DaveT

Iirc, the filter is back by the tank on carbed ones.

I'd be looking at plug wires and the CTS first.

My one experience with water in the fuel showed up on the highway. If your only trouble is starting, it's probably something else.

The springs are no longer available. Not usually replaced with struts, which wear out a lot quicker. There is a thread or 2 about fitting springs from another car for stiffer / higher ride.

A stock Loyale will not have vacuum advance. All that is handled by the ECU computer.

Cork will work until it dries out, so use it while you located something rubbery. Match up the screw with metric screws at a parts store . Kind if weird that it fell off.

Welcome, First. Better to start a new thread than post on one from 2005, just FYI. You probably have a 3AT transmission. first things to check: fluid level vacuum modulator Governor

Thanks for the update. Now that you have compared a new radiator to a partially blocked one, it's easier to know the difference when you test them, right?

That's like when I found a car slower than my 76 4WD wagon. A VW Rabbit Diesel.

In the case I experienced, it wasnt that the leak came and went, it was a small leak, that shifted the reading to be right on the edge of the code set limit, then any small variable could trip it on and off.

Our 01 Forester had the intermittent 0420 code. New O2 sensors had no effect. Turned out to be a small exhaust leak in the cat pipe. Any leak between the 2 O2 sensors would cause the code. Yes, it can be caused by other things as well. Failing cats is one for sure, as that is what the 2nd O2 sensor is there to do - verify operation of the cat.

If you get a thermostat, get OEM or high grade Stant. Other cheaper ones have been known to cause problems.

Depending on the geometry of the system on your car, opening the radiator cap indruduces air, which is why I don't check by opening the cap unless there is no coolant in the upper hose.

Check level of coolant : check the rover tank is filled to the line. Sharply squeeze the upper radiator hose. You should hear the giggle pin in the thermostat. You should feel water resisting the squeeze. You may hear air gurgle. If it feels or sounds like only air, that has to be dealt with. A normal good non leaking system should have no air at all, or maybe a tiny amount.

Make sure there is no air in the system.

I've had that failure a couple of times. One of the rectifier diodes partially fails allowing current to back flow from the battery.

5 years is end of life for lead acid batteries, under ideal conditions. Sometimes they will continue to function beyond that, but a full test of capacity, and cca would show the degradation.

Who make the best timing belts now? I'm not worried about the idlers, I have that covered.

Do you have a part number for the kyb white bump stops?

I think I found the same listings on partsgeek.. The picture you have above looks like the one listed for a 1.6L engine. If you have a 1.8L engine [EA82] then you want one the other ones. I have always run the 2 row turbo radiators in my GLs & Loyales. But those are not to be found any more. The brand I had happened to find that used to sell them was CSF, all metal.

Probably first guess. Check for cracks and the like also. With it leaking that bad, it might be easier to find with pressure.

I would lean towards using the UV dye with partial charge, rather than letting the vacuum suck in soapy water.

A fsm will have diagrams for the vacuum lines. Also might be worth checking the diaphragm in the modulator. When it fails, atf is sucked up the vacuum line, and burned along with the fuel.

Hitachi. Note, you will likely have more answers if you post in the older generation sub forum.

Those are the lines for the automatic transmission cooler. If you don't have an automatic, just cap them with dust covers, and use it. Not a leak risk. I've never seen an aftermarket radiator without them.