Jeffro

Sounds about right. I'll have to see what the guys says that did the work for me last fall. My understanding was that he would warranty for 1 year. Once the engine cooled off I pressurized it again to 15PSI. It dropped to 10PSI overnight. Not sure why the HG didn't last longer. I really don't think that I ran the engine hot before this. He didn't machine the heads because they were within Subaru's specs. Maybe I should have them machined? Thanks for help. I was obviously looking down the wrong path when this started.

I grabbed a radiator test kit from O'Reilly. With the engine cold I pressurized the coolant system to 15PSI. It was dropping (say 1/2 PSI over 5 minutes). I didn't see an obvious coolant leak. I then started it and hit the throttle a few times. It pressurized to 7-15 PSI pretty quickly. My radiator cap is rated at 15.7 PSI. I haven't tested it yet. Is that a definitive head gasket failure?

What should I do? Replace the radiator cap and take it to a shop for a coolant pressure test? Is there a definitive test for a head gasket leak?

An external leak would cause overheating, yes? Oil has been disappearing, but I haven't found it on the outside of the engine (yet). As I mentioned, it was low on coolant when this started. It has held steady since then, but I've only driven it a little. Maybe I've got a head gasket leak and I'm losing oil and coolant.

I will do just that.

I received my OBDII scanner. Does well for less than $10! "Redline" on the dash gauge happens at about 205F. That seems a low temp to me for a redline. I was able to get the ECU to read as high as 228F pushing up a hill. That seems high? Maybe I have temp gauge issue and a cooling issue? RE: Loose wires or a break: A wire break causes the ECU to turn on the fans and the temp gauge reads all the way down on my car.

Ok, definitely seems worse. It happens driving around town now, not just on passes or going 70+ mph. Gauge 7/8 of the way to red on the dash. 150F top radiator hose 141 bottom radiator hose 165 top of radiator (the EPDM rubber hoses read a bit lower, I assume because they insulate more) 137 left top front of radiator 107 right top front of radiator This points to better flow through the drivers side of the radiator I suppose. The water pipe (where the temp sensor mounts) was reading about 10 degrees higher than the top of the radiator.

Lower hose was hot too. I'll have to take it out again for specific numbers. I didn't see much cooling if I remember correct (maybe 10F). I ordered a cheap OBDII bluetooth scanner yesterday; it will let me see what temp the ECU is seeing.

I will try to find out on the thermostat. What will that tell me? Forgive me for asking, but it seems that the thermostat is opening if I'm getting 200F at the radiator? The overflow bottle was empty when this started. I put aprx. 1 quarts of water in, and it has held steady sense then, but it could be slowly loosing coolant. I guess that would be a HG issue agian or a bad radiator cap? I've put about 3-400 miles on it after adding the water.

I think that I have a temperature gauge problem. The dash says that it has been running hot lately (up near the red sometimes). I don't think that I have a cooling problem. Here is what I'm seeing and have done: 1) Checked the radiator "in" hose with an IR thermometer when the gauge says it is hot. The hottest I've seen it at is 200F. I think that tells me I'm not overheating? I'm not sure what normal is, but 200F doesn't sound that bad. It was driving up a pass on a hot day. 2) Both fans work. I can see them cycle on and off. They will cycle off even when the dash says it is hot. 3) I replaced the temperature sensor (Subaru p/n 22630AA11A, I used an aftermarket). This seems to make it worse if anything. I think this is essentially 2 sensors, one for the dash gauge and one for the ECU. Is this correct? My understanding is the sensor for the dash gauge is a thermistor. Can I put a resistor betwenn on the the pins and ground to test the dash gauge end of things? What resistance value would I use? Last fall I had the head gaskets done. They also put in a new water pump and tstat, so I wouldn't suspect those. I've also put in a radiator, but it was used so maybe it is clogged. From what I've observed I don't suspect a cooling problem though. Thanks for any suggestions! I'm new to this so I'm probably going down the wrong path.

Looks like the green plug is an ECU diagnostic plug. It also looks like I am not the first to plug that puppy in....

Grabbed a plug from a Subaru Yard. $1. Soldered that puppy on. Sealed with silicon + heat shrink. It looks good. CEL was off (finally!) when I turned it on. Thanks for the help. I am new to working on cars. Probably saved some good $$$. Unrelated, I was under the dash working on a keyless entry module. There were 2 green plugs that looked like they went together. I plugged them in because I thought maybe I unplugged it. WOW, the roo didn't like that. Flashing CEL, 12 codes, etc. I went ahead and unplugged that and sealed the dash back up. Jeff

Sounds good. I'll either grab a junk yard plug & splice it, or try to solder what is left. Jeff

Have a P0446 code on my 98 Impreza Outback Sport. Purge valve problem. I tracked it down to the wires got ripped off of the vent solenoid plug. So, I need new terminals that slide into the plastic plug. I looked at 2 auto parts stores, radio shack, and the hardware store no luck. The auto parts store had some for chevy/ford/etc, but no suby. Dealer? I could always solder onto whats left, but new plugs would be much easier. Thanks! -Jeff