Poor heater in 1995 japanese import to uk Legacy

[urabus1995]

Hi Guys and Dolls,

Any opinions on this problem and my idea of a fix?

My 1995 Legacy wagon has always had poor internal heat , really noticeable in our lovely Scottish winters.

I travel about 12miles to work, and all through the winter the car only begins to feel warm just as I arrive at my destination.One of the results of this permanent coldness is that it always has condensation on the inside of the windscreen when the weather is cold , the whole car just feels damp.It is not losing any coolant.

Being a Japanese import , I was wondering if maybe it had a different thermostat fitted for their climate? Do they vary from one country to another? Is it possible to put a higher temperature one in, and has anyone ever done this? I would welcome any opinions.

[Rooster2]

I lived in Japan for a couple of years. It can be cold there too. The thermostat would be the same.

 

Suggest you do a drain and chemical flush of the cooling system. The flush is very important in case the system was not serviced much during it's lifetime, and corossion and dirt were allowed to build up in the coolant passage ways, and now blocks coolant flow. Also, replace the thermostat, it may be stuck in the "open" position. Also, prolly a good idea to replace the radiator cap.

[OB99W]

How does the temperature gauge reading progress during the 12 mile trip? At what part of the trip (if at all) does it get ''stable'' (typically about mid-point on the gauge)?

[urabus1995]

Thank you.

 

I have never really noticed what the gauge is reading at different points on my daily trips, but I can say that any time I have looked at it, it is never quite up to mid point, however far I have travelled. I must look into doing this Flush thing. I have never changed the coolant since getting the car about 5 years ago. I presume that this probably has never been done, as the car had only done 25,000 miles when I bought it. I do get the oil changed regularly. Thanks for reminding me !! Is it important to use a particular type of flush compound? Also , is it critical what type of anti-freeze goes in this system? I know that some engines dont like certain types of chemicals. Can this be carried out without getting airlocks and circulation problems after draining and refilling the system. Does the flush go through the radiator too, or just the heater matrix?

[hohieu]

Definitely a good idea to do a flush and fill as suggested by others here. Any of the off the shelf chemical flushes and coolants will do just fine. I've been using "long life" coolant in my 2.5 for the past five years without any problems. Remember to pull out the old thermostat before attempting to flush the system.

 

As for air bubbles, this can be avoided by parking the car with the front facing upward on an incline or by jacking up the front end as you refill the system. Others have suggested that the block be slowly filled via the upper radiator hose.

 

Here's a helpful thread on precisely this issues:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21681

[OB99W]

I have never really noticed what the gauge is reading at different points on my daily trips, but I can say that any time I have looked at it, it is never quite up to mid point, however far I have travelled.[...]

A ''normal'' gauge reading, once warmed up, is typically just a bit less than the mid-point (let's call it 8:45 o'clock). However, if it's taking too long to get there, it might indicate that the thermostat isn't properly closing when cold.

 

The heater core has relatively small passages, so it doesn't take very much to at least partially obstruct them. That could be from particles due to corrosion, mineral deposits, or the use of a ''stop leak'' product that was too agressive.

 

This may seem obvious, but are you setting the heater controls to recirculate the cabin air, rather than bringing in outside air, at least until the engine reaches full operating temperature?

[urabus1995]

I hardly ever set the heater to circulate cabin air, it just causes the screen to mist up even more than usual, cos the car seems permanently damp, because of lack of heat every day, and me trailing rain and snow into it regularly. I do try to keep as much wet stuff out of it as possible, but it is almost impossible where I live. In the summer, or on hot days (we do get one or two every year LOL), I leave the windows open to get as much air through the car in an attempt to dry it out.

Nothing is letting in water that I can see. Would running the air-con cause moisture build up in the cabin? I will try re-circulating the cabin air, to see if it gets warmer by doing that, and just put the blower on to clear the winscreen when it mists up. Thanks again.

[EastCoastEJ22T]

I live in Nova Scotia, eastern canada. We have long cold winters here as well. An old favorite trick of mine is to block off 1/2 to 2/3's of the radiator with a suitable size piece of cardboard. Just remember to remove the wet cardboard in the spring. It allows the car to get to temp and hold temp, quicker and stronger. Also a new thermostat and a flush and fill, i do this once every two years.

[OB99W]

I can appreciate that cabin moisture can be a problem. However, not recirculating cabin air will definitely cause it to take longer to heat the cabin. Air passing over the heater core will rise in temperature by a certain number of degrees, but what gets blown out at you will be colder if the rise is based on outside air versus already-somewhat-warmed cabin air.

 

Running air conditioning will not contribute to cabin moisture. To the contrary, as long as the cabin air isn't so cold as to prevent water from condensing on the a/c evaporator, moisture will be removed and exit the car (assuming the drain isn't obstructed). Defogging of the windscreen (we call it a 'windshield' on this side of the pond ) is actually accomplished by both the a/c and heater running simultaneously. At least on my own '99, even if cabin recirc is selected, choosing defrost/defog mode bypasses that and uses outdide air.

 

If you determine there's nothing actually wrong with your heater, you may just have to experiment a bit with the controls to determine the usage that best deals with the conditions you have. I find that frequent switching between recirculated heat to the occupants and defogging the windshield is sometimes necessary here, where winters can be quite cold and snowy.