roadsubiedog

I work a union job. pretty safe. I'm no *************** anyways.

I can't believe you. You telling me this my fault and deserve this. gimme a break.

Laugh at this. My company last night had my old beat up 84 Gl wagon towed away cause they thought it was an abandoned vehicle. Kind of looks like it. has over 300k on it with rust, dents, etc, but it is very dependable and i have driven it to work for the last 6 years. they paid to get it out of the impound yard and apologized but i don't think that's enough. I'm gonna tell them on Monday if they don't like my junker, they can buy me a brand new Subie !!!

Thanks for your help. very much appreciated. gonna try the new cap and bleeding again. I mentioned that the radiator is cold. the water is not circulating thru it but it seems ok in the motor and heater core. i have heat in the car and can idle over 30 minutes with the heater going without a rise in temp. BTW this site is great. been a member since 2005 but have not visited since revamping. I still have 2 84 wagons which seem more dependable. One has 306,000 miles on with all original equipment except a new cat. It's pretty ugly but I'll need it once again for my 85 round trip commute to work until I sort this problem out.

I googled "99 subaru overheating" and read several stories that this is a problem with early 99 and that Subaru knows and recommends a Subaru approved engine sealant before they will do a HG job. anyone know of this? and know the enging sealant they are talking about?

Thanks, I know where the bleeder screw is. what exactly is the proper procedure? do you wait until the engine is at operating temp or shut it off and then bleed air off?

I forgot to mention that the oil level is fine, exhaust normal and there are no bubbles in the overflow bottle fluid. roadsubiedog

searched archives and could not find similar thread. 99 outback ( 175K miles ) overheating. replaced thermostat , bled air and completely refilled system . heater in car works fine and it will idle at proper temp but if i drive without heater on, it starts to overheat. flushed the system twice, bled air cause mechanic at work said i may have an air pocket and tried again with the same result. does not overheat with heater fan on full. the overflo bottle emptied once and I refilled it and now the level is OK The top hose is hot. heater hoses are hot but the bottom hose is cold and the cap is cold. suggests lack of circulation? both radiator fans come on but shut after after I blow the heater fan for a couple minutes. I'm gonna try changing the radiator cap. the radiator appears cold while every thing else is hot. Oh, Ya I took out the new thermostat and made sure it opened in a pan of hot water and then put it back in. the old one tested ok too. when I was coming home from work ( 40 miles) it was 6 below zero when it started overheating but all day i was working on it , it was around 30 degrees. this is everything I did and could think of reporting. any help and or suggestions? if the radiator is blocked , how do I remedy that? thanks

I started a thread a couple months ago about improving gas mileage. i have a 84gl wagon where i improved the mileage from 28 mpg to 36-38 mpg. I took the roof racks off. changed the oil. changed the air filter. put 40psi in tires. slowed down from 65-70 to 55 on the highway. several months later am still getting 36-38 mpg. almost a 40 % increase. better than damaging motor, carb, etc. with acetone. Road Dog

My 84 gl has 302,323 miles on and just passed california smog with flying colors on monday. average 35 mpg too. so much for new cars. I wrote to Subaru awhile back and asked this same question. they sent me a nice Subaru travel mug and said there were several owners that had over 650,000 miles with the original motors. properly scheduled oil changes are a big factor. I love mine. Road Dog

Thank you very much.

Have a 84 gl with 300,000 miles on it and need some hints on passing the smog test in California. should I install some hotter plugs? I am already changing the cap and rotor, changing the air filter and oil. is there a good "smog pass' additive that really works? appreciate any tips. Thanks

OK, I'll try that. Thanks

I have a 99 outback with what seems like an electrical problem. The speedo goes out and comes back on for no reason. Sometimes it goes out when I touch the brake. Sometimes when I reengage the cruise. sometimes it just goes out. And most of the time it comes back on by itself when I do nothing. I have checked the fuses. What else can I check? Road Dog

What?????? At my work place we have a lot of trucks with over a million miles and some approaching 2 million. Maybe I don't understand your post. Road Dog

84 wagon approaching 300,000 miles. commute 85 miles a day. gets close to 40 mpg if I take it easy. the smog mechanic could not believe how clean it runs. I change the oil religiously every 3000 miles. must of been made on non hungover day at the factory. shows no signs of slowing down. I contacted Subaru and they told me they had a guy write them that he had 650,000 miles on an original motor. I have some pics but will have to have my son show me how to attach . Road Dog

I've been tempted many many times to hit the brakes on a tailgaiter. But it is really a losing proposition. With my luck I would break my neck or back. Plus if you give into someone elses Road Rage, they in effect own you. What is better is to put your tail lights on or off a couple times without slowing down. Maybe they will get the idea and back off or pass. Or slow down gradually. I have tried several methods and they usually work. You never know who is carrying a gun these days so don't pull over. I used to carry a baseball bat in the car if I ever needed it but this just made me more aggressive......maybe I was hoping I could use it!! I am a professional driver so I see this stuff all the time. I wish I could run someone off the road or blow them away sometimes but I just imagine it for fun. I had a Road Rage incident in my personal car about 7 years ago and it cost me about $25,000. I ran a car off the road with 3 people in it. I had lawyer fees, fines, had to pay off the people, and had to go to Anger Management classes. The judge also wanted to take my license away for 6 months and that would have cost me about $40,000 in lost wages. I would of lost my house and everything else. It's not worth it. Just let them pass or get out of the way. I know it's not any fun but it's not anything to ruin your life over. Oh, BTW, I have been experimenting with my 99 Outback. If I go 65 I get 30 mpg. If I go 60, I still get 30 mpg. And the last tank, I went 55 mph and i got 30 mpg!!!!! Go figure. Road Dog ( Former road rage dog )

very nice find! What kind of fuel economy do you get? RD

That's mostly uphill:brow:

Funny you should mention the sign. I did have a sign in the back window that said "Experimental 100 mpg vehicle" . I didn't get a finger , horn, or cut off during the whole 2 weeks. I took it off and the next day I got cut off. Hopefully someone will hit me. I've got uninsured motorist protection. I don't understand why people get so mad. It's a two lane interstate highway and they can easily go around. I've seen people tailgate me for a couple miles with no one else around. Then they pass and give me the finger. Like f/u for inconvience , I quess. In my work ( commercial truck driver ) I see a lot of road rage. I want to make a bumper sticker that says something like; " You should of left before me, a** hole." RD

My Gl does not have power steering or a/c. Maybe your dl had the right gearing. before I rode my Harley all over the country I changed the transmission sproket so I could go faster without straining the motor so much. I didn't care about the mpg but I could run 80 all day as the motor purred. I also found out that gasoline is real different with every brand. I usually get my gas at Arco and get the best results. An off brand station is usually worse. Maybe they allow too much water in their gas. My front axles are clicking and I was wondering if that causes more resistance? They have been clicking for quite awhile. Also I think I need to look at the wheel bearings. I won't be satisfied until I get the optimum performance out of this vehicle. I also have a 99 outback and routinely get 30 mpg at 65-70 mph. That's my next project. RD

It's a 4wd. And I got the K and N kidney shaped at NAPA. It was around $50 but it will pay for itself and you can renew it. Another thing I forgot to mention is that I really try to anticipate starts and stops at red lights etc. so that I try to avoid complete stops. Most of you gas consumption is used on starting from a dead stop. Part of it is money but mostly it is fun trying to squeeze out every mpg. Before I smog it ( California ) I put that "Pass Smog " stuff in it which usually helps the mpg. The instructions say you can use this stuff about 4 times a year, but I don't think I can do any better than 40mpg. The Subaru tech at the dealership was pretty impressed. So was the smog shop. They couldn't believe how clean the emissions were for a 300,000 mile car. Like I mentioned, 90 % of my driving is Freeway and I change the oil religiously every 3-4000 miles. I am not a mechanic but several mechanics at my workplace said this was the one major thing to prolong the engine. Road Dog

I have an old 84 gl wagon with 297,000 miles on it. We commute 45 miles each way to work and I never really payed attention to gas mileage which averaged 25-28 mpg until the prices skyrocketed. After doing some research I started keeping accurate records. First tankful not doing anything I got 24 mpg. Added some drygas to next tank to dissolve water. Got 28 mpg with that tank. Removed roof racks and slowed down from 70 to 65. Got 33 mpg with the next tank. Put 40 psi in tires instead of usual 35 and slowed down from 65 to 60mph. acheived 37 mpg on the next tank. Installed K and N air filter and slowed from 60 to 55mph. Achieved 40 miles per gallon ! It's staying at around 39-40 mpg now. And driving 55 mph really does not take much longer even on a 45 mile trip.....maybe 5-7 minutes and I am more relaxed when I get to work and enjoy listening to my tapes more. The only problem is people tailgaiting me and giving me the finger when they pass even though it is a two lane interstate highway. I just move my mirror and don't look at them as they pass. Just wanted to share this info. The only way I think I can get more than 40 mpg is maybe put a sail on top of the Subie when the wind is going my way! Road Dog

Has anyone here ever used Steel Seal or KW Block Seal with any luck? I had a coolant leak on the outside head of the #3 cylinder and it appears to have sealed it.