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88 rx turbo blown headgasket?


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Okay so bear with me.. Most of the work i do on cars is with rotarys. The problem started last night.. the outside temps have been about 10 degrees. So it takes my car forever to warm up and then it overheats after about 10 or so miles. There are no visible leaks. But the radiator with the cap off bubbles a little bit. From my understanding thats a blown head gasket right? There is no water in the oil. It also made a hissing/gurgling from the turbo side. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jon

 

Oh also when I turn it off, it wont start right back up. Takes about 5 min.

Edited by evilsqwerl
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Does it overheat while idling, or on the road?

Overheat at idle is from a bad waterpump.

Overheat while on the road is a bad radiator.

Or, it could be a bad thermostat. This is where you need to start first, use a OEM replacement.

Tiny bubbles in the rad doesnt necessarily mean its a bad HG, but being a EA82T its possible :rolleyes:

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While driving, it takes forever for it to warm up also. I think ill start with the rad, pull it out check its flow. I really hope its not the HG its freakin cold outside.

 

No need to pull it out. Let it run for a little bit then shut it down. Feel the top and bottom of the rad. If its cold on the bottom and hot on top, the rad is clogged.

 

My RX is doing the same thing (but not overheating). Granted its only 17deg out, but even when its above freezing it takes forever to warm up. I have a pretty new dual core rad and I suspect the t-stat might be stuck open.

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Thanks turbone ill go check it out and let you know. It is drinkin just a little bit of coolant too

 

If its drinkinig coolant, you might have bad intake gaskets.

Or it really is a bad HG.

 

But definitely find out if the rad is cooling correctly and replace the t-stat.

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a failed head gasket is often caused by some other cooling system issue. everything in there is 20 years old, plenty of places for problems.

 

new thermostat (subaru only), flushing the coolant, flushing the radiator and heater core are all excellent ideas.

 

a new radiator cap and replacing any hoses/clamps you can get to is always a good idea. on my old gen vehicles i make it a point to replace them all. it's even more critical with turbo's.

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