Manual s on line??

Edited November 18, 20169 yr by RBGERSON

Yes, Antifreeze is needed even down south, or you get rust. If you are very lucky a thermostat could help.  Only install a subaru thermostat , its heavy duty.  Thermostat is at the engine end of the lower radiator hose , two bolts.  You will lose all your fluid when doing this . Refill from the top hose until motor is full then connect to radiator and finish by filling the radiator.   Water pump is under timing cover , you cant see it and it most likely isn't your problem.  If you are not lucky then your looking at head gaskets...

I'd bet cash money it's head gaskets.

 

 

Do you get heat coming out of the vents? Radiator get hot? Hoses? It's possible that the coolant was so bad from lack of use (average of about 4500 miles a year) that the water pump impeller rusted out, and the complete lack of circulation is causing the coolant in the block to get hot and expand.

....Is there a place on line to download a free shop manual??  Got a link???

 

2nd page of New Gen FAQ sticky. under my name is link for FSM's.

 

O.

Now that it's been over temperature a few times while low on coolant, yes, likely needs headgaskets.

 

The brown water, well something has been wrong or neglected for a long while.

Also flush the heater core. That's a must

radiator doesn't owe you anything either, if it's original. 

Doing a flush..and change fluids

Edited November 18, 20169 yr by RBGERSON

Heater core blocked or air pocket in the water pump. Either one will interfere with normal operation of the thermostat / cooling system working.

 

Probably worth testing the heater core and radiator for flow. WATER should move through them very freely.

found the manual link..THANKS!!

Edited November 18, 20169 yr by RBGERSON

 

What would cause the heater not to blow hot air

This is most likely caused by air in the cooling system from a leaking HG.  Your car, which we assume is a 2.5, has a head gasket that fails internally.  So you won't see any puddles on the driveway, and the additive would not have done any good. 

A. make absolutely sure you don't have trapped air.  that's called "burping".  you can search for it. 

B. it's probably the headgaskets - very common for that engine. 

Head gaskets on those are typically internal, so air pressure from the engine gets pushed into the coolant. The air in place of the coolant cannot be pumped by a water pump, so the engine gets hot, but doesn't circulate that heat to the radiator and heater core.

 

 

Engine basically has to come out to do head gaskets on that one. Getting the heads off a SOHC car isn't too bad in the car, but on a DOHC, the cams have to come out to get at the head bolts...

 

 

I have heard of cases where the steel impeller in the water pump can rust away, and with the condition of the coolant in yours it's possible that that may have happened, but as mentioned, even if that's the cause, it's probably ruined the head gaskets by now.

 

 

If it were me, I would probably pull the engine, and plan on doing head gaskets, timing belt, oil separator plate, thermostat, and inspect the water pump. Flush the heater core and radiator, possibly replace the radiator depending on it's condition.

 

 

If you want to try to see if you can get away with less, start with flushing the heater core and radiator, pull the thermostat and look up in the water pump housing (I'm not sure if you'll be able to see the impeller without pulling the pump, but through the thermostat hole, you might be able to get an idea of what kind of sludge is living in there). Then use a new thermostat, and put new antifreeze in, making sure the system is adequately burped and see how things are. If it does overheat, you can chemically test the coolant system for combustion gases, fantastic informational/how-to video on that process:

 

 

If you're looking for a cheap band-aid, Blue devil makes a decent mechanic-in-a-bottle for head gaskets. Here's the same guy testing that product:

 

Dig through the comments on that second video, and the poster follows up several times, that the head gasket issue did eventually come back, but he managed to buy a couple more years of use out of the car.

Also  in doing research couldn't this be just a bad radiator cap..not holding pressure so and letting water out into the reservoir which over flows on the ground; so loosing fluid until the car over heats???

 

New cap..

Edited November 18, 20169 yr by RBGERSON

Wouldn't hurt to test the rad cap, but I doubt it.

 

 

I know that our local AutoZone loans the block tester tool for a down payment, and you just have to buy the fluid. Ditto with a pressure tester.

if it overheats predictably - watch it before it overheats and see if there is bubbling in the overfow tank before it starts overheating. 

 

people say radiator caps can fail and the radiators can be compromised inside the neck such that caps don't seal.  but i've never seen it, the failed radiator caps i've seen - with no rubber seals or the rubber seal all torn apart and squishing out the side...didn't confuse me over headgasket symptoms.  its highly unlikely and i doubt it would exhibit symptoms identical to EJ25D headgasket failures.  sure, worth a check for the easy fix but it's like hoping aneurysm symptoms mean you just need new contacts. 

 

initial failures can pass the block test kits, so i would hold off on renting the local municipal building and plan a huge party if it tests negative once. 

Online manual for 1999 outback!

 

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru_manual_scans/1999_Legacy_FSM/

OK wil try

Edited November 18, 20169 yr by RBGERSON

This is one of the ways things happen: small leak from cylinder to water jacket via headgasket fail. Takes a long while, at the right temperature for enough air to build up. THE bubble moves to the water pump at some point.

WATER pumps suck at moving air. Coolant flow stops, no heat from heater. Overheat happens. CHANGE rpm, accelleration, turning, some coolant boiling, whatever, - sloshed enough water into the pump, and it starts moving water again.

 

It is very typical for the gas test thing to pass falsely.

Autozone has the right tester

Edited November 18, 20169 yr by RBGERSON

No recall on this model or engine

Edited November 18, 20169 yr by RBGERSON

Talked to subaru

Edited November 18, 20169 yr by RBGERSON

I used all the products available at Auto Zone, for overheating on my 2.2.  One of the products when the leak was manageable, then with worse overheating none of them worked.

 

With Blue Devil 32 oz. product you get your money back if you show a flush product on receipt and do it right; I got my money back from them probably 4x, even got my double money back with the other products, they must love me at those corps!!

 

K Seal has store people raving about how good it is but had no luck with it.  With online discount Blue Devil is under $40 at advance.  Other short term fixes pull out thermostat so coolant runs fast through system and have the heater on to suck away heat from engine. What a nightmare some of these Subaru problems are!

Please save your money.  None of these products IMO work with an internal leak.  The bars will work with an external coolant leak which you don't have.   Dave T gave an excellent explaination for your problem. 

At this point I am waiting to hear back from Subaru not expecting much from them but one never knows.  i will try removing the thermostat, using a flush and then a HD gasket repair fluid..with a money back guarantee i can't go too far wrong.  Lets hope Subaru steps up and does the repair.. In the letter they did say they'd cover the cost of a head gasket repair if you had it done on youir own???

Edited November 18, 20169 yr by RBGERSON