Overheating Subaru Legacy AWD Wagon...

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:32:04 -0600, Ray O wrote:

>
> > wrote in message
> ...
>> maybe pressure test the cooling system.
>
> I would worry that pressure testing a 10 year old cooling system might
> create leaks in the radiator...


Engine has been replaced (don't know how many miles...) and radiator is
new...all adding up to BHG...

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:33:01 -0800, johngdole wrote:

> So what's the state of the water pump and head gasket? Is there strong
> flow when you pinch the upper hose? Good flow looking into the rad?
> Blown head gasket can give you the same symptoms.


I think johngdole has hit the nail on the...er...*HEAD*...





>
>
> On Nov 25, 7:24 pm, Hachiroku > wrote:
>> Ya mon, I tried that! When I initially filled the radiator I would make
>> sure it was full, then open it and let the air out, and then close it,
>> making sure the bottle was full. It was 'drinking' from the overflow
>> bottle quite nicely before it started overheating. Even while overheating
>> it was filling the bottle to the top, and then when you shut it off it
>> would drop the level in the bottle about an inch.
>>
>> Tried again today, making sure there wasn't any air (or trying to...)

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:10:54 +0000, Hachiroku wrote:

> 1997 Subaru AWD wagon, "L" model, basic car. Replaced coolant and
> thermostat and ran car static for an hour at a time about 3 times. Would
> initially overheat (when I replaced the coolant), cold air coming from the
> heater, then heat started coming from the vents and the guage went down.
> As I was getting it ready to pass inspection I would run it for 40-60
> minutes, temp guage rock-steady at half way, heat from the vents, etc.
>
> On the first drive yesterday, I got about 8 miles and it began
> overheating, after running static for about 40 mins with no problems. I
> shut it down and let it cool and drove it home. Sometimes raising the revs
> causes the temp to decrease, and sometimes to increase. Sometimes coasting
> cools the car off, and sometimes raises the temp. Putting it in neutral
> has no effect; it keeps getting warmer.
>
> When I opened the bleeder screw, pure steam was coming out of it. From the
> front of the car, the right side (driver's side) appears to have coolant
> in the lower radiator hose where the thermostat is, and the upper hose
> looks empty.
>
> I don't know what size the engine is. It came from the factory with a 2.2,
> but it has been replaced, with another 2.2? I was told the trans had been
> replaced with a FWD trans, but the sticker on the trans matches the VIN
> plate, which indicates AWD. Trans works great, car runs well, except for
> the overheating. I replaced the t-stat, and the one that was in there
> looked new also. I'll have it flushed sometime this week.
>
> Anyone seen this before, or have any idea what's going on here? It looks
> like a blockage somewhere.


From another web site:

"Common symptoms:
Overheating, often when slowing or stopped after extended high load
driving. "

Sort of, although it's not random...


"The overheating can be seemingly random and sporadic."


Nah, it's pretty steady!

"Bubbles in coolant overflow reservoir, immediately after running."

Nope...steam in the radiator!

"Sludgy residue in coolant overflow tank."

Hmmmm...the original coolant didn't look good when I drained it out...
it was kinda dark...I thought perhaps there was just gunk in the motor...


"Hydrocarbons in coolant overflow tank, this is tested by a mechanic with
specialized equipment and is not evident visually."


Having this looked at Wednesday...

Is there any way I can check this myself?

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:12:03 GMT, hachiroku > wrote:
>On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:04:26 -0600, Ray O wrote:

>> If you can get an exhaust sniffer, check for exhaust gas at the radiator
>> neck. When you filled the coolant, you did have the heater set to full hot,
>> right?
>
>But of course I did!
>Well, after I started adding coolant...
>I'm afraid...
>
>"I caught the head gasket leaking in my 97 subaru a few years ago, at 96k.
>It cost me $650, and they replaced front and rear main seals at the same
>time for just the cost of the seals, somewheres around $50-75 each if I
>remember correctly. I knew something was wrong- no power, really poor gas
>milage, the engine sounded louder than normal, I was constantly topping
>off the oil and the car smelled differently overall."
>
>The engine runs really well, but after talking to a few mechanic friends
>and a Subaru service manager this begins to look like a BHG. One estimate
>is $600. The car has 336,000 miles on it, but runs well, everything works
>and minimal rust.
>
>I said if it had a major problem I was going to get rid of it. I think
>I'll take it for Mass state inspection and have them look at it. I go
>somewhere anal, so they'll tell me if there's anything else. Hey, $29 for
>a complete inspection?!

Remember, Subaru boxer motor internals are right up there with
Toyotas for being overbuilt to the point of bulletproof, and running
practically forever - If the body and suspension are still good, might
well be worth reworking the head gaskets and just keep driving it.

When it rusts into two pieces, /then/ you can junk it.

--<< Bruce >>--

"hachiroku" > wrote in message
news
> On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:10:54 +0000, Hachiroku wrote:
>
>> 1997 Subaru AWD wagon, "L" model, basic car. Replaced coolant and
>> thermostat and ran car static for an hour at a time about 3 times. Would
>> initially overheat (when I replaced the coolant), cold air coming from
>> the
>> heater, then heat started coming from the vents and the guage went down.
>> As I was getting it ready to pass inspection I would run it for 40-60
>> minutes, temp guage rock-steady at half way, heat from the vents, etc.
>>
>> On the first drive yesterday, I got about 8 miles and it began
>> overheating, after running static for about 40 mins with no problems. I
>> shut it down and let it cool and drove it home. Sometimes raising the
>> revs
>> causes the temp to decrease, and sometimes to increase. Sometimes
>> coasting
>> cools the car off, and sometimes raises the temp. Putting it in neutral
>> has no effect; it keeps getting warmer.
>>
>> When I opened the bleeder screw, pure steam was coming out of it. From
>> the
>> front of the car, the right side (driver's side) appears to have coolant
>> in the lower radiator hose where the thermostat is, and the upper hose
>> looks empty.
>>
>> I don't know what size the engine is. It came from the factory with a
>> 2.2,
>> but it has been replaced, with another 2.2? I was told the trans had been
>> replaced with a FWD trans, but the sticker on the trans matches the VIN
>> plate, which indicates AWD. Trans works great, car runs well, except for
>> the overheating. I replaced the t-stat, and the one that was in there
>> looked new also. I'll have it flushed sometime this week.
>>
>> Anyone seen this before, or have any idea what's going on here? It looks
>> like a blockage somewhere.
>
>
> From another web site:
>
> "Common symptoms:
> Overheating, often when slowing or stopped after extended high load
> driving. "
>
> Sort of, although it's not random...
>
>
> "The overheating can be seemingly random and sporadic."
>
>
> Nah, it's pretty steady!
>
> "Bubbles in coolant overflow reservoir, immediately after running."
>
> Nope...steam in the radiator!
>
> "Sludgy residue in coolant overflow tank."
>
> Hmmmm...the original coolant didn't look good when I drained it out...
> it was kinda dark...I thought perhaps there was just gunk in the motor...
>
>
> "Hydrocarbons in coolant overflow tank, this is tested by a mechanic with
> specialized equipment and is not evident visually."
>
>
> Having this looked at Wednesday...
>
> Is there any way I can check this myself?
>

If you have an electronic gas sniffer, you can stick the probe into the
radiator neck or overflow tank.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Hachiroku ãƒ�ãƒ�ãƒ*ク wrote:
> 1997 Subaru AWD wagon, "L" model, basic car. Replaced coolant and
> thermostat and ran car static for an hour at a time about 3 times. Would
> initially overheat (when I replaced the coolant), cold air coming from the
> heater, then heat started coming from the vents and the guage went down.
> As I was getting it ready to pass inspection I would run it for 40-60
> minutes, temp guage rock-steady at half way, heat from the vents, etc.
>
> On the first drive yesterday, I got about 8 miles and it began
> overheating, after running static for about 40 mins with no problems. I
> shut it down and let it cool and drove it home. Sometimes raising the revs
> causes the temp to decrease, and sometimes to increase. Sometimes coasting
> cools the car off, and sometimes raises the temp. Putting it in neutral
> has no effect; it keeps getting warmer.
>
> When I opened the bleeder screw, pure steam was coming out of it. From the
> front of the car, the right side (driver's side) appears to have coolant
> in the lower radiator hose where the thermostat is, and the upper hose
> looks empty.
>
> I don't know what size the engine is. It came from the factory with a 2.2,
> but it has been replaced, with another 2.2? I was told the trans had been
> replaced with a FWD trans, but the sticker on the trans matches the VIN
> plate, which indicates AWD. Trans works great, car runs well, except for
> the overheating. I replaced the t-stat, and the one that was in there
> looked new also. I'll have it flushed sometime this week.
>
> Anyone seen this before, or have any idea what's going on here? It looks
> like a blockage somewhere.
>
>
Hi,
Was it OK before you did the work?
Or you worked on it for overheating problem>

hachiroku wrote:
> On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:10:54 +0000, Hachiroku wrote:
>
>
>>1997 Subaru AWD wagon, "L" model, basic car. Replaced coolant and
>>thermostat and ran car static for an hour at a time about 3 times. Would
>>initially overheat (when I replaced the coolant), cold air coming from the
>>heater, then heat started coming from the vents and the guage went down.
>>As I was getting it ready to pass inspection I would run it for 40-60
>>minutes, temp guage rock-steady at half way, heat from the vents, etc.
>>
>>On the first drive yesterday, I got about 8 miles and it began
>>overheating, after running static for about 40 mins with no problems. I
>>shut it down and let it cool and drove it home. Sometimes raising the revs
>>causes the temp to decrease, and sometimes to increase. Sometimes coasting
>>cools the car off, and sometimes raises the temp. Putting it in neutral
>>has no effect; it keeps getting warmer.
>>
>>When I opened the bleeder screw, pure steam was coming out of it. From the
>>front of the car, the right side (driver's side) appears to have coolant
>>in the lower radiator hose where the thermostat is, and the upper hose
>>looks empty.
>>
>>I don't know what size the engine is. It came from the factory with a 2.2,
>>but it has been replaced, with another 2.2? I was told the trans had been
>>replaced with a FWD trans, but the sticker on the trans matches the VIN
>>plate, which indicates AWD. Trans works great, car runs well, except for
>>the overheating. I replaced the t-stat, and the one that was in there
>>looked new also. I'll have it flushed sometime this week.
>>
>>Anyone seen this before, or have any idea what's going on here? It looks
>>like a blockage somewhere.
>
>
>
> From another web site:
>
> "Common symptoms:
> Overheating, often when slowing or stopped after extended high load
> driving. "
>
> Sort of, although it's not random...
>
>
> "The overheating can be seemingly random and sporadic."
>
>
> Nah, it's pretty steady!
>
> "Bubbles in coolant overflow reservoir, immediately after running."
>
> Nope...steam in the radiator!
>
> "Sludgy residue in coolant overflow tank."
>
> Hmmmm...the original coolant didn't look good when I drained it out...
> it was kinda dark...I thought perhaps there was just gunk in the motor...
>
>
> "Hydrocarbons in coolant overflow tank, this is tested by a mechanic with
> specialized equipment and is not evident visually."
>
>
> Having this looked at Wednesday...
>
> Is there any way I can check this myself?
>
Hi,
Is the fan running when temp rises?

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:43:38 -0600, Ray O wrote:

>>
>> "Hydrocarbons in coolant overflow tank, this is tested by a mechanic with
>> specialized equipment and is not evident visually."
>>
>>
>> Having this looked at Wednesday...
>>
>> Is there any way I can check this myself?
>>
>
> If you have an electronic gas sniffer, you can stick the probe into the
> radiator neck or overflow tank.
> --


Way ahead of you, Ray! Brought it for MA state inspection (remember
those?) He put the gas sniffer for the tailpipe in the filler neck and
there were PLENTY of hydrocarbons coming out through the radiator!!!

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:52:34 +0000, Tony Hwang wrote:

>> Anyone seen this before, or have any idea what's going on here? It looks
>> like a blockage somewhere.
>>
>>
> Hi,
> Was it OK before you did the work?
> Or you worked on it for overheating problem>


I walked into this thing cold, being told it was overheating. After seeing
all the new parts, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. BHG...

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:57:18 +0000, Tony Hwang wrote:

>> Having this looked at Wednesday...
>>
>> Is there any way I can check this myself?
>>
> Hi,
> Is the fan running when temp rises?

Everything works but the Head Gasket!!!