lepetitprince Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 Hi all. I have lots of follow up questions on over-heating. So while ago I posted a thread about my little Brat overheating...took it to chevron to get an estimate to fix the problem(well actually I just wanted them to figure out my engine problem and then once they do figure out, I was going to fix it with my friend) the problem was my waterpump, and they ended up fixing it without me authorizing it, and I argued and got out with free waterpump...hehe well so I thought they fixed the over-heating problem, but once in awhile, the needle likes to climb up little, but not too high..So I listened to borad people's advice and bought a new radiator...during the install, my friend and I decided to hard wire one of the fan.(wasn't working with thermoswitch) With switch I can turn on and off even when my engine off. But I noticed that the other fan that was working before stop working... Since I'm novice with fixing cars, it took me long time to figure out that one of the wire wasn't connect to thermoswitch..So the fan that was working in the beginning started working, but my hard wired fan stop working....weird....Well now my little Brat goes high temperture after 10 minutes of driving...Too high, almost at the peak...With new radiator and one of the fan working, it gets high temperature...I decided to order to thermostat, its gasket, and thermoswitch from subaruparts, it hasn't arrived it yet but I would like to buy new electric fans. I was wondering what is the good speed of the fan(like 1200 to 2500 cfm?) higher speed requires bigger fans like 16" and I'm not sure how I would put in on a radiator with height of 13 1/8. I'm planing to rebuild and put mods on my engine so I guess it requires faster fans to cool it faster??? haha that would be a stupid question of a day for me. Lastly one more question...sorry for asking lot of questions...currently my a/c is not working...it is getting somewhat hot here...I'm sorry for whining with high 80's to those of who lives in desert area. But i would like to fix my a/c before it gets any hotter. It is really hard to drive with heater on when its like almost 90(to lower to temperture down). A/C blows air but not cold...what new parts I need to fix this? Thanks so much for reading somewhat long questions...Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 I will say it again - VERFIY your guage. They ARE NOT ACCURATE. Neither are the sending units. Thowing parts at a problem is not the best way to troubleshoot. It's very expensive, and it seems obvious that you did not need a new radiator. I understand your frustration, but one of the fundamental rules to finding a problem such as this is that you start cheap and work your way up. Sending units and junk yard guage clusters are cheap in comparison to a new radiator. Radiators here on the left coast rarely go bad. I have yet to need a replacement on any of the EA81's I've worked on. I've even sent a couple to my friend at City Radiator here in Portland only to find that they were in pristene condition after several hundred thousand miles and over 20 years of use..... GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lepetitprince Posted June 24, 2004 Author Share Posted June 24, 2004 What do you mean by check my guage? Btw my radiator was broken so i needed new one. Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 The guage may not be reading correctly, or the sending unit for the guage may not have the correct resistance anymore. Other than the guage is there any reason for you to believe it's overheating? Does the radiator cap blow? One of those laser temp checking tools would be good. Point it at the radiator and see what kind of temps you can get. Then try it on the sending unit in the maniflold... Of course if your radiator is broken, then a new one is the right thing to do. I probably would have got one from the junk yard myself and had it pressure tested and gone through. It's cheaper that way. New ones are around $120, and having an old one refurbed is around $70. But they can sometimes be hard to find depending on your location. And some people don't have time for JY's, so I completely understand where your comming from. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lepetitprince Posted June 24, 2004 Author Share Posted June 24, 2004 Then what about the fan problem? Why was one hardwired stop working once the other started working? Is there a limitation on the relay or something that stops from fans working together? And the fan which is working right now turns bit slow, I was curious whether it is effecting the temperature of the engine? Thanks so much and sorry for asking to many questions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 I don't know about the 82 - on my 84 they came on together, but the second fan (thin one) ONLY comes on when the AC is turned on. The other one is controlled by the thermoswitch. Only cars with AC had two fans, so unless your AC is going you should only need one fan anyway. Note however, that the primary fan *could* turn off while the AC fan is still going if the temp was low enough. 82's have some different electrical stuff than other years so it may be different on yours. Also - the fans don't do anything if you are moving more than 25 MPH. So if you still overheat while going down the road - the fans are not your problem. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentis Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 I had a related question to "overheating." My temp gauge goes high when I turn on any air accessories. This includes both hot and cold (though hot makes it go up all the way!) and is not dependent on where the air is blowing out of (heat, vents, windshield). Why would the temp gauge go up during this? It's pretty weird as, from my understanding, the temp should go down when you blow out hot air. Is the gauge going crazy? Thanks in advance! Mentis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 I had a related question to "overheating." My temp gauge goes high when I turn on any air accessories. This includes both hot and cold (though hot makes it go up all the way!) and is not dependent on where the air is blowing out of (heat, vents, windshield). Why would the temp gauge go up during this? It's pretty weird as, from my understanding, the temp should go down when you blow out hot air. Is the gauge going crazy? Thanks in advance! Mentis Yours is a GL-10, so you have a digidash.. its not actually getting hot, its a ground thing. Mine does the same thing.. the more electrical accessories that are on, the higher my temp gauge goes.. I added more grounds under the hood and that helped, but I finally said screw it and put an A-pillar gauge pod in with a spot for an aftermarket temp gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentis Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 Yours is a GL-10, so you have a digidash.. its not actually getting hot, its a ground thing. Mine does the same thing.. the more electrical accessories that are on, the higher my temp gauge goes.. I added more grounds under the hood and that helped, but I finally said screw it and put an A-pillar gauge pod in with a spot for an aftermarket temp gauge. Ha ha. That's pretty silly. Well, I knew that it wasn't actually getting hot like that, cause if it were, the engine would have been toast many times already. That's a pretty quirky thing on those. Glad to have some clarification for this though. Thanks a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lepetitprince Posted June 24, 2004 Author Share Posted June 24, 2004 So, I found out that my guage is working properly. I was driving around the town today and noticed temperature needle going up so I turned on the heater and it didnt go down much but it didnt go up either. (oh by the way, I fix the hard wire fan with switch. Cost me a half of my nail from ring finger, but now other fan that was working yesterday with thermoswitch connected stopped working...sigh...whats wrong with my fans) So now what could be the problem? radiator? no I just got a new one. Hopefully it will get fixed with new thermostat.. Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 Certainly could be the thermostat. Wont know till you slap it in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 On the bright side, the thermostats are cheap ($12 from the dealer - and you should ONLY buy them from the dealer...), and quick to change. Less than 30 minutes if you are taking your time. That includes draining and putting back the coolant. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentis Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 ...you should ONLY buy them from the dealer... Any particular reason why a thermostat from the local auto parts store is of lesser quality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 Just because they are.. get one of each sometime and compare.. follow blindly the voices of experience;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 Here's the reason. My own post actually: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16277&highlight=OEM GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lepetitprince Posted June 25, 2004 Author Share Posted June 25, 2004 Bought a thermostat, its gasket and thermoswitch from Subaruparts for $48 including shipping. Seems reasonable price. Other day I walked into subaru dealership with frined of mine and thermoswitch was $42!!! sooo expensive!! Well it's $28.16 @ subaruparts.com Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickOregon Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 Hey Dan, Sorry to hear about your ring finger. I got two of mine chopped on a few years ago while working on the auxiliary [electric] fan on a BMW -- man was that a food chopper!! I've learned my lesson, though, and I'm really careful while working around electric fans, now. Didn't realize how useful fingers can be until I just about lost 'em! Yesterday I finished installing a manual switch to control the aux fan on our '86 GL wagon. Used a push-pull switch I removed from a '73 VW Van which controlled the rear window defroster... fitted it onto the right side of that little storage shelf just to the left of the steering wheel and it works great! Now I can turn the electric fan on before the engine gets above 200F, which is where I think the thermo switch opens a path to ground... Our's has a mechanical fan that's in front of the water pump, so I don't have control of that, but I can control the aux fan in front of the condenser, and that's really nice. Especially this time of year when we use the A/C. Later, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 Dan, your A/c needs to be recharged. The problem with that is that it is now illegal to use the type of refrigerant that your car has. You need the new type, but at the same time, you will need to replace the hoses and seals with ones that are compatable with the new type of refrigerant. I told you this before I left... Be glad you aren't here in Vegas! It is soooooo hot, 97*F in the SHADE!!! Thank god everyone down here has A/C that works!!! HAHAHAHA:drunk: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 Not entirely true. The old hoses are coated with refrigerant oil, and will not leak the R134a. However - since your system currently does not have a charge, then you ALREADY have a leak that will have to be fixed before you can go charging with R134a. Find the leak, or if the hoses look good then just replace the o-rings in the system. Follow the directions on the R134a TO THE LETTER. You use less of R134a than you do of R12. As long as you have no leaks in the old hoses, you just need to replace the o-rings and you should be able to charge the system with R134a. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theDirtyRue Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 How hard is it to replace the O-rings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 Also, where are these O-rings and how many need to be replaced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 Just a small correction, it is not illegal to use R12 in a system that was originally built for it. If you can find R12 in this country (you WILL pay dearly for it) you can still use it providing your system is leak free. I'm contemplating heading to Canada to top up the charge on my '91 Legacy. Not for legal reasons, just economic. However, if I alter anything on my system, the R12 becomes illegal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lepetitprince Posted June 26, 2004 Author Share Posted June 26, 2004 So what is the final answer for fixing my a/c? Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentis Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Looks like I'll have to start looking at fixing my AC system as well . Oh well, all in due time, he he. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 So what is the final answer for fixing my a/c? Thanks Dan The final answer is froget the stupid AC and fix the ENGINES cooling system first. I was just re-reading this thread.... how did the thermostat work out for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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