Andrey Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 Hi to everyone. Since I'm new to the forum my question might have an answer somewhere in the archive, but i couldn't find one. SO here is the story: today driving through the cascades in w.washington my '97 ob (2.5) overheated. it happened at the very end of very long (15 min.) and exhausting ascend. When i opened the hood i saw the fan was on, there was fair amount of liquid in the surge tank (or whatever U call it). opened the radiator cap and it was just boiling. so i let it idling for a while- quite an interesting thing happened: the gauge was showing the temp between normal and HIGH - so i mean it was just going back and forth... i turned the engine off and let it cool down for half an hour. then filled the system with water and started again. suprisingly, everything was ok. the temperature was stable for the rest of the trip. so i'm confused. could it be that termostat just did not turn on once? what other problem areas could You suggest. and what are the possible consequences of overheating an engine for 10-15 minutes? thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99obw Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 Do a search for "head gasket". Those are classic Phase I head gasket failure symptoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but.... 99obw is correct. 96-99 2.5 engines have major head gasket issues, they leak internally, causing overheating just like you are experiencing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHBill Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 Okay, I'm brand new to the message board, too. I went and did it...bought a 97 2.5L Outback off of ebay without inspecting it. 144,000 miles on it and from a seller with a great feedback rating. I had heard rumor of the 2.5 headgasket problems but did not research it. I test drove the car prior to finishing the deal and found no sign of a problem. I drove the car home yesterday and still no overheating after 75 highway miles. I opened the coolant reservoir and looked for foam or other problems and wiped the inside of the "bottle" with my finger and came away with grease or oily residue. This morning I googled and found the USMB and have read up on the problem. MY QUESTION IS ...do I have a head gasket problem now or is the oil in the coolant reservoir just a sign of impending doom? Can oil get in there without being a headgasket problem? Great article/posting by "the other skip". You already convinced me not to attempt a new headgasket job on my own. I can do brakes and struts but will stay away from HG. ***************************************************************** Just read a long post from "Commuter". His story covers the oil in the coolant reservoir. Mine is not as bad...yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 Can oil get in there without being a headgasket problem? QUOTE] Not anyway that I know of. There has been some talk about pre-preventative maintenance by changing hg before they have issues. I think this is a good idea, to do it before they damage the engine, but this is just imo. Unfortunately the 96-99 2.5 has major issues. This issues has been talked about exhaustively on this list so I am sure with some time and searching you will find all the answer to you questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 Unfortunately, the odds are very good that you have a head gasket failure. Try checking the overflow reservior for bubbles after thoroughly heating up your engine. You may also have a test for hydrocarbons done on your coolant. Also, make sure the timing belt has been replaced on your interference type engine. The following comments do not necessarily pertain to your car, or the seller of your car. It can be very difficult to diagnose a head gasket failure on this car. Often, a little oil in the coolant, or bubbles in the overfill after a long run are alll you see until the "big event" happens with coolant spewing out of the radiator and the resultant overheating of your engine. So, the original owner of a Phase I sees some bubbles in his overflow tank, and decides its time to sell this POS. The buyer can do an extensive test drive and never know that there is a problem. Or, maybe the original owner just decided to sell his car, and didn't know it had a problem. But the temptation to dump a potential lemon like this is there. I'm sorry it's little late for you, but I always recommend that buyers avoid any car with the Phase I engine. Some Phase I engine never have a head gasket failure, some engines are OK after one head gasket replacement, and some victims, I mean owners, are on their fourth set of replacement head gaskets. Also, if you don't have an owner's manual, GET ONE. I don't wan't read about you destroying your drive train by towing the car improperly when the engine overheats. If you get away with one $1,500 head gasket repair consider yourself lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theotherskip Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 the other way that oil can get in the expansion tank is if the car had a head gasket failure, and the gaskets were replaced. if they didn't ever clean out the expansion tank, you would still have crud there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MailManX Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 ...It happened at the very end of very long (15 min.) and exhausting ascend... I turned the engine off and let it cool down for half an hour then filled the system with water and started again. Suprisingly, everything was ok. What other problem areas could you suggest and what are the possible consequences of overheating an engine for 10-15 minutes?Andrey, even though 97 OB's are prone to head gasket failure, don't just assume that's the problem. What you experienced can also be the result of "marginal cooling". That is, your radiator may be partially plugged with crud so that normal town and highway driving does not cause the temperature to rise, but a long climb or a really hot day makes the temp rise. I speak from experience on that because my 93 Legacy had that exact issue. I replaced the radiator and my car always runs cool now no matter what the conditions are. The radiator replacement was easy - I did it myself in about half an hour. The part cost about $150. Luckily, you don't have to guess as to what your problem is. Shops have a method of testing your coolant to see if any combustion gasses are present which would indicate head gasket leakage. If that tests clean, then you likely just have a "marginal" radiator. As for damage caused by overheating for 15 minutes, that depends on how hot it actually got. When my car was having it's overheating problems, the temp guage would end up near the red, but not IN the read. Luckily, it has shown no ill effects from that. But overheating really bad can warp the heads, even if they were good to begin with. Just start with having your coolant tested for combustion gasses, then go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 Audrey, even though 97 OB's are prone to head gasket failure, don't just assume that's the problem. What you experienced can also be the result of "marginal cooling". That is, your radiator may be partially plugged with crud so that normal town and highway driving does not cause the temperature to rise, but a long climb or a really hot day makes the temp rise. I speak from experience on that because my 93 Legacy had that exact issue. I replaced the radiator and my car always runs cool now no matter what the conditions are. The radiator replacement was easy - I did it myself in about half an hour. The part cost about $150. QUOTE] Good point, but remember you have a 2.2 which does not have headgasket issues. Wish for the best, but prepair for the worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrey Posted August 16, 2004 Author Share Posted August 16, 2004 Hi guys! thanks for your replies. i just have one question: if it was the gasket, how come i still driving the car? i've already had bad exp. with gaskets on ogher makes and the car would be impossible to drive after it had been blowed. thanks once again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrey Posted August 16, 2004 Author Share Posted August 16, 2004 i forgot to mention one thing. when that overheating happened, i though the engine was pretty hot:) the radiator was cooool. so i still think this is not a gasket issue. any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99obw Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 If you have low coolant the engine heat won't be transferred to the radiator, as air is a poor conductor of heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MailManX Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 if it was the gasket, how come i still driving the car? Andrey, that's what makes me think you have the "marginal cooling" problem as opposed to a blown head gasket. However, like rweddy said, be prepared for the worst, just in case. Depending on how the head gasket is failing, it's sometimes still possible to drive a car for a while. If it's just a small leak, the car will run but may overheat regularly, or you may get water in the combustion chamber and be blowing steam out the exhaust pipe (that was a problem I had on a Honda Civic back in 1977). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slo5oh Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 First off... GET IN THERE AND LOOK AT IT!!!! Pop your radiator cap (only when the engine is cool!) and see if there's any coolant/water in it. It should look like Mt. Dew. Check your oil level. See if you fans are busted or still ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrey Posted August 18, 2004 Author Share Posted August 18, 2004 that's what i did first. no signs of oil anywhere near to the coolant. fans are fine. The car still runs perfectly well. I'll have it checked some time next week and then post new info. since the car has only 84000 on it and was well maintained, and taking into consideration the symptoms of overheating, i still think this is not a gasket issue. i suspect thermostat or (less likely) radiator malfunction. take care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 since the car has only 84000 on it and was well maintained, and taking into consideration the symptoms of overheating, i still think this is not a gasket issue. I would take it to a shop that specializes in Subaru's and have them test it before you start replacing things. My friends 98 blew its HG at 52,000 miles so do think just because low mileage it is not a HG issue. He went out and did new water pump, radiator, hoses, thero, etc and it then it still overheating. The 2.5 96-99 tend to blow them early. But you can catch it early and not cause engine issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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