mwills

car is still in the shop. the hydrocarbon test was performed and it was positive. so despite a positive pressure test, we agreed it was time to go in. so off came the heads. the block is still in the car. the mech is concerned about some suspicious marks in the cylinder wall of the drivers side rear cylinder. looks like a whitish line but it's not very defined like a crack. it's like it was made with an air brush. and there are more than one of these lines. two or three. maybe wear marks? it has fuzzy edges. so, they are having their engine head machining guy come over tomorrow to give his expert opinion. it's also not obvious by looking at the head gaskets that they have failed. 3 of the 4 cylinders show evidence of burning antifreeze. i'll continue to post updates. sure hope i'm not buying new heads or a block.

ok so...the car is in the shop. got a borrowed car. sweet. like i mentioned before the coolant system shows no leaks. just did a pressure test on the cylinders, that also showed no leaks. no hydrocarbon test yet, so i don't have those results. you'd think a pressure test on both the cylinders and the coolant system would reveal a leak if the head gasket was blown, right? test a cylinder and it should leak across the blown section of the gasket, right? ok so...what if there were air bubbles in the coolant, wouldn't it overheat fairly consistantly? ok so...what if there was a restriction somewhere in the coolant passageways in the block or heads, wouldn't it overheat all the time? or atleast all the time once the car was driven for 30minutes or so? one thing i do know is that once i overheated the car for the first time this summer, simply replacing the missing coolant corrected the overheating. that being said, my understanding is most headgasket failures occur after an overheating event. so i could have blown the headgasket sometime after the initial overheating event. my mech did notice one thing. when the plugs were removed, one plug in each bank had an electrode showing much more wear. might be unrelated?

just in case anyone wanted to know...the new billet aluminum 'c' shaped endlinks from COBB tuning intended for the wrx do fit the 98 forester. i have a 20mm swaybar installed and needed to replace the first round of aftermarket endlinks that i installed about 6yrs ago. one broke. they couldn't guarantee the new endlinks would fit but they do.

the advice is appreciated. i've got the car scheduled to go in.

that's cool. i'll get it checked.

ok here's an update. car overheated today after about 30minutes at interstate speed. the air temp was 10f. what's up with that? limped the car to a state park where i was expected for some trail work. a buddy had some antifreeze. added about half a container. limped it home at 60mph. no change in fluid lavel at that point. still haven't done a test for products of combustion in the antifreeze. so i haven't ruled out a headgasket, but i'm still not leaking. it starts fine, runs fine and the previous weekend i drove it extensively with no high temps. doesn't feel underpowered either. but...i have a confession. i took the large plastic shroud off the bottom of the car under the engine bay before all this overheating stuff started. i put it back on this afternoon once i got home. i will feel real stupid if that is the problem solver.

hey forum. thanks for all the input. i think a hydrocarbon test sounds logical. i still need to talk to my mechanic about it. for now, all i've been doing is keeping a close eye on the fluid levels. i'm no auto mechanic but i certainly find this board helpful. thanks again. i'll post any results. car has seemed fine lately. no leaks. levels are fine. no white exhaust. power seems normal.

fans seem to come on and turn off. is there a thermostat that activates them?

just seeing if anyone has any experience with this.... i have a 98 forester with 130k. it has a new water pump, new thermostat. those repairs were due to some overheating issues this summer. i did a 27hr run from nebraska to california thru the desert. i wasn't totally shocked that it overheated. it has been fine since those repairs until last week, i did a 90mile trip and came back with an overheating car. the mechanic pressure tested the coolant system and said it produced no leaks. it seems fine now but i don't have 100percent confidence with the car. any hints?

thanks. solved.

ok, so i disconnected the cable to the negative terminal of the battery in my 98 forester. just for a minute maybe and i've set off the anti theft. it's blinking the parking lights kinda like the hazards. no biggie. still drives and all but does anyone know how to turn it off? thanks in advance, new to the forum.