Tstat or head gasket?

[Randomize]

Still learning to love my 1996 2.5l.

 

Two weekends ago, I had a blown top rad hose. I replaced it and topped up the coolant, figuring that it was just wear and tear. Since then everything seemed ok.

 

Yesterday, I drove 40 minutes into the hills north of here to arrive at my destination overheating with steam pouring out of the engine compartment.

 

The coolant reservoir was overfull (compared to normal) and there was no obviously damaged hose (though it was too dark to see well). There was fluid splashed back over the underside of the engine that may have originated from the overflow.

 

So I got the car towed home to work on and noticed that there was now a vacuum in the cooling system (collapsing hose) and no fluid in the reservoir.

 

I topped the rad up and it now seems to be holding fluid and maintaining temperature judging from test-driving around town.

 

I am going to drop it off at my mechanic tomorrow -- I have little time for and less experience with DIY car repair than most.

 

I am concerned that a small head gasket leak that only shows up with relatively hard driving (like last night's highway + hills).

 

Any other clues I should look for?

 

Randomizer.

[1 Lucky Texan]

PLEASE stop a second and consider that the rad cap should allow suction back from the overflow tank. It may be bad(or the overflow hose is clogged) and would be just about the easiest DIY fix in the world!

 

Of course, this doesn't mean there aren't other problems, and I suppose it depends on which hose is collapsed but at least consider it before going to the shop.

 

 

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

[Randomize]

Originally posted by 1 Lucky Texan

PLEASE stop a second and consider that the rad cap should allow suction back from the overflow tank....

... and I suppose it depends on which hose is collapsed but at least consider it before going to the shop...

 

The hose that was sucked in was the top passenger side rad hose.

 

I am pretty sure that there is some flow through the overflow, since the tank was full last night when it was hot and was empty this morning after cooling.

 

The vacuum in the rad was not crushing, but enough to pucker in the sides of the hose that I had installed a couple of weeks ago. (at least I can be sure that it is not leaking at the clamps).

 

I certainly hope it's a rad cap or Tstat -- I'll change both to be sure.

 

The alternative is frightening.

 

Randomize

[1 Lucky Texan]

The cap should only allow fluid to go into the overflow tank under pressure. But the little 'button' in the center of the cap should alllow flow back from the OT easily. That's why something has to be pretty bad to collapse a hose.

 

Also, if a Subie ever needs a lot of fluid put back in it, it's a good idea to park on a severe incline/ramps (nose up) and run the engine to normal op. temp. and monitor the amount of coolant going in closely. Then double check the rad. and overflow 2-3 times after that. Others may have more details but I've read here that it's sometimes tricky to get all the air out.

 

good luck!

 

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

[Setright]

It can take over 600 miles of driving to get all the air out of my EJ22 after a coolant change.

 

Random, I say go for a new Rad cap before doing anything else. Then make sure no other hoses are leaking - don't forget the ones for the cabin heater core. Leave the Tstat for the time being.

 

Is there a rustling sound of air and water inside the car at cold start-up? That tends to be a sure sign of head gasket problems. As you seem to be aware, the hole might be too small to show up in a compression test

[theotherskip]

i would definatly try the radiator cap first, but one check is to drive it to full operating temp (usually 30 min on the highway), then open the expansion tank (after bleeding the system fully). if you see bubbles, it is a pretty good indication that the head gasket is bad. but your radiator cap should let it draw fluid back from the expansion tank, so it seems the problem lies there...

[Randomize]

The rad cap was faulty, but there are some exhaust gasses in the coolant.

 

My mechanic could not find a particular leak and was unable to force a boilover condition by driving it (though I doubt he pushed it as hard as the highway hill driving I was doing when the last boilover happened).

 

The recommendation I got was that I would need head gaskets soon and might want to think about my options (?). Aka -- get out now!!!

 

I wouldn't want to pass on this kind of a problem to someone by selling it privately, but since they go to auction anyway, a trade-in maybe?

 

A CCR engine is an option, but then what -- wait for the tranny to go. This car has 100K miles. I think not.

 

This whole experience has soured me (and particularly my wife)on Subarus.

 

Sadly, I think there is a nice boring domestic auto in my future.

 

R.

[99obw]

Our head gaskets went at the top of a long hill on I390 at 75mph 6:00 AM on a Monday when it was 5F outside taking my 2 year old for surgery. That is the worst any car has ever left me stranded in approximately 400k miles of driving mostly junker cars.

 

But anyway...

 

I don't think you should give up on your car just yet. If you took decent care of it 100k is nothing, even with the POS Phase I. The car may or may not be worth the approximately $1500 it would take to have the head gaskets properly done. I can't comment on the average longevity of a Phase I head gasket replacement because I really don't know. We have about 20k on ours. Some have said that the repair may not always last.

 

I haven't heard much about the auto trannies going, except on the SVX.

[1 Lucky Texan]

If you otherwise like (and trust) the car - $1500 is like - what - 4 payments on a new car? And sometimes even they need to go to the shop for a few days(under warranty, but still, you're making payments on something you can't drive).

 

Sorry it wasn't just the rad cap. At one time, maybe that was the problem and you ran a littel dry or had air in the system?

 

good luck

 

 

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

[Dinero]

...to be soured. The worst thing is that replacing the head gaskets may not "fix" the problem. Some people believe that the 2.5L engine block has been overbored, and that it is dimensionally instable (the cylinder walls move!). The 2.5L is basically a 2.2L bored for bigger pistons, so they may be right. I have been lucky, so far, with my 99 Forester. But I will not even consider buying another Subaru until this head gasket problem has been fixed FOR GOOD. I am also extremely dissapointed in the way Subaru apparently has chosen to deny the existance of this problem. There only thing you can say on this point is that most, if not all, car manufacturers will stiff their customers on something like this when given the chance. When I find a car company that admits and repairs their mistakes, they will have a customer for life.

[cookie]

I have seen mistakes from all the major manufacturers I can think of.

Even Saturn. I recall a lot of the first ones blowing head gaskets of all things. I had a pal who was a machineist who kept busy on those.

I think you are right, with this many thousands of bits many of which are made by outside suppliers, mistakes are going to happen.

The real difference is going to be how the customer is treated.

[Randomize]

Originally posted by 1 Lucky Texan

If you otherwise like (and trust) the car - $1500 is like - what - 4 payments on a new car?

 

Yeah -- I spent all day today looking at cars and the price they want makes a $1500 repair look pretty good.

 

On the other hand, it is burning a bit of oil, has over 100K miles and I am not sure that I do trust it anymore.

 

I think we'll get a second cheap but newer car that we can rely on while I decise how best to contend with this beast.

 

I was thinking maybe if I could find a good mechanic willing to do this off the clock for cash and bought the parts myself I could save a few $.

 

I'll also review the advice received here about buying reconditioned or used engine.

 

If I get another vehicle, then I wouldn't be in a rush to get the job done, and that should help.

 

The final solution is to take if off to the auction house. Anybody know how to maximize your sale price at auction (beyond the obvious of cleaning the car professionally).

 

R.

[1 Lucky Texan]

Sometimes I can do a little auto work myself(much less now than in the past), sometimes I want to take a vehicle to the dealer (it's nice every 2-3 years in case there are some tsbs or recalls I missed - less likely nowadays with the internet though), sometimes I get a coupla' 6 packs for a buddy or trade some jewelry I made, or help him with a fence or something and sometimes I go to the Vietnamese mechanic who charges $53 an hour instead of $72. It all depends. And remember, the more cars you have the more likely at any one time you'll need to be fixing a car. Especially if you buy some elses 'headache'(which may use oil too.).

 

If you intend to get rid of the Subie, consider parting it out - probably some folks here on the boards would be customers!

 

good luck

[tcspeer]

I agree with the ones here that think you may have still been low on coolant after the hose change. Did you run it far enough or long enough to get it hot before the trip? My Subaru is really tough to get back full of coolant after I have let coolant out for any reason.