gratefuldude Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 hello everybody! im a VW to soob convert. so bear with me:lol: Alright. heres the issues: in september: Drove 180 miles. on the trip, the temp gauge shot up. all the way. I replaced the thermostat in a parking lot of a diner. flushed out old coolant, put in new coolant. drove 180 back home, no issues whatsoever. This past weekend: 120 miles, on the trip, coolant temp gauge shot all the way up again. In the hotel parking lot, i popped the hood, coolant everywhere. (from res, spilling out) i removed the radiator, draining all coolant into the hotel ice buckets. Flushed the radiator in the bathtub. I noticed the coolant had oil spotting, and was a darker green. Thought nothing of it at the time. figured i didnt get all the old crap out. added water to balance it all out. On the return 120 mile trip home, 8 miles in the gauge shot up. I turned the heat on. the gauge balanced out at 3/4 of the way up, stayed put. Got home: Inspected the oil cap: some light h2o condensation on the top, but not the foamy milky stuff. oil level is a little low, maybe 1/4 quart. im not noticing any major coolant loss, not seeing any leaks. but i do notice the occasional coolant smell. Do i have the beginnings of failed HG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Welcome to Subaru. You may just need to burp the system properly. Put the front end on jackstands, and let it run from cold with the cap off, and the vent plug in the upper cornert removed. Once the thermo opens and you see circulation, fill it up again and cap it off and install the plug. EJ22s aren't known for losing headgaskets....but it can happen.....and if burping doesn't work and you still get overheating then it probably is a headgakset. Simple to replace really if they need done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gratefuldude Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Welcome to Subaru. You may just need to burp the system properly. Put the front end on jackstands, and let it run from cold with the cap off, and the vent plug in the upper cornert removed. Once the thermo opens and you see circulation, fill it up again and cap it off and install the plug. EJ22s aren't known for losing headgaskets....but it can happen.....and if burping doesn't work and you still get overheating then it probably is a headgakset. Simple to replace really if they need done. well, she does have 201k on it.... so, 1: put it up in the air. 2: remove rad cap. 3: remove vent cover from coolant resevoir? or is there another one? im a wee confused lol 4: let car run from cold to warm. add coolant? 5: am i confused or spot on? I have a 98 legacy outback im doing the head gaskets on tomorrow. my 97 is my main car though! i hear coolant flow behind my dash. had the car a year or so, and have always heard that...is it common, or could this be an indication or air? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gratefuldude Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 well, im getting no coolant flow, period. the car is at temp, supposedly(half way up in the gauge) bottom rad. hose is Ice cold(its 25 outside) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gratefuldude Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 well, im getting no coolant flow, period. the car is at temp, supposedly(half way up in the gauge) bottom rad. hose is Ice cold(its 25 outside) im going to let it get real hot. see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 im going to let it get real hot. see what happens. you might cook your bearings which makes it riskier to repair the HGs. bearing could fail soon there after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gratefuldude Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 well, it never got up to HOT temp. i drove it around the block, gauge went up a bit, then went down. when i left the lower hose was cold. when i got back it was warm. im going to install a new T-stat, AGAIN!, and see what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eppoh Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 well, it never got up to HOT temp. i drove it around the block, gauge went up a bit, then went down.when i left the lower hose was cold. when i got back it was warm. im going to install a new T-stat, AGAIN!, and see what happens Are you using genuine Subaru thermostat or aftermarket? I had similar trouble with the aftermarket Tstats. I ahve also seen them installed backwards. Subaru stats will only fit one way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gratefuldude Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 aftermarket. ill grab a subaru OEM one this afternoon, and try it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 fill the block with coolant by the upper radiator hose. the thermostat being at the bottom, is on the return side. if the block is dry, there is not enough coolant for the thermostat to open, even though the radiator is full. try holding open the revs as you add collant. bleeding out the air can be a 20 min process sometimes. if your temp gauge is fluctuating, sounds like an air pocket also, when the coolant is filled, look for bubbles in the radiator caused by exhaust blowing past the head gaskets. since you have become a pro at flushing the coolant, you may as well try a can of k&w block sealer (the liquid glass stuff) to seal a minor HG leak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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