paging gurus: 97 impreza cooling issues

[gratefuldude]

well, Ive done some searching and i am finding nothing, here goes!

 

In September car overheated on a 200 mile drive. figured thermostat, replaced in a diner parking lot. the last 25 miles of trip the temp gauge was going up and down.

 

it was replaced with an after market thermostat.

 

In February, on a 130 mile drive, over heated again, this time, pretty much ran hot as hell for the final 3 miles, and leading up to it the gauge was fluctuating between 1/2 and 15/16 of the way up.

So, i flushed the radiator, (felt the lower coolant hose, and it was cold compared to the rest of the system, as was that side of the radiator.) in the hotels bathroom.

 

Seemed to be OK on the drive back.

 

Now, on a 15 mile drive, same thing happened. In an effort to eliminate the thermostat as the issue, i am now driving without one. (do not see any real stop go traffic)

Same things occurs.

 

I am noticing with higher RPM, engine cools down.

I am also noticing, my heat sucks! even when my temp gauge is 3/4 of the way up.

 

I am not leaking coolant. There is no "foam" in the oil cap. No coolant in the oil. Coolant levels are fine.

 

Any ideas? I am supposed to drive 600 miles 1 way in 3 weeks, so im struggling pretty hard here.

[gratefuldude]

one last thing, i do not know if this is relevant, but i have noticed the car likes to idle at about 1400pm now too. usually it idles at 4-600rpm. CEL not on, nor do any codes pull up

[lucid_door]

I seem to remember reading about how water pump impellers wear out and then don't push coolant through the system. How many miles on your water pump?

[gratefuldude]

I seem to remember reading about how water pump impellers wear out and then don't push coolant through the system. How many miles on your water pump?

 

 

that i dont know, owned it for a year, put 21k on it, OD reads 203k. i was thinking something along the lines of the impellers on the pump myself.

 

im curious if there is a better tell for that though? the water pump replacment would give me the excuse to change out the timing belt

[94Loyale]

I've never seen these water pumps fail in that manner. When you're draining and filling the coolant system. How are you bleeding the air out? Or aren't you? Because that is a big problem right there and will def make the car overheat bad. 97, correct me if I'm wrong, but that would still have a 2.2 in? So you don't have the usual HG failures to watch out for. Although after all this you might.

[idosubaru]

no heat is typical when these overheat due to air introduced into the cooling system. so you probably either have a leak, it was low on coolant and never topped off, or headgaskets.

 

these engines are notoriously hard to bleed, did you follow the proper bleeding procedure when refilling with coolant? was it low on fluid the first time around that you did the thermostat or did you check the fluid level?

 

your symptoms sound like head gaskets, but check easy things first. bubbling in the overflow tank after you shut the car off or black nastiness in there, are classic EJ head gasket symptoms.

 

the EJ22 doesn't typically blow headgaskets except when previously overheated. if it ends up being a head gasket then chances are good the engine was previously overheated. these engines aren't hard to find cheap so given the high miles and probability of a past overheat i'd probably swap out the engine if you can find a good deal and the car is still worth it to you. i know i can find them cheap around here. i even have a spare 97 OBS EJ22.

 

EJ's are also notorious for passing "typical" head gasket tests and symptoms. the best, although not 100% reliable, test for these engines is the exhaust gases in the coolant test. i think you can buy a kit for this from the auto parts store, right? i've never done it, just seen the mechanics version.

[hankosolder2]

Your high idle may be due to a.) the engine running cold (at times when it's not overheating!) due to the lack of a thermostat b.) bad coolant temp sensor- could also possibly prevent the electric fans from coming on, causing overheating. This is the temp sensor for the ECU/ECM, not the one for the dashboard gauge.

 

Could also be HG, air bleed issue, etc. The coolant temp sensor could be OK, but if it has a pocket of air around it it's not going to be reading the proper temp.

 

Nathan

[gratefuldude]

thanks for the replies guys.

 

i like the idea of exhaust gas in coolant. ill see if i cant check that today.

 

air pockets, im not too sure there are any, im usually pretty good at cycling the coolant properly, but maybe there are a few or one, ill check that out also.

 

will check back in soon, thanks for the advice guys!

[edrach]

203K on the engine. Just for grins, when was the last time the timing belt was changed. Water pumps fail anytime after 100K all the time. If your car has never seen a belt change, it's probably the water pump since that's lots of mileage for one.

 

I'm with the posters on properly bleeding the air out of the cooling system. Air in the system can mimick the symptoms you see.

[Mike104]

it was replaced with an after market thermostat.

 

Put in an OE thermostat from Subaru. These engines are fussy about them. Make sure the cooling system is properly bled. Clogged heater cores can also cause overheating.

 

Chemical block tester for combustion gases in coolant is a good test for HGs (particularly on Phase I engines).

 

Get a new Subaru rad cap too. Overheating on long trips does sound like either a bad waterpump or the beginnings of a HG problem

[nipper]

OE Thermostat only

 

At 203,000 miles, I dont think it would be the original waterpump, if it is thats a possible issue.

 

Something simple, replace the radiator cap.

 

Alos at the mileage, inspect the radiator physically. Make sure all the cooling fins behind the condenser are in one peice. It is also possible the radiator is clogged.

 

 

nipper

[JT95]

My first Subaru was a 95 Legacy wagon with the EJ22. I knew general car stuff, but nothing Subaru specific. My thermostat went out a few months into owning the car. (Oh joy--it's on the bottom of the engine...lol.) Replaced it. Problem fixed. A couple days later--apparently not. My temp gauge shot up and I shut the car off in some random parking lot. Fluid level was fine. Must be a faulty thermostat. Replaced it again. Same issue again while driving in town. I was perplexed.

 

I ended up getting help from this board where it was suggested that I "burp" the radiator/cooling system. I did that, and the problem went away. Drove the car several years before selling it at 230k.

 

That is a good place to start. And it's free.

[gratefuldude]

alright, got an update:

 

This morning i decided id let it overheat in my driveway, the problem occurs so much i figured it would(overheating everywhere i go now)

 

i heard a very small rattle sound.

 

car did not over heat, but BOTH fans came on. im thinking my car:

1: thinks AC is on somewhere in the wiring(would also lead to why i now idle at a higher RPM)

2: radiator seemed rather cold for it to heat up to the point of requiring fans to be on.

 

I went ahead and ordered a waterpump and timing belt. ill get em weds.

 

also: fins on radiator are pretty solid. at least they were when i flushed its rump roast in feb.

 

I am also pretty confident that the waterpump and timing belt are original to the car. PO put highway miles on it, and never needed to do maintenence(according to them, makes sense though because ive done ZERO work to it other then a clutch the week i bought it over a yr ago)

[nipper]

You ALWAYS need to do Maint on a car, doesnt mater if it is highway miles or around the block.

 

I bought one of those "all highway miles so only needed once a year oil changes" cars. the engine blew 10K after i bought it.

 

nipper

[gratefuldude]

THE BIG UPDATE:

 

cancelled order for waterpump and timing belt.

 

The correct diagnosis is now:

 

BAD HEAD GASKETS.

 

exhaust gas in coolant, as well as some oil.

and the overflow tank BUBBLES when i turn car off.

 

 

bummer dude.

[nipper]

THE BIG UPDATE:

 

cancelled order for waterpump and timing belt.

 

The correct diagnosis is now:

 

BAD HEAD GASKETS.

 

exhaust gas in coolant, as well as some oil.

and the overflow tank BUBBLES when i turn car off.

 

 

bummer dude.

 

If your going to fix it, I wouldnt cancel that order, replace them anyway.

[gratefuldude]

If your going to fix it, I wouldnt cancel that order, replace them anyway.

 

 

 

 

not sure what im going to do. my pops has the same car as me, which got into a front end fender bender, he needs alot of parts. we may just splice the 2 cars and make a real solid one. idk, pretty confused right now.

 

ive got a 98 i just did a ton of work to, dont know if i want to do it all over again with my 97

[gratefuldude]

BIG UPDATE!!!!!

 

 

I sourced a parts car 5 hours away!!!!!!!! it runs and drives but the body is toast. (was a friends)

 

Im picking it up tuesday. hopefully it makes the drive from new paltz to rochester.......fingers crossed!!!!!!

 

in this, ill get a good motor, shocks.

and for my dads car: a hood, exhaust, headlights

 

and for my legacy:

TIRES!!!!!!!!

 

OH YEAH!

just had to share, im stokin over here!

[lucid_door]

Hey good for you pal Always a good idea to dig a little and see what's out there; good luck keeping your Subarus on the road

[gratefuldude]

Hey good for you pal Always a good idea to dig a little and see what's out there; good luck keeping your Subarus on the road

 

right on, got a good story....see my next post....lol