allwheeldad Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Before i get started this is not an uneducated head gasket issue. I have owned several subies and done heads on all of them. This one is a bit of a head scratcher. I came off the highway and entered stop and go traffic with all gauges reading normal. After five minutes or so the temp gauge started to climb, the oil pressure light began flickering, the motor itself started idling rough, and there was a clinking sort of noise coming from the front end. I pulled over as soon as safe to do so and killed the motor. I did the usual fluid level checks, found the coolant was a little low but not alarmingly so. The oil was right at the full mark and did not show any signs of coolant in the mix. After twenty minutes i started the car and let it idle. The temp was high but started to come back down as i let it idle. The oil light stopped flickering once the temp returned to normal so i put it in drive and started to limp my way home but didnt make it too far before repeating this procedure. I should also note there was no heat coming from the vents when i tried to use the heater core to siphon heat out of the motor. With the noise and related rough idle and oil light i suspected a failing water pump that might be interfering with the timing but i took the one timing cover off today and watched the pump pulley without remarking any obvious trouble. I have to have this thing towed a fair distance to my inlaws shop and dont have alot of time to fix it so i was hoping to nail down probable causes before i tear everything down. This is also a $500 car so im not interested in sinking alot of money into it either. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedotsnow Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 so I would start with ALL YOUR COOLANT HOSES the BYPASS hose is what gets most people I had it screw me after I had done radiator, head gaskets, valve job and one small break in the hose at the hose clamp caused my car to overheat! any leak in your cooling system whether heater core or hose causes air to get in, a bubble forms then next thing you know it there is zero coolant in your block you mentioned that you checked the fluid level was that in the overflow, radiator, or block? I have had an empty block but full radiators and overflow tanks... after inspecting and replacing hoses I would fill it with fresh coolant and either subaru coolant conditioner or the stuff you can buy at oreilly's in the bright green bottle that has "nanotech" its just sodium silicate but I have had really good luck with it, fixed my heater core issue I was having just a few weeks ago. the bypass hose is extremely important just above your thermostat there is a hose that supply's your heater core with hot coolant and its then fed back into the top of your intake to recollect heat before it gets back to the bottom of the block. these hoses are often times overlook and and like I said very important to check! my leak was so small it would only leak in stop and go traffic and just put out a fine mist that dried before I could get out of the car to see where the leak was coming from... also use that bleeder valve on your radiator and change your coolant every 2 years!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwheeldad Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 After closer examination i found the culprit. After the car cooled off completely i pulled the rad cap and didnt see a drop of coolant. I poured water in to see where it went and within a minute it began to fountain out at the bottom of the engine. It is the steel pipe that goes between the thermostat housing and the oil cooler inlet. I guess our salty winters finally got the best of that one. I have never been so happy to see fluid leaking out of my car. The pipe and associated rubber hoses were $35 at the dealership and will take me five minutes to replace in the driveway. I can only assume that the oil got really hot and thin which began to trigger a low pressure warning. I am doing an oil change at the same time and will cross my fingers i didnt cook anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 After closer examination i found the culprit. After the car cooled off completely i pulled the rad cap and didnt see a drop of coolant. I poured water in to see where it went and within a minute it began to fountain out at the bottom of the engine. It is the steel pipe that goes between the thermostat housing and the oil cooler inlet. I guess our salty winters finally got the best of that one. I have never been so happy to see fluid leaking out of my car. The pipe and associated rubber hoses were $35 at the dealership and will take me five minutes to replace in the driveway. I can only assume that the oil got really hot and thin which began to trigger a low pressure warning. I am doing an oil change at the same time and will cross my fingers i didnt cook anything else. I like to read success stories like this. Hope all proceeds well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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