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Hello,

 

My 91 legacy (175K) is starting to overheat.. At highway speeds it is fine, it is around town stop-and-go that causes the problem. The radiator and overfill is full of coolant, The fans comes on (I guess this means the thermo switch is ok) and the heater works (hotter air when at highway speeds). I had a slight leak several months ago that I used a "stop-leak" solution on it and it has been fine until now. Last summer the thermostat was changed.

 

Question: Is there any way to know if I need to change the thermostat, radiator or waterpump..?

 

Money is a little tight and I would like to take care of this myself if possible.

If it is the radiator do you have any recommendations about a good place to get one?

 

Cheers,

Kirk

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most likely a blocked radiator. the stop leak products are notorious for blocking passages. and it will show itself under the conditions you explained. when you are traveling at highway speed, there is sufficient airflow to cool with the limited flow, but when you are in town, there isn't enough airflow to keep the engine cool with the reduced capacity of the radiator.

 

as for thing to do, you can have it flow tested, or you can remove and have it flushed, but i suspect that you won't see a drastic improvement. Might be worth a shot, though, if money is tight...

 

good luck...

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I found out that CO2 is getting into the cooling system, bad head-gaskets.. quotes from shops in town and the dealership are around 1.5K! One shop said that the heads could need replacing also, another 1.5+. I think that a new engine should be cheaper..

 

I am used car shopping as a result. I think I will donate the 91 Legacy for the tax break..

 

Thanks,

Kirk

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