raoulduke4247 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I've had my Loyale since April 2012. In this time the temperature gauge has always been below a quarter, for the exception of a camping trip that took me over Mt Hood. Just recently the temperature has been climbing up to half and even up to 3/4 when driving just short trips of a couple miles. I have been driving sparingly, just up to the store/school and back. When I park the car at home and if I let it run for just a minute before turning it off it appears that my temperature gauge starts to drop a little bit. I pulled out my thermostat and boiled it and it appears to be working as it should. I just drained my coolant and oil and it does not appear to be mixing together in either direction. I am not noticing any extreme loss of coolant. I am planning on pulling off the water pump to inspect it to make sure that it looks fine. and checking my radiator to make sure that there are no clogs. Does anyone have any other suggestions or helpful advise that they can offer? I love this car and don't want to let it go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Sounds like you are in the right direction. I would start with an OEM thermostat. The difference can be seen here. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=126278&highlight=thermostat+difference I personally wouldnt touch the water pump unless it is leaky or hard to turn. It is most likely a clogged radiator. Especially if its original. http://www.rockauto.com/ Is a good cheap place to order parts Remember to make use of the search function of the forum. It may be a pain to us but patience will prevail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raoulduke4247 Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 I was actually just reading through a thread that was about radiators. What is the best way to test the radiator for clogs? Someone told me to undo the hoses and run water through the upper hose and see if the water coming out the lower hose is coming out at the same rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 first things first, test or replace the radiator cap. they are wearable items that rarely get any attention. after that i would do the factory thermo. that bit me a couple of times recently till I got a factory one. if its not actually overheating I wouldnt think the radiator would be clogged enough to eye ball the difference. Id probably call a radiator shop, they can probably check it for you or flush it out cheap if you take it to them out of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raoulduke4247 Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Another question that I have is regarding HG. When it first started overheating I was really worried that it was a HG. If you have a blown HG will there always be coolant in oil or oil in coolant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 no there doesn't always have to be oil getting out, depends where the HG is leaking. 4 general things with HG low compression in 1 or more cylinders (gasket leaking outside of coolant or water passages) water in the oil oil in the water system burning oil or water (water or oil getting into the combustion chamber) overheats are common when HG's go and the coolant is affected. You could do a compression test just cause its easy and takes little time, but if the numbers look good I wouldn't borrow trouble, start with the cooling system. I've driven lots of miles on bad head gaskets in other cars, as long as it was just a compression loss. they are not always catastrophic failures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Head gaskets are GASKETS. They SEAL things from mixing. A head gasket failure can result in ANY of the following mixing in ANY combination: 1. Atmosphere. IE: air from outside the engine. 2. Exhaust gasses. 3. Oil. 4. Coolant. Subaru engines in particular like to mix exhaust gasses and coolant. Compression tests are basically useless. They will tell you nothing on a Subaru HG failure. The OP probably needs a new radiator. Water pumps, thermostats, and other bits that are commonly blamed for cooling system misbehavior are extremely unlikely to be the culprit on a Subaru. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philoftheblanks Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 The most obvious symptom I've experienced with blown HG's is higher positive pressure in the cooling system, bubbling noises when you first shut off the engine, and intermittent performance of the heater while driving. Also, if you have creamy, Kahlua-looking stuff on the bottom of your oil-filler cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 The most obvious symptom I've experienced with blown HG's is higher positive pressure in the cooling system, bubbling noises when you first shut off the engine, and intermittent performance of the heater while driving. Also, if you have creamy, Kahlua-looking stuff on the bottom of your oil-filler cap. whats the deal with the last 2? I have both currently so it worries me a little if your correct. theres no milky oil on the dip stick or in the oil when I change it, why would it be concentrated all the way at the top of the fill tube? I add oil often and had just assumed since i turn the cap upside down on the air box that it had gotten rained on. the heater hasnt worked well in a while, at cruising its not very warm at all. when im into the pedal going up a hill or something it gets warm like it should, then back down once I let off. i checked the hoses with a temp gun and ones about 30 deg lower than the other one so I figured heater core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raoulduke4247 Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 I had the creamy white residue on my oil cap too and was expecting to see an extremely off color oil when I emptied it. But the oil drained out and looked like drained oil should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat78 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Pull the radiator cap off cold, make sure it is full. Fire up the engine, and watch the coolant. It will swell some with revs as the water pump is acting on it. What you are looking for is coolant getting blown out of the radiator due to positive pressure in the cooling system due to a head gasket failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raoulduke4247 Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Pull the radiator cap off cold, make sure it is full. Fire up the engine, and watch the coolant. It will swell some with revs as the water pump is acting on it. What you are looking for is coolant getting blown out of the radiator due to positive pressure in the cooling system due to a head gasket failure. When you say getting blown out of the radiator are you saying that it will shoot out like a geyser? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Depends on how blown they are. Geysers are possible but it won't happen in all cases. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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