Hi Folks, I recently acquired a 93 Legacy 2.2 Turbo sedan, as a donor for my 88 GL 10T wagon. 94 thou. miles, great condition, been sittin' for years. I can drive it around for some time, & temp gauge stays dead center, then for no appearant reason it will suddenly peg it. I've replaced the T-stat & water pump, fans are both running, radiator flows beautifully. It appears theirs no flow across the radiator when running, pass. side upper hose & tank hot, driv. side tank & lower hose cold. I thot' maybe a head gskt., but comp. test shows 130 across the board, & it'll hold that indefinetly. No visable leaks, tail pipe drip, steam, etc. I'm runnin' out of ideas. GD, Chucks, & several other of yous guys have many hours on these engines. Thoughts, questions? Thanks, S.

radiator flows beautifully. It appears theirs no flow across the radiator when running, pass. side upper hose & tank hot, driv. side tank & lower hose cold.Thanks, S.

 

Hi Steve,

 

Sounds like you found the problem. If you have a point and shoot temp gun you should see a nominal 20* temperature drop from that upper hose and the lower hose. Sounds like the radiator core is clogged.

 

Doug

Hi Folks, I recently acquired a 93 Legacy 2.2 Turbo sedan, as a donor for my 88 GL 10T wagon. 94 thou. miles, great condition, been sittin' for years. I can drive it around for some time, & temp gauge stays dead center, then for no appearant reason it will suddenly peg it. I've replaced the T-stat & water pump, fans are both running, radiator flows beautifully. It appears theirs no flow across the radiator when running, pass. side upper hose & tank hot, driv. side tank & lower hose cold. I thot' maybe a head gskt., but comp. test shows 130 across the board, & it'll hold that indefinetly. No visable leaks, tail pipe drip, steam, etc. I'm runnin' out of ideas. GD, Chucks, & several other of yous guys have many hours on these engines. Thoughts, questions? Thanks, S.

Sounds like you may still have air in the system. Next time the car is cool, pull the radiator cap and start the engine. Make sure the coolant is up to the top of the core or just above it. Put the radiator cap back on and start the engine and let it warm up at idle. Allow it to run long enough for the fans to turn on, then off twice. That'll ensure that there's no air bubble in the coolant.

... I've replaced the T-stat ...

 

Could I Ask if you Replaced the thermostat with the Genuine Subaru one in the correct temperature range?

 

Because the Symptoms you describe could also be caused by a Stuck closed or Higher Temperature Thermostat.

 

Kind Regards.

Hi Steve,

 

Sounds like you found the problem. If you have a point and shoot temp gun you should see a nominal 20* temperature drop from that upper hose and the lower hose. Sounds like the radiator core is clogged.

 

Doug

 

Hi,

 

You can disregard what I wrote because it doesn't make sense now. Sorry.

 

Doug

Hi. Thanks guys, yea the radiator looks to be new, & flows nicely. New factory t-stat, 160 deg., tickler at top. I've run it & purged/filled it several times. A friend who has a Suby shop in Santa Fe, thinks it may still be a head gskt. or warped head, & it takes the higher temps to open it up, & then it blows off at the filler tank up by the intake man. I've only checked the compr. when cold. I'm still grasping at straws. S.

A little off topic, but a quick opportunity. Hey Doug, whats the haps with your twin turbo? S.

Odd, the OEM thermostat is a 180 degree version. Strange that it should overheat with a 160. It's conceivable that it's a head gasket issue but that's pretty unusual for that engine.

Hi. Thanks guys, yea the radiator looks to be new, & flows nicely. New factory t-stat, 160 deg., tickler at top. I've run it & purged/filled it several times. A friend who has a Suby shop in Santa Fe, thinks it may still be a head gskt. or warped head, & it takes the higher temps to open it up, & then it blows off at the filler tank up by the intake man. I've only checked the compr. when cold. I'm still grasping at straws. S.

Are you using coolant or water? If you have a small leak in the cooling system, water tends not to leave a trace. Coolant will mark a small leak pretty well.

A little off topic, but a quick opportunity. Hey Doug, whats the haps with your twin turbo? S.

Hi Steve,

 

I haven't touched it in the last couple of weeks but I'll update soon. Life is what happens while I'm making other plans sometimes.

 

Doug

Hi guys. I understand completely Doug. - And yes, 50-50 Prestone. - Say, I just read a thread on overheating 2.2s. from several years ago. The fellow with the heating problem, said He had even hooked in a heater core bypass tube to eliminate that as a possibility. A guy from England (as I remember) said that was a worth while test cause the constantly flowing heater circuit is what heats the t-stat to open it. Lookin' at the pump design this looks entirely plausible. One reason I got the car affordably was a bad heater core (which appears is gona' be a chore ). One of the boys at my friends shop installed a length of heater hose as a bypass, and I'd noticed it has folded flat. Could I be that lucky? I'm crossin' my fingers and my legs. Guess you know what I'm doin' tomorrow. Keep you posted, Thanks. S.

My 2.2 overheated a couple of days ago for the first time. I pulled over, a fellow who wanted to help drove by, and said his best guess was a stuck thermostat.

 

Symptoms were:

 

Temp gauge getting into the danger zone. Every time I let it cool and drove it overheated within 5 or so minutes. Heater did not blow hot air. Finally, when I let it sit 30 minutes or so, the water level went down and I refilled with antifreeze and water. Did not overheat after that. I called mechanic and said the coolant fluid looked brown; he said that was the tell tale sign of a blown head gasket. I will have him check it out tomorrow, probably changing the thermostat is the minimum needed. Anyone else have diagnostics on this?