wnysubob99

Installed new thermostat, radiator cap, got coolant up to good level, bled air out, and took it for a ride around town. Stopped in parking lot and checked overflow tank and saw bubbles coming up. Just cannot believe we are facing hg issues again.

I guess we're heading to the dealer for a diagnosis. On the way home from work today, the temp gauge was in the red and I had to pull over to let it cool down. The overflow tank was overflowing. Not the thermostat because there was plenty of heat in the car. Hopefully, after paying $150 for them to diagnose, it won't be HG.

Update: Radiator was about 1 qt. low, and added coolant mix. Two 20 mile trips this weekend @ 50+ MPH, no problems. No visible signs of leakage. This morning, 40 mile trip, ran fine, started getting warm after about 15 miles on thruway in wet snow, freezing rain, fans came on and cooled right down. Going to get new radiator cap anyway. After lunch steam coming from grill, but believe just water burning off from road-spray/wet conditions.

It is beyond a year since the repair, so if it is the HG again, I will probably be out of luck. The car was covered in snow and ice and the air temp was about 10 - 15 degrees F. I wanted to not only start it, but let it run a bit after sitting in the cold all week. It probably idled for closer to 30 mins - drove to lunch and back.

It ran hot. Thanks for the tips - will use your checklist tomorrow a.m.

Our Outback (2.5) had the classic HG problem and was fixed by our Subaru dealer approx. 20k miles ago. We have had no problems since and the dealership has an excellent reputation for quality repairs. The car was parked for a week in sub-zero or near sub-zero temps for a week. Started right up today and let it run for about 40 minutes including a brief drive to lunch. It operated fine with no temp problems. While driving home from work, it began to run hot. So hot that even in below-freezing temperatures, the fan came on. There are no drips beneath the car to indicate a leak of any kind, and the heat inside the car was working fine. The overflow appeared low, but then again it has never had much in it since we bought the car ten years ago. Where to begin? Thanks!

Thanks for the lead on craigslist. I hadn't thought of it and there are lots of cars on there in my price range. I'm in Batavia so we're not too far from you.

Thanks for the quick feedback. Unfortunately, I just spoke with the salesman and the car is gone.:-\ What do you think about the 99 Legacy? He's asking 6200k for it, but I know I'll need to put about 1200k into the car (nice shape, guy just hasn't kept up with the brakes, tires and the timing belt is about due...).

I have opportunity to buy 97 Legacy GT wagon from dealer at KBB price, nice car w/ 51000 miles. Or 99 Legacy Limited Anniversary Edition w/ 94000 miles for 2k less, but will spend in tires/brakes/timing belt, etc. Which one?