Brown, rusty antifreeze was all over my driveway today and as I was driving I discovered the thermostat showed my car was about to overheat.

 

I stopped at the gas station and put in coolant. Let the engine run for a few minutes and the water level remained about the same.

 

Car is still overheating. Engine has not shut off and I have not seen any smoke though. Car smells like burning antifreeze.

 

1995 Legacy Outback. 2.2L Manual 5 Speed

Current Mileage 132K

Water pump and timing belt done at 118K

 

I don't know if the thermostat has been done or where it is located. How would I go about diagnosing this problem? Is the thermostat replaceable easily?

I don't know if the thermostat has been done or where it is located. How would I go about diagnosing this problem? Is the thermostat replaceable easily?

 

Thermostat isn't your problem

 

Find the leak.....

 

GD

Brown coolant is never a good sign. Typically means the cooling system was filled with straight tap water at some point in the past which has caused the iron parts of the system to rust.

 

Thermostat is in the black outlet housing on the bottom of the water pump. Get a thermostat from a dealer to avoid more problems related to that.

 

I'd suggest removing the thermostat and doing a chemical flush of the cooling system to try to remove some of the buildup in the system.

 

When refilling with a new thermostat in place fill the ENGINE first through the upper hose. Once the engine is full, put the hose in place on the radiator and fill the radiator the rest of the way with coolant. To prevent further corrosion buy Subaru blue coolant. It's usually not much more than the parts store stuff. Mix it 50/50 with distilled water.

Found the leak. It's coming from a small pipe right above the knock sensor. I'll post a photo shortly

http://imageshack.us/g/444/img0710n.jpg/

 

That is a link to the gallery. The leak is found in the last photos showing pipes right above the knock sensor. Not 100% sure if the leak is from the hose or the pipe, but you can just about see everything. If it is the metal pipe, how would I go about fixing this? Anyone know how expensive the pipe is? How about the hose?