alexsf Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I brought the Outback in for service at 154000km to have the timing belt changed. At the same time the hydraulic tensioner and water pump was changed out. It was running perfectly at the time. An hour after I got out of the shop the engine overheated. The shop said it was the thermostat but I am suspicious of the coincidence. Anyone have some ideas on what other causes could be? Does the thermostat have to be removed when replacing the water pump? And finally, since the car did overheat, what potential damage could have resulted? Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 air in the coolant system did not get burped out correctly possibly. Search for "burping coolant" on here Basically, we need to know if your shop is familiar with subarus To burp the car, you can do it several ways, but the heat selection needs be turned on full hot, with heat on during the burping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 they definitely have to pull out the thermostat as mentioned bleed out the air from the system regardless the shop should do this for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 they didn't bleed air out of the coolant properly. search for "burp" "burping" or "bleeding" coolant on here and you'll find all you need to know. thermostat isn't the problem and doesn't need to be touched. although with all that maintenance done i'd install a new Subaru thermostat. that's a subaru only part, the aftermarket parts are insanely cheap, obvious just by looking at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexsf Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 Thanks everyone. The shop ended up calling Subaru and found they did not bleed the air properly just like you folks have advised. The car is being returned as I write this... hopefully all is well. Could there have been engine damage and if so what should I be looking for? thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danbob99 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 thermostat isn't the problem and doesn't need to be touched. I've seen many, many a issue with aftermarket thermostats in these cars. They do need to be removed, and are often replaced with the waterpump replacement. The aftermarket thermostats are often too short and do not extend fully into the flow of coolant, so do not get the proper amount of heat exposure, and don't open properly. So, the thermostat is a definit posibility. Air in the cooling system is also a large posibility. As far as checking for other damages, be sure to have them check for Hydrocarbons in the cooling system to see if the headgaskets were damaged from the over heat. Thats the biggest thing to check. You could try and twist their arm for a fresh oil change to eliminate any posibility of damage to the oil. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I brought the Outback in for service at 154000km to have the timing belt changed. At the same time the hydraulic tensioner and water pump was changed out. It was running perfectly at the time. An hour after I got out of the shop the engine overheated. The shop said it was the thermostat but I am suspicious of the coincidence. Anyone have some ideas on what other causes could be? Does the thermostat have to be removed when replacing the water pump? And finally, since the car did overheat, what potential damage could have resulted? Thanks!! there is an air pocket in the cooling system, not a biggie. If they changed the thermostat, they need to put in a subaru t-stat and not a aftermarket. The aftermarket does not allow for enough coolant flow and will cause the engine to run hot. I doubt any damage was done as long as you didnt cook the engine. This is a common thing that happens, even to the best mechanics. Its not that subarus are hard to fill up properly, its just that no one does it properly and have gotten lucky with it. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svxpert Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 <<the timing belt changed. At the same time the hydraulic tensioner and water pump was changed out.>> what kind of shop replaced the water pump but not the thermostat? time for a new shop:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexsf Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 Thanks for the advice people, I am pretty impressed with this blog. Anyway, all's well that ends well - the outback is back and ticking along nicely. No appreciable change in the running coolant temp. Once they bled the air, problem resolved. Hopefully that will be it. cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danbob99 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 All is well that ends well. Glad to hear the shop took care of you without much fuss. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgambino Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 to assess any possbile damage, what one needs to have is your definition of "overheat" Did you notice the temp gauge going up and at what point did you shut it off? Did you peg the needle to the top? how long was it driven like that and at what speed did it boil over? lots of gurglling sounds? Was steam pouring out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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