GeneralDisorder Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 You can't completely remove it - the seal for the thermostat housing is ON the t-stat itself. You need the outer ring or you have no seal at all. And you can't change it to a gasket as the flange on the water pump is too narrow. You have to leave at least the outer ring of the t-stat intact for sealing purposes. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman53 Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 You can't completely remove it - the seal for the thermostat housing is ON the t-stat itself. You need the outer ring or you have no seal at all. And you can't change it to a gasket as the flange on the water pump is too narrow. You have to leave at least the outer ring of the t-stat intact for sealing purposes. GD Thinking about it you are correct GD, the gasket went around the edge of the thermostat. If you have the time GD look at my thread about the transmission solenoid and give any input you might have. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkwing_Duck Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 okay so now with the understanding that the thermostat on subarus must be diffrent from most other vehicles because on every vehicle I have ever done it to I just pull the thermostat and leave it at that none I have ever come across have ever had to keep it to seal properly so it must just be diffrent in subaru's which answers my question so thank you (had to throw this in because I thought it looked funny) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 It's not specifically Subaru's - the tendancy on older vehicles was to use a gasket. Now they use a seal on the thermostat itself. When Subaru went from EA to EJ platforms it changed. But it has more to do with the direction of the modern automotive industry at large - I have Ford's and Nissan's that use the same type of seal as the EJ's. This is typically an older car/newer car type of thing - sort of like drum vs. disc brakes. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkwing_Duck Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 There is one other thought I did have while thinking about this specific problem today somtimes back in the day when people couldnt afford the fancy additives that can seal up holes in the radiator and gaskets etc they would crack an egg seperate it and put the egg whites into the radiator it would get into the holes etc and because of the heat become cooked and solid sealing the holes its not a full on solution however I have seen people use it with sucess until they could afford to get new gaskets hoses etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadob Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 There is one other thought I did have while thinking about this specific problem today somtimes back in the day when people couldnt afford the fancy additives that can seal up holes in the radiator and gaskets etc they would crack an egg seperate it and put the egg whites into the radiator it would get into the holes etc and because of the heat become cooked and solid sealing the holes its not a full on solution however I have seen people use it with sucess until they could afford to get new gaskets hoses etc I like it. It's going in my folder of secret lost knowledge. dadob I am still running with bake fluid as coolant, no obvious rubber degredation yet, and gutted thermostat. Just drove 75 miles with no fluctuation. To combat engine running too cool I am using cardboard covering lover half of radiator. Drove with perfect normalcy and descent heat. Question is how long can I do this. I'm not doing the head gaskets, so as long as it lives. If I get 6 months I'll be happy. a year exstatic. I definitely would try this method if I had to limp a car home from a distant vacation. dadob May put a manual valve in the big radiator hose to control heat that way, from inside vehicle. One good thing about this is it's training me to keep an eye on my temp guage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadob Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 (edited) So it's 5 weeks since my experiment. Still cooling and running fine. I am experiencing a slight loss of fluid about 8 sometimes 12 ounces per day. So because break fluid (ethylene glycol with di ethylene glycol) is 4 bucks a quart and antifreeze is 2 bucks a quart I'm using pure undiluted antifreeze (ethylene glycol). It's winter and pretty cold in cincy but I figure brake fluid doesn't freeze and antifreeze I've heard freezes so maybe brake fluid and antifreeze won't freeze above 20 below. I'll keep an eye on it. I definitely want to avoid adding water which would be chemically compatible but might lower the overall boiling point of the mixture which has been my main goal. Keep it as close to the 490 degrees Fahrenheit boiling point of straight brake fluid. So water's out. I have a suspicion that straight antifreeze has water in it. Anyone know how much? I put bargs sealer in the brake fluid to try and slow down the coolant loss. I'd be happy if I could slow it down to topping it off with a 1/2 quart of straight antifreeze per week. That would cost me a buck. Right now I'm loosing about 40 ounces per week. It's all still an interesting experiment for me to see what I can get away with. So far no signs of hose degradation. The pieces I put in a bag with brake fluid have not changed nor the color of the brake fluid. thanks dadob p.s. It seems the heater works better. Edited February 14, 2011 by dadob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadob Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 8 weeks still running great. Stopped leak using bargs leak stop. Level steady mostly brake fluid 80% some water and some straight out of bottle undiluted anti freeze. Haven't had to add any for a weak. Took out 1/2 cardboard coverage in front of radiator because weather warming but think I'll put a little back about 1/4th. Running too cool. No hose damage or flimsy feeling hoses yet. dadob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadob Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 Still running fine on brake fluid as coolant. April 6th will be four months. I think bubbles are increasing but not alarmingly. Thinking of taking it on a 2000 mile trip. Prepared to buy another car if it doesn't make it. We'll see. dadob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Id love to know how much all this has cost so far. Oh and your VIN number so I don't ever buy this car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 just out of curiosity, are you using antifreeze for brake fluid? what do you use for power steering fluid? oil? LOL curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walczyk Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 lol i want to a pic of the overflow bottle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daredevil1166 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Almost a year now. Curious what came of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 He hasn't logged into the site since his last post. We may never know at this point. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Also, if he hasn't Logged here since his last post, long time ago... could be a Bad Sign that something Really bad happened to his subie. :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
man on the moon Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Also, if he hasn't Logged here since his last post, long time ago... could be a Bad Sign that something Really bad happened to his subie. :-\ Maybe he's too embarrased? Or forgot? I'm curious, too. Almost want to buy a cheap (<$500) car, put new hoses on it, and try this out. Not with a subie...an old beater of some sort, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadob Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Almost a year now. Curious what came of this. I'm still around. Subaru running fine still. I tried it on another car too and it didn't work. I think the suby head gasket problem was so specific it responded to this mad attempt. In other words it's a gamble that paid off for me. I'm 60 and just don't want to do a head gasket anymore especially on that car and with 270,000 miles on it. Cost of experiment 6 guarts of dot 3 brake fluid 49 dollars so far. With tax. I'm satisfied. I love this car. Dadob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadob Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) I've driven 12,000 more miles for that 49 dollars so far. Usually city driving only. Longest trip i've dared is 130 miles round trip to the cheap airport in Dayton, Ohio. No problems. I'm in cincy. Still using same hoses. To answer another post I use brake fluid in brake lines not antifreeze but it's an interesting idea. If the antifreeze has zero drops of water in it, it would work in a pinch, but generally not worth the experiment 'cause it wouldn't save much money. I figure I got another 800 dollars of use out of it so far. I told everyone at the beginning not to do this at home. I risked myself for the cause and got a lot of satisfaction out of it. Crazy ideas is what progress is. And admittedly those ideas have risks and a high price sometimes. I never liked hearing something couldn't be done. It just get's the gambler up in me. That's what men are, risk takers. thanks for the fun dadob. p.s. I'm going to sell the car cheap cause I got a windfall replacement for free. There will be full disclosure to the buyer. I'll tell them if you put a cup of water in this radiator it will overheat. No doubt about it. I'll sell it to some young guy who wants to put a head gasket on it. And I'll give Him or Her a 1 month money back warranty to boot. Edited February 5, 2012 by dadob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
man on the moon Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Wow, a full year? That's impressive! I have to take you at your word (sounds a bit far-fetched, but I wouldn't know either way), but I'm happy to hear it's more or less working out. Not gonna jump and do it myself, but...I'll keep it in mind should I ever be in a pinch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) thanks for the fun dadob. p.s. I'm going to sell the car cheap cause I got a windfall replacement for free. There will be full disclosure to the buyer. I'll tell them if you put a cup of water in this radiator it will overheat. No doubt about it. I'll sell it to some young guy who wants to put a head gasket on it. And I'll give Him or Her a 1 month money back warranty to boot. Heh. If you were closer I would buy it. I think it was a great idea and it payed off for you. Prior to this post I hadn't ever considered that brake fluid was so chemically similar to glycol. That being the case - if the HG's were replaced and the system flushed with clean water it shouldn't have hurt anything. Something that's been on my mind - since they are so similar could I dump used brake fluid in with the used anti-freeze? I mean I'm sure I *could* but I wonder if it would be a huge problem for the guys that recycle the stuff or it it really wouldn't matter either way.... GD Edited February 6, 2012 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferox Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 ...I wonder if it would be a huge problem for the guys that recycle the stuff of it it really wouldn't matter either way.... That would probably be driven mostly by boiling point(s). Ethylene glycol bp = 197.6 C (387.7 F) http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927167 Di ethylene glycol bp = 245.8 C (474.4 F) http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927514 Seems like that would be an adequate relative difference for them to separate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.