this one so i'm gonna see about maybe having it boiled and cleaned out.

 

If there's a radiator repair shop around you might try having it re-cored. "Back in the day" that was not an uncommon practice; but those shops have mostly disappeared.

 

with this cheap plastic and aluminum one, the temperature sits at about 1/3 and seemed stable under load.

my old one (when it was working right) sat at about 1/4 and stayed there under load.

 

Funny all my cars settled out at just under the half-way mark. Maybe you have a cooler thermostat installed. I think I was using a 190 degree one.

 

i also removed the ac condenser while i was in there to get some more air flow.(anything nonfunctioning i try to remove to clear up room to work anyhow)

 

Smart move.

 

flushed and backflushed the heater core with a 5/8 female garden hose repair end .(neat trick)

 

Ditto on that.

[brokebill]

thanks.

 

its 190^ thermostat (not OEM)

 

i know everybodys gauge will read different so i have to go with where mine usually set when performing at its best.

 

my thermostat still opens about 1/4 (judging bythe top hose) and will stay here till i start driving and put it under load. it then will rise to the 1/3 mark(or higher under extreme load) and stay there unless i'm coasting downhill with a lot of air moving and then it will get back close to 1/4 till the next time its under load.

 

its not so much how high the temp gets as it is the fact that its overall not cooling as good as it recently did.

 

i'm also kind of picturing worn/broken impellers on the water pump.

 

would broken/eroded impellers explain the restriction in the radiator as well?

 

thanks, Bill

[edrach]

would broken/eroded impellers explain the restriction in the radiator as well?

 

How old was your original radiator?

[brokebill]

its at least 4 years old. was in it when i got the car. didnt really look new then but still really dont look bad now. be a shame to just scrap such a well built one.

 

water pumps at least 4 yrs old also.

 

took the car out today and ran it pretty hard up every mtn around and the temp is still a little higher than it used to be, but never got

quite to 1/2 (electric fan usually kicks on right above the 1/2 mark)

 

maybe thats just where it wants to sit now but still seems odd.

 

 

is it better to have a temp gauge and worry yourself to death or just have a dummy light and live in ignorant bliss until theres a real problem?

 

 

thanks,Bill

[The Dude Abides]

sorry to hyjack a thread but mine climbs to half or even 3/4 when im doin bout 70 on the highway. you think that with the added airflow it might run cooler but since the engine is running harder. Ive been told that the temp gauges on these vehicles are marginal at best. Try an aftermarket gauge if your worried but it sounds like youve done everything except the water pump which in my opinion should be replaced when you did timeing belts.

 

Ben

[Frank B]

Every water pump failure I have seen was a seal failure and the coolant leaked out of the weep hole. The lack of coolant caused the overheating. Unless you, or a previuos owner used water only, no antifreeze, your impellers will be fine.

Are you using a 50/50 coolant/water mix?

Try installing an aftermarket water temp guage just to see what the actual temps are.

Also, your thermostat may not be opening completely, it doesn't happen often, but that could be a problem.

You don't have bubbles in the coolant do you?

[McDave]

Every water pump failure I have seen was a seal failure and the coolant leaked out of the weep hole. The lack of coolant caused the overheating. Unless you, or a previuos owner used water only, no antifreeze, your impellers will be fine.

Are you using a 50/50 coolant/water mix?

Try installing an aftermarket water temp guage just to see what the actual temps are.

Also, your thermostat may not be opening completely, it doesn't happen often, but that could be a problem.

You don't have bubbles in the coolant do you?

I agree the water pump is not the problem, if indeed he has a problem.

 

If I've been keeping score correctly, he's replaced the thermostat twice recently, but is using aftermarket stats. The better question might be, what brand and does it have a jiggle pin?

[The Dude Abides]

also do some more checking into the oem vs aftermarket stat. the oem is much better qualty.

 

Ben

[brokebill]

antifreeze mixed 50/50. i always buy 100% then split it up in 2 jugs and top em off.

 

yep, 2nd aftermarket thermostat in a month, both with properly placed jiggle pins. (what are their function anyhow?)

 

havent seen bubbles in the coolant. what would that indicate? head gasket?

 

supposed to be going to carolina soon so i'll track down an oem thermostat while there.

 

if i can, i'll stop and look at the subaru place beside the interstate(subarus r us) and see if they have much ea stuff since they didnt seem to have much ej stuff from the "stranded in asheville" post.

 

temp is still in acceptable range (still just a little higher than when at best) after driving today.

 

semi local napa has the water pump in stock (including gasket, o ring and new studs in one box) and since my timing belt covers are off shouldn't be too hard to change if it would fail.

 

may go ahead and change it payday since everything else is new and put the old one in the back with the rest of the spare parts.

 

thanks,Bill

[The Dude Abides]

im that way where i like to replace things just so i have piece of mind. but with a subaru its different because so much is in the way. I was told to go ahead and do a water pump and crank shaft seal if i was going to be in there anyways doing the timeing belts. Since its a pain in the butt to take all that stuff off why not just do it once and be done with it. I have a heating problem too but its not bad. Just when i go fast it heats up. Ill do something about it when it becomes a problem. Ive got a parts car now and she seems to be working alright. I think i have the original radiator, and cap as well.

 

Ben

[edrach]

im that way where i like to replace things just so i have piece of mind. but with a subaru its different because so much is in the way. I was told to go ahead and do a water pump and crank shaft seal if i was going to be in there anyways doing the timeing belts. Since its a pain in the butt to take all that stuff off why not just do it once and be done with it. I have a heating problem too but its not bad. Just when i go fast it heats up. Ill do something about it when it becomes a problem. Ive got a parts car now and she seems to be working alright. I think i have the original radiator, and cap as well.

 

Ben

Ben, my answer to you is the same as to

Bill: If the car heats up the faster you go, the radiator is no longer capable of cooling the car to the thermostat temperature. I've found that flushing the system is a waste of money which could be applied to a new radiator.

Replace the radiator as soon as you find it runs hotter than normal when doing the speed limit.

[The Dude Abides]

yea me dropin another hundy on the car after i just did a couple weeks ago for brakes isnt a good idea. Im going to just take her easy and hope she gets through august. If its gonna go this is the month. I might still flush it. Not with a chemical but i had kinda cruddy heat this winter so im thinkin the heater core needs a good flushin and ill try to blast the lower radiator while im at it.

 

Ben

[Frank B]

Have you flushed out the heater core yet? Just disconnect both hoses from the engine and connect one to a garden hose and turn on the water, when it flows clear out of the other hose, switch them to back flush.

 

Does your electric fan come on at all?

[The Dude Abides]

honestly im not sure i think it does. I have an ac car but i dont know if the fans ever kicked on ive never paid attention i spend probally about 10min in the car each day. I dont half to drive far to get to work.

 

Ben

[Frank B]

The cooling fan switch, the little sensor in the right rad tank, just supplies a ground to complete the circuit for the fan. You can cut or splice the one that supplies the ground to the relay, the yellow one I think, and run it directly to the body to bypass the switch. This will keep the fan on all the time. or splice into the wire up at the relay and do the same thing. Mine is behind the strut tower on the right side, the outboard relay.

[brokebill]

ok, i've drove it a couple days now and it has yet to get up to 1/2 where the electric fan comes on.

coolant level when totally cold in the mornings has not changed so appears to be no leaks internal or external.

 

after going over the old posts through the years on thermostats, i'm hoping the aftermarket stat may not be flowing like it should.

have seen many posts where oem thermostats have stabilized the same symptoms i have.

so rather than drilling a hole in the aftermarket stat, i'm gonna pick up an oem.

 

overall cooling is good, just drifts a little more than i wish it would when going from coasting to load .

 

thanks, Bill

[Frank B]

Don't drill a hole in it, I tried that before and it seemed like the t-stat didn't open up as soon as it should. The temps spiked before it opened.

All it's for is to bleed out air that gets trapped in the intake manifold water passages, that's why it has the little brass thing in it, to act like a valve. After all the air is out, it really isn't needed.

And I have yet to use an OEM thermostat. I've had one or two bad ones out of the box, but really no big problems with aftermarket. Just don't buy the cheapest one available.

[McDave]

I've used Stant Superstats for years on various makes without a problem, and they usually are very close in appearance to the oem ones. Like Frank says, avoid the cheaper ones and if the oem has a jiggle pin, make sure your replacement does too.

[torxxx]

I work at a radiator shop and we deal with this type of issue every day. You need a flush done the right way. Dont use that prestone flush junk. You need a flush gun. hooks to 5/8inch garden hose and has a fitting for a air hose to plug to it. Flush your heater core first (flush return hose first then inlet) flush your block both directions, get rid of the old radiator if its plastic/alum.

 

If u have a copper/brass radiator, pull all fan off and the sensor and take it to a raidator shop or another shop that has a hot tank. (tank with caustic acid in it) have them boil out the radiator. That will take care of ANY deposits left in the radiator.

 

my car was doing the same thing this winter (at -40F) I flushed the hell out of the system and replaced my radiator now it sits at 1/3 temp at 80F outside air temp.

 

One other thing, check the thermo switch wiring on the raidator. I had an issue last year with the wires corroding and the switch not kicking the fan on in time.

[brokebill]

have flushed the block and heater core probably 20 times (literally) over the last couple weeks.

 

have flushed the block from the thermostat to the bottom of the block, from the bottom of the block back out the top, flushed out the block through the 2 heater hose connections on back of block.

 

flushed the heater core , backflushed, reflushed,,.....(never saw any color or chunks from heater core)

 

i've flushed it with the motor running with the motor off through every combination of hoses and openings.

 

then installed a new radiator.

 

is there a particular nook/cranny in the block somewere that may not be responding to the numerous flushings?

 

 

thanks, Bill