misledxcracker Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 well, my thermostat was sticking, so i just removed it... i dont run with a t-stat at all now, but i rarely drive more than 20 miles tops a day. when i first removed it, i used the wrong kind of permatex to seal the thermo housing, and it overheated, blowing the permatex right off the housing.. i drove maybe 2 miles on the red, or really close to the red i put the right permatex on, and sealed it up, then it started to leak coolant only when the car was driven for a bit, then parked. maybe 4 days later, it stopped leaking. i thought it might have been the water pump, but i cant tell but the thing is, when i start the car cold with the rad cap off, it pushes the coolant out. minimal bubbles, doesnt look like its gurgling, just looks like its being pushed out. it doesnt overheat, it actually looks like it overcools on the temp gauge, i have a switch for my rad fan that i always have on when im driving. only smokes a tiny bit in the morning when its cold, and the exhaust makes my eyes burn... doesnt really smell sweet from what i see theres no coolant in oil or oil in coolant. funny thing is though, the oil leaks a bit, yet the oil dipstick never goes low. always stays at full. i never figured that one out either. now it doesnt leak externally, but it loses a tiny tiny bit of coolant every day. hopefully someone can help and it aint nothing big, if it's a cracked head or a head gasket i swear im gonna drive this thing into the ocean, this car's been a PITA ever since ive had it it's an '88 dl non-turbo fwd with 103,000 miles approaching, if needed to be known thanks for any help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 coolant pushing out may be a sign of a blowing head gasket, blowing combustion gasses into the cooling system. running it hot would be aggrqvating the issue. the fact she got hot to begin with may have been a blown head gasket to begin with what i would say is buckle down and fix everything that could go wrong at onece. im sure its exasperating to fix one thing to have something else go wrong, especially if you are fixing what doenst need fixed and overlooking what does. dont trash this car it will be a good one for you, but it may need a head gasket now you have gotten it hot, its not much to try to fix it yourself, less than 100 bucks in parts if you go about it the right way do some more reading here there are ways around a head gasket job that will get you by, or even eliminate the head gasket as a problem. i would suggest taking care of the coolant leaks right away, and run staight water if your climate doesnt get below freezing till you solve your problem. if in fact its a head gasket on its way out you may be able to get away with block sealer. i have tried it and it worked till i went flogging the pyoss out o my ride with no fans anyway good luck, dont throw your car into the ocean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 Have a block check done to see if exhaust gases are getting into the coolant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misledxcracker Posted March 20, 2005 Author Share Posted March 20, 2005 thanks for the help i'm going to go to a mechanic tomorrow probably, and have them do the block check. but im still skeptical... well, see the car never overheated with the thermostat in.... never even went 3/4 up the temp gauge. then after i took it out (it was sticking closed, i could tell... i dropped it in a boiling pot of water and it didnt even open) i put the wrong permatex. then after that, thats when it hit the red. but... after that, with no thermostat in and the fan running full time, and (i forgot to add in the first post), the car doesnt overheat at all anymore, it's actually cooler than it ever was. wouldnt the car overheat if it had a bad HG, even with no thermostat and the fan running all the time? it stays maybe 1/4 on the temp gauge now (i know it's overcooled but i rarely drive it, i usually take my 'maro) also, i noticed that smell from the exhaust ever since i've had the car, and i've put nearly 10,000 miles on it already in maybe.. 7 months or so. but, if in fact it is a bad HG, would block sealer actually permit me to drive it... say... 300 miles? i have to get the camaro flat-bed'ed out to arizona (too many speeding tickets on i-40 and dont want any more , and i plan on driving the subaru out there from here (los angeles). and it's bad enough i have to relocate... towing the 'maro is $500 alone and i have a strange feeling if it is the HG, the mechanic's gonna overcharge me. anyone know someone who knows their Subarus in Los Angeles? if so, that'd be great. thanks again, and i'll post the results of the block check as soon as i get them... oh yeah, and miles, i wont throw the car in the ocean, i was just saying that out of anger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 I don't think the car would overheat if the leak was small but it will cause extra pressure in the coolant system. If this vehicle belonged to me I would replace the thermostat with an OEM one along with a new gasket. You shouldn't need any gasket sealer if the surface area for the gasket is clean. I would also remove the constant feed to the cooling fan as it is not really needed if the cooling system is working ok. This just puts extra load on the electrical system. The temperature gauge should read about half scale if things are ok with the system and normal running conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misledxcracker Posted March 20, 2005 Author Share Posted March 20, 2005 i'm actually going to get a new thermostat here pretty soon (it's being shipped to me, 180 degrees if im not mistaken) i have a switch that controls the fan, so i can turn it on whenever i need/want to so thats no big deal, plus the coolant temp sensor never worked and i never bothered fixing it, just 3 wires and a switch seemed cheaper and easier to me, maybe once i complete my move i'll replace the sensor though i'm still trying to learn the subaru, i am used to working on my camaro but it's beginning to flip out itself (ecu problem) ... im reading a lot of stuff and hopefully i'll get the hang of it im still hoping it's not the head gasket... i've taken my car to a Subaru dealership to have the axles replaced, and the guy told me the car should last a long time with regular maintenance just because the mileage is so low on it again, thanks for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 I would replace the bad temperature sensor. You will always have to watch the temperature gauge to make sure it doesn't overheat otherwise. If you miss it then there may be needless damage, but it's your car, so you can decide on how you want it. I hope the head gasket is ok also but the test will comfirm what is going on. As far as your Camero goes, I would be sure that the problem is really the ECU. Since they are usually pretty reliable it is the sensors or wiring to the ECU that usually end up being the real problem. They can go bad though. I had to repair the ECU for my '88 Soob once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 Not wanting to cause you anymore agravation here. But the exhaust fumes burning your eyes, is a good sign of a bad vacuum modulator on the tranny. Means you're burning tranny fluid. Quick check on that is to pull vacuum line off of modulator at the tranny end. If ATF comes out, it be bad. You may have some trapped air in the cooling system still. That may be the cause of the coolant wanting to "push-out" of the radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misledxcracker Posted March 21, 2005 Author Share Posted March 21, 2005 no aggravation here well, it's not the modulator, i replaced it 3 months ago after it kept burning my atf fluid, smoking heavy white plumes on acceleration from a stop, etc. i actually got a very nasty ticket when the modulator gave out, i gave the cop that was behind me a nice cloud of ATF smoke! still wondering what that smell is then... hmmm as for the coolant problem, it may have just been air bubbles in the radiator, because now it's not pushing out the coolant like it did before. i know for a fact something's leaking out of the water pump because i pressure tested it... so now i have to replace that. and a very good thing, i didnt blow the head gasket! that's sure a relief. the water pump aint gonna be too hard i hope, because i already got rid of the timing covers, and i already replaced the mechanical fan and the other cheap electrical one with two aftermarket electric fans... i forget the name of the company that made them. so yeah, it should be easy. now hopefully i can put this car to more use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 Another thing to check for if you are smelling coolant is a intake manifold leak. I had to replace the gaskets on my '88 at about 63k miles. The leak was so bad you could hear it with out the aid of a hose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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