pginter96 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) After driving to college this morning in my 97 legacy ej25d, my heater didn't heat up. I drove for at least a half hour with the heater and defroster on, working perfectly fine and hot. After about a half hour, I turned the heater off. Another 5 minutes later I pulled in the college parking lot, and as I sat I got cold so turned the heater on full. The air was lukewarm at first, then cooled down to room temp. I held the revs at 2k and it heated up perfectly fine, like nothing was wrong. My thermostat has been fairly sketchy, since I bought it last November the temp gauge hasn't gone more than 1/3 of the way up. The engine is at 83k and pre-head gasket failure. My Chrysler tech instructor said there's air in the cooling system and the head gaskets are failing. What do you think? Edited October 9, 2014 by pginter96 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) My thermostat has been fairly sketchy, since I bought it last November the temp gauge hasn't gone more than 1/3 of the way up. this sounds like some one has altered the t-stat to hide the over heat issue. who did you buy it from.? a little surprising it has lasted this long. The engine is at 83k and pre-head gasket failure. My Chrysler techinstructor said there's air in the cooling system and the head gaskets are failing. that sounds about right. you are now at the point where you will have to top off the coolant fairly regularly, or stop driving it. if the cooling system gets an ''air lock'' the coolant will not flow. this will cause it to over heat. it could be really low on coolant, or an air lock keeping from flowing. refilling it correctly and burping it should / could keep you rolling with heat. but as the gasket leak gets worse, it will be harder to keep up with it. when the heater has no heat, the coolant is not flowing. you probably need coolant. if altered?, the t-stat should allow the coolant to flow until it gets really low. check the coolant. the other possible issue that should be checked is a leak point. either dripping coolant or not sucking it back into the rad from the overflow bottle. both will cause coolant loss and over heating. a bad cap or a small leak ....??????? PS: there is no kind of ''stop leak'' or ''gasket seal'' that will help. do not try. you could just end up messing up your rad. Edited October 9, 2014 by johnceggleston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pginter96 Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 I bought it from an older lady who barely drove it. I doubt it was altered. Last week the coolant was fine. I'll go check the level in a few minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pginter96 Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 There are bubbles in the overflow tank when the engine runs/revs. I'll try not to jump to conclusions and have a coolant flush, since it's never been done on that car to my knowledge. See if that makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 get an OEM-style t'stat; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pginter96 Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 I'll stop this afternoon and order it from the dealer. Well, I know what I'm doing this weekend... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 sounds like headgaskets, but of course rule out simple stuff. that engine is the worst engine Subaru ever made in terms of major repairs/failures, so this is very common. cooling issues, lack of cabin heat, bubbles in overflow - all classic symptoms. the 1/3 temp gauge does sound like the thermostat is compromised, either intentionally or not. if it was an older lady she also probably wouldn't know what a mechanic, friend, or relative may or may not have done to the vehicle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pginter96 Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 Good thing I'm building an EJ22E... I just need this to last a few more months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Could just be air in the System, make sure you open the radiator cap and check the level there, when it's cold of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Most likely low coolant level, but could also be due to a partially clogged heater core. Check coolant level and make sure its full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pginter96 Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) Heater worked fine the rest of the day. I drove around on lunch and on the half hour drive home with no abnormal things happening. Coolant is at normal level. I picked up an OEM thermostat and some new coolant today to solve the guage issue, and ill be installing that and flushing and/or bleeding the system over the weekend. If that doesnt change anything, i better get my other engine ready for a swap! I am eager, however im also nervous. 97 EJ22E into a 97 EJ25D car, apparently it should be plug-n-play. Apparently. Worried about wiring and the electronics side of things. Edited October 9, 2014 by pginter96 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Does the 2.2 have EGR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pginter96 Posted October 11, 2014 Author Share Posted October 11, 2014 Does the 2.2 have EGR? Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Then it should be plug and play. No wiring differences between those two motors. Only hangup will be that you need a single port y pipe. The 2.5 has dual port heads. The 2.2 will have single port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pginter96 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 I got to thinking... Should I just leave the thermostat as is? I havent had any more issues with the cooling system air locking lately. By what im told, the faulty thermostat is preventing the car from overheating because of the leaking head gaskets. The coolant gauge not going above 1/3 has been the same since I bought the car almost a year ago, I just blamed that on the freakin' cold winter. I guess I would rather have a car that runs a little rich as opposed to a constantly overheating engine that runs the risk of warping stuff... Then it should be plug and play. No wiring differences between those two motors. Only hangup will be that you need a single port y pipe. The 2.5 has dual port heads. The 2.2 will have single port. Yep, Ive been eyeing up a beautiful set of single port UEL headers on Ebay. Im running UEL headers on my 2.5 and love them, only have contact issues on the crossmember under the engine, a problem the single ports wont have. All I have to worry about is if there is still a flange left on the cat. Some call it rust, I call it automatic weight reduction! http://www.ebay.com/itm/subaru-2-2L-single-port-UEL-exhaust-headers-mild-steel-/221545425318?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1997%7CMake%3ASubaru%7CModel%3ALegacy%7CSubmodel%3AL%7CEngine+-+Liter_Display%3A2.2L&hash=item339522e9a6&vxp=mtr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 if the t-stat is altered or bad, , it may let you drive it longer until you are forced to repair / swap the engine. but the gasket leak is slowly getting worse every time you drive. and eventually it will loose coolant / overheat, even if it has no t-stat. so plan ahead accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.