jboymechanic

Radiator is new, thermostat was bought at Napa. I just got a genuine Subaru one to try this weekend. Head gaskets were Felpro (had the Fuji Heavy Industries logo on them). Head did not appear to be warped or cracked.

Background info: 1995 Legacy Wagon with 228,000 miles, automatic car (with EGR) and a 2.2 with dual port heads. Bought for $250, had blown head gasket (pass side, got hot enough to warp/partially melt the back timing cover) after it over heated. Pulled the motor, cleaned it, and re-sealed it (new head, valve cover, intake and exhaust gaskets), new water pump, thermostat, radiator and hoses, new timing kit. Flushed motor with water, new 50/50 coolant, bled all the air out of the system. Got the engine back in the car and everything hooked up and it runs great with good power. I did not mill the heads as this was a cheap car and I was trying to keep it that way. Issue: If I let the car idle, the temp gauge will stay right at just below half way up. If I drive the car down the highway (60 mph at about 2,500 RPM) the temp gauge starts climbing up. Pull over and let it idle, temp gauge comes back down to where it should be. Start driving again, temp gauge goes back up. I haven't let it peg the temp gauge as I don't want to over heat, but it has gone up to about 3/4 or 4/5 of the way to the top before I stop to let it idle. I do know that the secondary fan is not kicking in, but I would think that when the car is moving there should be plenty of flow through the radiator to cool it, normally when the fan is the problem it will over heat when idling. Is the head gasket f-ed again, possibly due to a warped head? Or is the secondary fan the issue (which I highly doubt)?

I really don't care for the Subarus beyond 2009, they just look like crap. Also, they turned the Outback into a terrible cross-over when it used to be one of the last remaining station wagons. I changed the oil on my sister's 2010 Impreza and I couldn't believe how little room there was under the hood and under the car to do any thing. The exhaust was all over the place under the engine with little spaces to remove the oil plug and filter. Good thing the oil filter wasn't on overly tight, would be no room to get at it to remove it with an oil filter wrench.

My Legacy has 228,424 miles on it, I can get a trophy for that?

Tom, I recall that you were rear-ended (lightly) and that your mounts for your rear bumper were kind of ripped out or stretched. Are you going to weld in some plates to repair the mount? Just curious as to what you plan on doing.

Get a hair cut you hippy! Nice work on the Loyale Tom, pretty soon it'll be brand new again.

Oh boy, Miles ended up with that Brighton huh? As for me, Tom and I picked up a set of Outback struts and cross member spacers from the junk yard for my Legacy. Picked up a factory CD player from an Outback as well, works great too. Oh, and a new rear hatch handle too.

Yeah, still working some of the air out, but if the temp stays up and I determine it is the radiator I'd go with a two row versus a single row. I think plastic tanks are garbage, so metal tanks are a must for me (additional cooling and durability).

GD, Thanks for the info, very helpful as usual. Tom, After reading my manual they never mention the second radiator fan in the engine cooling section, so I'm guessing it was for AC use only. Seeing that my AC compressor is locked up and the system is now empty, the AC doesn't work and that second fan won't kick on. Can you double check that your Legacy acts the same way?

I may need a new radiator for my Legacy as the upper radiator hose fitting is half broken off (common) from previous owner and some of the cooling fins broke off when sprayed with water from the hose to clean the dirt out of it. So, since over heating can kill an EJ head gasket, I wanted to upgrade to a better radiator, hopefully a 2 row with metal tanks. I found one on partsgeek.com made by CSF, their part number W0133-1654505. It is ment to be used with a 2.5 liter motor (listed under 1996-1997 Legacy only for some reason), will it fit in my '95 with 2.2 without any mods to car or radiator? I also ran across another radiator from CSF, their part number W0133-1606959, which is for a 1990 to 1994 Legacy. Again, metal tanks, 2 rows. Will this radiator fit in my '95 without any modifications to car or radiator? As always, thanks for the help.

The temp gauge was right at center for the longest time, I had it idling while I topped of the trans, power steering, and engine oil and while all the oil burned off the exhaust headers/pipes. Then is went up to about 3/4 and hung there. The only thing that worries me is the condition of the radiator, when I was cleaning the fins with just spraying it with a hose, some of the fins did break out in some areas. Time for a new radiator? I'll start a new thread for that discussion.

That hose was the culprit, nice new screw clap on there now. Engine runs like a top now and goes down the road nicely. I did notice that the engine does run a bit on the high side. The fan does work and I even flushed the radiator and cleaned out the cooling fins before I reinstalled it. So...does the second fan only come on when the AC is on like in the old EA82 cars? If that's the case, I'm going to re-wire it to be on all the time. Thanks for the tips everybody!

This is a very good possibility, I don't recall reconnecting that hose to the air box, gonna check that as soon as I get home. I know we never disconnected that from the intake side, so it was definitely removed from the air box. Tom, if you're still watching this thread, did you reconnect that hose at the air box? 100% sure now that I didn't.

Yes, if I keep the RPMs up it will run. I didn't want to last night as it was getting late and the exhaust is loud (broke after Y pipe). I'm gonna check it out in the daylight. I would think the crank and cam sensors are okay, they were fine before with removed the engine. Perhaps one came un-plugged or wasn't fully engaged?

I have a '95 Legacy with 230,000 miles, just had the engine out to clean and do a head gasket and timing kit job. Everything went together fine, put the engine in and it fired right up. Jumped up to about 2,500 RPM after firing, as usual, and slowly came down and then dropped below 1,000 RPM and sputtered out. I restarted it about 10 times and it acted the same way. It was late and dark at this point, so I wasn't able to investigate, but it never acted like this before even with the blown head gasket. Any ideas? Things that currently need attention are that the battery is completely dead, I was jumping it but leaving the power connected, I'll take care of that tomorrow. The auto trans may not be full, but it doesn't stay running long enough to check and it was dark. I knon I did everything right, even flushed the radiator and cleaned the fins and replaced all the hoses and hose clamps and put everything back together properly. One last thing I can say is that the car was starting pretty hard just before I pulled the motor, it used to start right away (only a few cranks). Please help!

Miles, I have an early 2.2 dual port motor, a 1991 I believe, with 4EAT with 4.11 gear ratio. I know it is OBDI, but I have the intake off an OBDII 2.2 so the connectors should work. I also have the driver side head with EGR port and the EGR tube to make it all correct. The trans has already had the mechanical speedometer cable drive replaced with a speed sensor, so it should be good to go. I bought the combo for $300 and have another $100 invested in the OBDII intake and EGR ported head. I'll give it all up for $350 assuming my 1995 Subaru Legacy engine is okay now that we replaced the head gaskets.

This past weekend in the '95 Legacy wagon "Crazy Lori": New ball joints (both bolts snapped, had to drill out and replace with bolts and nuts) New front axles Pulled motor, removed intake and heads, cleaned block, new head, valve cover, intake and exhaust gaskets New water pump and timing kit New radiator hoses Fresh engine oil, front diff oil, coolant, power steering fluid and trans fluid THANKS FOR THE HELP TOM AND DAVID!

Any update on the Subaru with NES?

A "Runabout"? Is it a 1988 or a 1908? How many horseless carriages do you possess?

Where do you get that awesome techno music that is always in the background of your videos?

But Fel-Pro makes the OEM head gaskets for Subarus, that's the whole point. And I have NEVER purchased a part at dealer for less than what I can get it some where else. In many cases, such as with these head gaskets, the dealer is just a middle man and marking the price up. The only instance you save by going to the dealer is for a "dealer only" part.

I don't understand why everyone on this site insists on using OEM head gaskets and other seals. This is not an attack on you, davebugs, I just really am curious as to where this mentality comes from? If the OEM gaskets were so good, why do the head gaskets blow so often on many engines? If the OEM gaskets were so good, why replace them if they're not blown? Finally, it's not like Subaru manufactures their own gaskets, they have companies like Fel-Pro do it for them. In fact, I just ordered new Fel-Pro head gaskets for my '95 and it has the Fuji Heavy Industries logo right on it. Any one have any opinions as to why this is "the way"? Sorry in advance for hi-jacking the thread.

10 am start is fine.