CzarMohab

Dumb question I suppose, but did you burp the radiator? Another dumb question, where did you touch it? Something of note, that from experience with my beast, after water pump, flushes, etc. it still leaked for a while (think I finally nailed the last one), and when it drained the res. bottle, it sucked in some air, and with the air in the system it would try to get too hot and the top of the rad would stay cooler. Pointing your car nose up would eventually send all the air to the top of the rad, and if the air bubble is big enough, cooling capacity would drop. If nothing else, everyone's always told me that a new rad will fix alot of cooling issues, so that may be a valid option. Then again, you might just have a funny car

Well, found a place out here that will test for free, so I'm headed there after work, so long as the car keeps going, its only 15 miles or so... Mayhap this is where that unidentified rattle was coming from... bad alt bearing or something. We'll see. Just didn't want to spend alot of dough on the beast.

I did a forum search for this problem, so I'm kinda pointing towards alternator problems, but i'm hoping for a preferably easier to fix problem that might be going on, so once again, I turn my questions to you all. The warning lights are: Charge Battery, Brake Fluid, Stop Lamp, and parking brake. First off, Brakes are fine, lights light and fluid is topped, and parking brake was fully released. As for the charge, I do not have an indicator (yet) or a fluke to check volts. Prior posts indicate that the alt may be bad, so how to check this without those tools at hand? Also, I noticed that there had been a slight leak of battery acid from the battery. I washed it off and all, but would that have been related to the lights and alternator's potential problem? I'm begining to strongly dislike this car's engine. It very reliably gets me wherever I need to go, and even more reliably has some new issue come up. The problem is that I have to make a 600+ mile trip this weekend and I really need to know how to fix this. I don't want to go out and buy a bunch of stuff and have that not fix it; batteries and alternators are expensive for me. Anyone recall anyplace that will do alternator/battery tests for free? Czar "Thanks in advance" Mohab

ok, well, what about changing the oil? It is almost due as it is. Its coming from the same approximate area as my recently cured ToD. Is it also possible that my recent change in climate (dryer, hotter) has anything to do with it? if nothing else, i hope its cheap to fix.

There is a very annoying but also somewhat quiet rattle coming from the engine. The noise goes away at idle, and because its not too loud I don't hear it at speed or fast idle (engine/road too loud) but giving it the rpms needed definately makes it show up. It sounds like it is in the area of the alternator, but lower and more back towards the firewall. All fluids are where they are supposed to be, and this is a new problem for me. Any ideas? I do know that my vacuum lines had been recently bumped and a couple dislodged, perhaps one I missed?

Unless the button is broken ( a possability ) there is nothing you can do.-- she went D-N-R vice D-3-2 (the normal), nothing was broken to allow that hen you say the vehicle shut off, do you mean it stalled?-- unfortunately, I was not present to see or anything, so all I know is that it went into R, the motor turned off/stalled/whatever, then she recovered and drove home; and thats all I really know.

Forgot to add, its an automatic... with the push-button thingie for P,R, 2, and whatever that last one is (L or 1 i forget)...

OK, here's the long and the short of it. First off, the car is a 98 Legacy L sedan. Second, I have no real knowledge about what this car can/can't/will/won't do, other than the normal 'ru stuff. I know what would most likely happen if the events occurred in my GL-10, but new gen isn't a strong point for me. What happened: There's a not too steep hill near where we live, and because the idiots that designed the road system are, well, idiots, the speed changes from 35 at the top of the hill to 25 just far enough down to make you mad. Normally, my wife or myself down-shift and ease whichever car gently to 25 and it stays there, no worries. Unfortunately, my wife accidentally put her poor Legacy into reverse. The car shut off and continued on its way down the hill. She eventually got it under control and restarted and drove home. She says there's nothing noticeable wrong with it and I told her to take to a mechanic (mostly because I haven't a clue (again, new gen = bad juju for me), and because I'm on the other side of the state at the moment). Now the question: Is this a control interlock that prevents damage/saves the tranny/engine, or was it a lucky break that may have saved it? And, more importantly, should a mechanic look at it, or should I (with your help) and if so, what to look for? Thanks ever so much for your time, again. Mayhap one day I'll have something to teach you

If you ever find yourself replacing the original water pump from your car, make sure that you have the pipe that goes into it replaced too, otherwise you'll spring a leak all over the road! I seriously don't know how many miles the old one had, but it was done. And that pipe was so crusty-rusty that trying to reuse it was a dumb idea... so was trying to RTV it... At least I knew where I could get a replacement. The outside temp right now is, I think, having an effect on overall temp, but after replacing the water pump, it never got above 1/2 on the temp meter at speed and so far never above 7/10 at idle (Tstat opened and it dropped to 3/10). It hovers around 1/2 at idle and just under at speed. I found an old indoor/outdoor digital thermometer that I never used in my old Honda and I'm thinking about adapting that to read coolant temp for me until I find something cheap and more permanent. And yes, it reads to at least 160F (burned my fingers) and I have no clue why I ever needed that thing before, until now. Here's the kicker: all winter long I shivered and wished for a working heater. Today was 82F (according to the digidash ) and the heater made me feel like one of those Nazi's in Raiders of the Lost Ark when they opened the ark and their faces melted off... Now to rewire the aux fan to a cabin-mounted switch and I'll be set! Thanks You all for all the help!!!!!!!

Is there a water pump store similar to radiator barn? and I don't remember where I saw the thing, but someone once said that for an auto parts store to have the dual core radiator you want you have to ask for a different type, anyone recall that? Concerning the water pump, what difference is the hub height, other than 7/32"? And finally for right now, since I have a manual transmission, and the radiator barn radiator they say is for my car is for an auto, will that make any difference? What about me having a turbo and its for a non-turbo? Would it just be easier to go to the pick-n-part?

I can't deal with it anymore hehe I'm taking it to "Arctic Radiator" here in town, they have equip I don't to better poke and prod. I need to go there anyway to price check a new radiator... $170 at the auto store... thats going to be my last resort. I also looked into the possibility that the water pump might be going bad. I don't think I should be able to move the pulley up, down, left or right... it might be that beastie going too... $47 at the auto store, +$7 for the good gasket and +2 for the good sealant... I haven't been able to test the temp sender yet, partly because I don't have a multimeter, partly because I haven't yet found it. $20 per sensor, plus $20 for each other sensor, like for the aux fan... best case scenario: it fixes itself. Worst case: $300 in repairs on an $800 car. Time for bed, and to hunt up cheap parts just in case. Thanks for the help all!

Looks like I'd have to pull the air intake thingie (the shiny "Subaru TURBO" thing) to get to it. Am I right? If I am, then at a recent "hotspot" my hand held thermometer read 172F, and I give it +10F error and +10F or so for losses in the metal, so 190ish in the coolant there? I think I'm just going to pull the Tstat and go without until I can fix everything else.

I am beginning to hate my car... At least, the coolant system. So a dual core rad, huh? Might help. Aux fan's ground is it's thermoswitch, but I know the switch works (it sends the signal) so how do I reground it? Anyone know where the temp sending probe is located? is it the probe-thingie on the side of the Tstat housing? Haynes says "right side of the intake manifold" but thats at least 1/3 of the engine... Also says see ch. 4A, Fuel systems- carb'd models... I won't condemn the rad just yet... I know that there is flow, and everything worked just fine before. Despite a small blemish on the eng side the vanes are great. and coolant gets cooled there, 160F (Tstat housing top) in, 100F +/-10F out (H2O pump out). I'm seriously hating this, as when the last "hotspot" happened, everything I temp checked was less than 180F... I hope its just a bad wire and I can get on with my life. :confused:

Reinstalled new Tstat, a 180 to be sure (they told me OE was 195, go figure!) and it passed most of the tests I put it through, which leads me to suspect other problems associated with the whole coolant system. At slow (normal) idle, I didn't notice anything abnormal, the digital thermometer I had handy read 155F on the block side of the T, 150F on the rad side of the T, 120F on the hose, and 130F entering the rad. I'm assuming that there is obviously a 30F drop across the metal(s) and including a discrepancy in the thermometer itself. And of note, I was not in the car at all for this part of the test, but I didn't note anything abnormal. Driving from cold iron, however, led to the wierdest thing i've ever seen: Temp rose to 1 line below the red, then dropped to 1/2 like a rock, before I could do anything. A second test was needed and after a stop to eat and spend some quality time with the wife, I got to perform the cold iron Tstat test again. Obligingly, this was an exact duplicate of the previous test, in just about the same amount of time. I can only assume 2 things then. 1) that line #7 on my digidash's temp gage = Tstat open, and 2) the thing is snarfed. I've read the above, and thought of some things for myself, but can someone point me to the right direction to start? The Tstat works, proven by hard data. Is it possible that the Temp gage thingie (I guess it is a meter) is actually messed up and I really don't need to panic so much? Similar but different topic, the aux electric fan (in my case the only electric fan) isn't working when installed. Troubleshooting reveals its not well grounded. Where's the ground wire at and could I jumper around it? Thanks again!!!!!!

This Tstat came with the car, all nice in its wrappages, brand new... I figured that eventually it would need to go in. And when I finally looked, there wasn't a pre-installed Tstat to begin with, so in this one went, and now all these issues. All I wanted was a working heater... I was pretty sure coolant went top down, makes sense from a thermodynamics point of view. The old aux fan failed the 12v test, and I rescued a "new" one from a dead GL that passed the 12v. Before condemning the old fan, however, I verified that there was an electrical current at the plug when the radiator was actually warm (which is why the Tstat was not my first suspicion). Even tested to verify current to the fan (pass) it just didn't turn. After installing the "new", I tested the old one one last time and after a second or two, slowly spun up and then whirred like a top. Go figure. So this OEM Tstat... Is that a dealer item? or is there a brand that would fall into OE? and what is a good temp range? I don't have the book handy at the moment, but 190F? 180F? Thanks again!

Mine's the amber digi-dash and rpms go in increments of 50 less than 1000 and 100 for everything over 1000. being that it is digital i would have assumed 10's all the way, or even 5's or 1's. The switch I have for the yet to be installed fog lights is of the "long with a dorky led at the tip" variety, and I was hoping to upgrade that to the "almost flat" switch similar to the power mirror L/R switch, with an indicator bulb somewhere for it. The led, IMHO, is too dim and does me nothing if the lights are on and they don't need to be because its sunny. there's probably more that I could add on, volts/amps/something or even a calibrated fuel level gauge, it should be 15.9 gallons, right? or not.

Considering what I've been though already, I was thinking of installing some semi-permanent higher accuracy items, such as: Oil Pressure (instead of the "low" light.) H20 Temp Oil Temp and some indicator lights for aftermarket equipage and non-indicated stuff: Aux Fan On Light Fog Lights On Light Any input would be helpful, such as other items or better things. Thanks!

So I found that leak in the coolant I mentioned before. The outside temps have been raising recently, and as it turned out that had a detrimental effect on my engine's ability to cool itself at idle. Why idling at 800+/-100 is hotter than 2700+/-500 while driving, considering the problem, is beyond me, seeing that my Thermostat wasn't passing any coolant, as indicated by a recent 30 minute hot idle and local differential temp test. The start of this investigation was 2 almost super-hots in drive-thrus, though I normally shut her down anyway when the lines are long. It never got above the last line before the reds, so not that hot. Both shutting down and driving on cleared them up, and normal op temp (NOP) is usually mid meter or mid-low (I have the digital display and I am looking to do something about the accuracy later). Getting home was ok, and once it cooled enough, I poked around and found nothing of note. I did do an op-check and bench test of the aux electric fan, which failed, but it turns out that it didn't matter. That was 2 days ago, though I did replace the aux today, and when I was in the in car test phase, nothing happened, and I did let her idle for about 30 min, watching temp creep up to the turn off line (one before red) with AC on max, min, and off, and nothing. I shut her down and went inside to get my digital optical thermometer and started it up again and traced the hoses, block and radiator by temp and I was amazed. D-temp of the heater hoses was approx 30F, so if nothing else, I can pull 30F off. D-temp of the block side of the thermostat to the radiator, however, blew my mind, as it was almost 120F!! The coolant in the radiator was a whopping 76.5F at both hose connections. The top of the thermostat housing was only 86F and the block side was about 180 (dropped the thermostat, it lived)... While it was hot idling, I noticed that the hoses swelled... alot... and the increased pressure caused a small seeping leak at the upper hose/radiator junction. Tightened the hose clamp and that leak stopped. Hope it was the big one. Removed and bench tested the thermostat (boiling water test) and it started to open at about 190F but I never saw it more than crack off of its shut seat, i.e. it only started to open, never finished. I tried the test again after squeezing it a few times and the same results. So now you've read my saga. Sorry to be so long winded, but I try to cover everything. Now for the part where I ask you nice people for some info and advice. 1.) Is there a best type of thermostat I should use? 2.) Perhaps one that will last longer than 1000 miles? 3.) Just to satisfy my own curiosity, does the flow go from the thermostat to the block (down) or from the thermostat to the top hose (up)? Up makes sense to me, but it would not surprise me if it went the other way. 4.) So why is there enough engine cooling at highway speed and not at idle if the Tstat is hosed? Think thats it for now. Thank you for your time! To date, you all have answered every one of my questions, and for that I do thank you all! :headbang: :headbang:

Ok so basically: add "magic scrubbing engine bubbles", drive 300 miles, change oil. Use a new purolator filter. Change seals & clean/inspect/replace HLAs and pump @ next timing belt. Did I get this right so far? To answer any questions you might have, It doesn't burn oil, leak oil, or even smell like oil. Oil's full. If I did change the oil to a 10w40 instead of the books' 5 or 10w30, what can I expect from the car performance wise? Better/worse MPG? Easy/rough starts? No noticeable difference? Are there any other recommendations for a replacement filter? I don't have a super big budget at the moment and the purolator filter is currently as expensive as a full oil change with filter at a local mechanic. And could someone tell me why they thought putting the oil filter that close to the exhaust pipe was such a great idea? Thanks again for your time, all!

But I have a question about this "tick-of-death" I've heard about... in fact I have a lot of questions... I did do a forum search and came up with a lot of information, perhaps even great information... Its just too much for me to go through and sort and say, "this is exactly what I am experiencing," when what I am seeing doesn't even seem "normal" to me. If you've read any of my other posts you kinda know a bit of what I've already gone through, and maybe all the problems are interrelated and all I need is a weekend, some $$$ and a few Cold Ones. Enough babbling, on to the questions: What causes the ToD? What fixes the ToD? If I do have it, should I be worried? Should I be more worried that it starts, or that it stops after a while? When should I worry about it? Is it always a tick-tick-tick or could it sound like a tump-tump-tump or even ta-ta-ta? There may be more questions later... on to the symptoms: Tick-tick-tick starts usually on the road, after about 20-40 miles of driving for that trip. Usually goes away after 20-40 miles. Used to occur every 600-1000 miles, but after its "normal scheduled time" it happened again, yesterday, a mere 80 miles later. I had to drive 120 miles round trip, and I can tell you how it went: 0-20: Kitten 20-30: Quiet ticks 30-50: Kitten 50-60: Loud Traffic, hard to tell sounds, but no noticeable ticks. 60-62: Engine off coast down hill (I love Seattle for the hills) 62-70: Light traffic, Kitten 70-85: WORST TRAFFIC EVER, avg spd <10mph, LOUD ticks 85-90: No more traffic, quieter ticks. 90-120: Kitten Miles are approximate. Sounds like it is on the driver's side of the engine. Temp was med-low to low on the digital temp thingie the whole time. not sure I trust that that much... heater was warm though so I guess it wasn't that hot... anything else you need to know just let me know... Oooo... Not sure what oil is in it but it is due for an oil change in about 300 miles (she turns the big 150000!!) ... the book I have recommends 5 or 10w30, so would that make a difference if it was not either of those in there or if I used something else as a replacement oil? Thanks for your time! P.S. Is it bad that I spotted 6 other Subes because they were making the same sound?

I've lost touch with a good friend... not sure if this is the best spot to post this, but I'm sure he'll see it... We served together on the U.S.S. Michigan, we played Super Mario Bros. theme on the 2MC and I helped him release a brown trout into the drydock... but the best part? he had a WRX that sang Dixie... If you know who you are, then contact me, I lost your email! --"Chewie, go jiggle the handle!"

not 100% sure about an outback, but I am sure that most newer cars and alot of older ones are really simple. Open the hood, unplug the bulb, give the old bulb a slight twist to loosen it, gently pull out the old bulb, gently put in new bulb being careful not to touch the bulb part (skin oil=bad somehow on these, so if you do just wipe it off), give the new bulb a slight twist to put it back in, plug wires back in and give it a quick light check. Once you do it the first time you'll be a lightbulb changing Guru! Everything I have ever read recommends replacing both bulbs at the same time, which isn't to bad of an idea, since in theory both bulbs will be getting the same amount of use and should go out at the same time (well in a perfect world). and if nothing else, replacing both gives you a known good spare! Again, not sure about the outback, but my 86 wagon, the wife's 98 legacy, and even some other subaru's I've known use bulb #9007... check with your auto parts person to be sure, there is usually a book or electronic box that will tell you for sure.

Interesting enough... I'll have to find this new magical hose/pump/wonderful idea... I was under the impression that Throttle Body Fuel Injection was the one that looks kinda like a carb, but isn't; a big open tube on top with a butterfly valve in there... I know its not a carb, that much is for sure. And as for a Frankensube... wouldn't surprise me at all. edit #1 ---> "all turbocharged models have MPFI" says the haynes manual. I still like the Frankensube idea though edit #2 ---> It was more difficult to find, but now I know where the rear washer tubing check valve is, how crudded up it was, and how easy it was to clean... It doesn't prevent back flow but it allows enough flow that I now get a spray that can soak the cars that tailgate! Time to go get dirty! Thanks for the input.

Ok for the rear washer check the check valve in the tubing and check the pump... Didn't realize that it had a check valve but I guess that makes sense. As to the other... It doesn't smoke, steam, or have bad hoses, in fact the only bad one blew before I could get it swapped anyway... There might be an unseen hose clamp somewheres, and I'll look into that. What other indicators are there of a blown HG? I know that there is an occasional (once every 1000 miles or so, and for about 20-40 minutes when warmed up) super annoying tick-tick-tick that goes fast/slow with RMPs... Even with coolant low its never run hot ( I caught the blown hose in time so there wasn't time to hurt the car) ... I just can't afford to keep feeding it 50/50 when I know its getting pee'd out someplace, and plain water can only be good for so long... Thanks for the suggestions, i will look into what I can and let y'all know what comes of it.

I have a huge laundry list of tiny little things that, after doing some research, seem to be common to the older Subarus so at least in that I know I am not alone. Most of the things are small, and I could probably figure it out on my own, but I really, really need to know two things: Where is my coolant going? and why does it take so long to spray from the rear washer? I don't know much about the history of the car, and I am still learning about what engine is which. I know from my own experience that it is an EA82 (nifty that they stamped that out for me where I could see it), turbo, throttle body fuel injection, but thats mostly about it that I know off hand. I do know that the engine is not the original, but as to if it was new or rebuild, I do not know. On to the problem with the coolant, shall we? When I bought the car, it had no heat. So, I figured, easy enough, flush and fill... and it worked... for about 2 days, when I had to refill the radiator and the reservoir bottle. Tracing a reverse line from a puddle I found a pinhole leak in the thermostat housing seal, so i removed that to find *DUN DAH DUN* no thermostat. Lucky me, there was a spare, new in box, with gasket and sealant, ready to go. so in it went and there were no problems anymore from the thermostat area. The leak, however, was still there. When the cooling hose to the turbo blew, I wasn't really surprised, and I happened to have a spare hose in the back and on the side of the freeway in the rain, I "upgraded" the hose, and filled the radiator, but still somewhere there is a leak. I've tightened everything I can think of, checked hoses I didn't even know existed, and even put in stop leak... the only thing now is that there is no more puddles and no real warning, just the heater goes cold and I know its time to refill the system. I can usually hear the air flow through the heater on the coolant side when I first start up and whenever RPMs get high. Any thoughts? As to my other "irk"... I love being able to wash my rear window from the driver's seat. I don't like waiting 2 minutes to see water flow from the nozzle. Its a strong stream when it gets there and the bottle is full... Is it possible that there is a leak in the tube? Until i figure out how to make it say my car and not "I love my subaru" I guess I'll have to keep putting this down: Its an 86 GL-10 Turbo 4WD Wagon. And yes, since day one, I've loved my Subaru, its just a big pain somedays.