blkchr91

I use these Sharpie Paint pens, but that is because I am a slow learning Newb. I marked the belt etc. to feel comfortable. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017A1BIUM/ref=sxts_bia_sr_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3182441022&pd_rd_wg=nG42e&pf_rd_r=1ZXXTW8VNX96XE0AM50V&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B017A1BIUM&pd_rd_w=dWpIl&pf_rd_i=sharpie+paint+pen&pd_rd_r=81JARKSZKJKY7Z2HWVB1&ie=UTF8&qid=1505515766&sr=1

Well this thing has never overheated. I hope it stays that way. Thought the same thing about my Tribeca. 6 months later and it sure has revealed itself. The system is still pulling vacuum from the overflow which is a good sign. I'll have to watch it. Haven't checked the overflow to see if it is blowing coolant.

Drove it 400 miles without incident. Thanks so far.

Sure, but based on what I am seeing here I think that would be a bit early to assume that I have a bad head gasket right?

Thanks for your empathy. I hope that I am ok. I'll report back and let you all know if it made the 400 mile trip and if so how it made the trip.

Nah, you did just fine. I have difficulty learning, but you wrote it well so after a few reads it became super clear actually. Thanks again.

My head hurts, but I asked for it. Thanks for taking the time to explain this. I knew that pressure had to go up, but didn't understand the rest. I'll read and re-read. I'd generally sit back and take short road trips to see how the "cycle" is going, but unfortunately I have to make the same road trip again very soon. Crossing fingers and thanks for all of the help.

Thanks for your posts. This doesn't replace the overflow tank. On the 03-05 FXT there is a separate filler tank. The pressure tester replaces the radiator cap on that filler tank.. I had to look in the FSM to even come up with a name here....which turned out to be "radiator filler tank" as opposed to "overflow tank". Wish that I had some buddies with a similar vehicle. The truth is I have only seen one of these in person in the past 8 years. Not just because it is rather an uncommon vehicle but mostly due to demographics here.

It does replace the radiator cap. The radiator is filled by a separate tank on the 03-05 Forester XT. Great info. Reading and re-reading. Thanks.

Wow, thanks. So it stops expanding once it reaches operating temperature. Any idea why that is?

I appreciate the safety warning and thank you for your concerns. I won't *EVER* let things climb to this pressure again since I don't want to get hurt real bad. However, I'd like to know more about *WHY* this is not a valid test. I realize that the cap vents anything over 16 psi to the overflow. In this case, won't my overflow would be constantly filling up at idle to the point that it would overfill in no time even at idle? The mitivac folks say it's time to throw your hands up and die if the system's pressure is over spec. See link below. Thanks for your help.

I have posted here in the past but never seem to have any luck...I'll try again tonight. I was driving my 04 FXT on the highway at around 70 mph and went to pass someone. I was greeted by billows of white smoke from the engine bay. I looked down and noticed that the temp was where it normally sits...just above a quarter. I immediately shut it down and had it towed. I got it home and found the upper radiator hose had a split that was 3 inches long. Last week before this happened, I smelled coolant when pulling it in (again no overheating at all). I shut the car down and popped the hood. There were dime sized bubbles going in the overflow with the vehicle turned off that persisted for a few minutes. On the morning before I took off, I noticed that the overflow was almost empty but I drove it anyways since I had no choice. 70 miles later, the incident happened. I went and got a fresh set of Mishimoto Upper and Lower radiator hoses. The upper hose might have been the original, but looked to be in otherwise great shape. I used the Lisle funnel to bleed things after refilling with the old coolant (which looked fine) and adding a mix of distilled water and Peak Global to top it off with. I idled it for about 15 minutes until the bubbles stopped. I held it down between 2k-3k rpms for about 5 minutes and the bubbles stopped. However, when I rev it I get bubbles. Seems like a small breach that is going to get bigger over time. Most people wouldn't notice this because they lack the Lisle funnel or don't go through the extra step of revving the engine just to see what happens. FYI, Water Pump and Thermostat are all only about 5k miles old and the T-Stat is OEM. My Tribeca started with the same symptoms and 6 months later is nearly undriveable. This is what my radiator pressure tester says while using it running (on the radiator filler tank which is external to the radiator since it is a turbo)....sitting at 27 psi while idling! I don't understand how it can be be anything else besides a head gasket based on this but then again no one seems to use a radiator pressure tester dynamically as a test. My only doubt about the validity of this test is that no one seems to bother doing this test. Is this a valid test? Head gasket HAS TO BE toast if I understand this correctly. Thank you.