1996 Subaru Legacy Outback 2.2L, 320,000 miles and running strong.

Trying to narrow down a coolant loss issue. I've searched and searched every forum I could find on google for majority of the day. 

New radiator. (Installed by previous owner)

Replaced the radiator cap yesterday. Appears to be holding pressure when I use the relief valve. 

UPDATE: Frothy stuff in reservoir is gone. 
(Ordered a blown head gasket kit to test) I can see the coolant circulating when I rev the engine by hand and by looking into the radiator.

No milky oil on the dip stick.

UPDATE: Engine temp ramps to overheat level then back to normal, back and forth while driving. 

Fans kick on like normal.

UPDATE: Loosing heat in cab, then comes back.

Upper hose hot with air. Lower hose is cold. 


UPDATE: Fixed by flipping the tube
Around the radiator cap and overflow area, it seams to be loosing coolant and steaming up. Can't see any visible leaks, but the steam and slight coolant is there. Only steams from the cap and res area. No coolant smell from the exhaust. (I've seen major head gasket leaks on other rigs)



FIXED SEE ABOVE: Other than pulling the hoses and res out, I'm at a loss. Never owned a Subaru, but I'm getting a huge education on their quirks. So yes, I'm a new member.

 

Planned on using the Subaru as my commuter car cause tossing over $100 a week in fuel into my Dodge is getting old, not to mention I'm an owner/operator of my own semi so my fuel bill is outrageous as it is.

Any help would be appreciated.

Edited February 6, 20197 yr by ChemicalSoldier
Update

On a different forum a member suggested cutting an inch off the reservoir hose that connects to where the radiator cap is. 

I did that and currently I'm letting the car warm up, then I'll up the RPM's to see if that was the issue.

Will update on results. 

check all the hose clamps to make sure they are tight.  I had a similar issue on my vehicle and a slightly loose clamp resulted in a slow loss of coolant.

I am impressed that your 96 2.5 has 320k on it!

After cutting an inch off, I also put a zip tie on the new connection to the radiator cap area. Saw bubbling on the hose. Just needed a better seal to discover a likely culprit.

Flipped the hose (think of a straw with a hole in it) cause every store is closed currently, and ran the engine at 3,000 RPM for a solid two minutes. Coolant smoking is almost gone. Probably burning off what had leaked before.

What a new wonderful new world I have stepped into by owning a subie. Hopefully it's a long one.

3Pin I researched the Subie and figured that the head gasket would have been replaced a long time ago, it's one of the reasons I grabbed it. Yea, 321k on it. I baby the throttle since it's a manual, it's a commuter, I'm pushing 40, it's pushing 25. If I want to go fast, I'll drive my main like I own it.

Mike104 you nailed it. Simple but not obvious things to try.

 

I'm a diesel guy, not a gas / Subie guy. But, it looks like I will be after owning this little wagon. Loved it before I bought it.

Head gasket tester comes in tomorrow. Just in case.....

UPDATE:

Went on a beer run, temp gauge maxed out, lost heat in the cab, overflow tank is frothy and cold, lots of extra white exhaust out the back while driving.

Ordered a thermostat and head gasket test kit that should arrive tomorrow. Going to do the test kit first before I put it up on ramps for the thermostat.  

 

Probably head gaskets

 

6 minutes ago, Mike104 said:

Probably head gaskets

 

That's I'm fearing. Gotta test it to be sure. 

Is there black oily stuff in the coolant overflow tank?  If yes, HG.  Do a 2.2 engine swap.  Done!

 

This has been happening to me. New radiator, new thermostat, new radiator cap, silicone hoses. Testing the compression tonight. 

Headgaskets.  Look for other simple things but be planning your move once you finally accept the HG's are bad.

To the OP - that car was sold with bad headgaskets - they were chasing it, desperate, guessing and finally sold it with bad headgaskets. 

Initial headgasket failures on that engine don't always fail a compression test. It's not worth my time to compression test them. 

EJ18 or EJ22 swap it.  The EJ18 is weak but I've done it and it's a perfectly fine commuter vehicle.  I don't normally recommend EJ18's but you're already babying the throttle, it's a commuter only, it's an MT....those make for good fits for the EJ18.

I've already had mine replaced a couple years ago. I think the shop did something wrong, they definitely should've lasted this long, if not for the life of the car.  I hated the place and haven't been back. That's why I've been trying to replace everything possible before I resort to head gaskets. If I swap anything in , it'll be another dohc. 

1 hour ago, db***** said:

I've already had mine replaced a couple years ago. I think the shop did something wrong, they definitely should've lasted this long, if not for the life of the car.  I hated the place and haven't been back. That's why I've been trying to replace everything possible before I resort to head gaskets. If I swap anything in , it'll be another dohc. 

repeat failures are not uncommon on those.

use OEM gaskets and resurface the heads.

what brand gasket did they use and were the heads resurfaced?

Not sure on either. I was in high school when I got them replaced, and didn't know much about cars/Subarus. Based on how the shop did everything else, I'd say they used cheap gaskets and didn't resurface the heads. Which is why the car is having head gasket problems now. Would've done it myself the first time if it wasn't my first car. Now I'm trying to decide between buying a new car, new engine, or rebuilding. 

Sorry not trying to hijack the thread. To the op, make sure you have oem thermostat and radiator cap. 

make sure you check in the RADIATOR for coolant level until this gets fixed. don't rely on the overflow to reflect coolant volume accurately.

 

it can help to get the nose of the car elevated and boost revs a little after the fans come on, when 'burping' air from it after a coolant refill.

 

good luck

I have a 95 2.2 with 190k on it.  Just saying.

7 minutes ago, 3Pin said:

I have a 95 2.2 with 190k on it.  Just saying.

What about it?

3 hours ago, lmdew said:

Is there black oily stuff in the coolant overflow tank?  If yes, HG.  Do a 2.2 engine swap.  Done!

 

Nope

3 hours ago, idosubaru said:

Headgaskets.  Look for other simple things but be planning your move once you finally accept the HG's are bad.

To the OP - that car was sold with bad headgaskets - they were chasing it, desperate, guessing and finally sold it with bad headgaskets. 

Initial headgasket failures on that engine don't always fail a compression test. It's not worth my time to compression test them. 

EJ18 or EJ22 swap it.  The EJ18 is weak but I've done it and it's a perfectly fine commuter vehicle.  I don't normally recommend EJ18's but you're already babying the throttle, it's a commuter only, it's an MT....those make for good fits for the EJ18.

The radiator hydrocarbon test should arrive in the mail today. 

 

1 hour ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

make sure you check in the RADIATOR for coolant level until this gets fixed. don't rely on the overflow to reflect coolant volume accurately.

 

it can help to get the nose of the car elevated and boost revs a little after the fans come on, when 'burping' air from it after a coolant refill.

 

good luck

I did notice that the top radiator hose never filled with coolant, even when sitting in the driveway and attempting to burp the system. 

Was your bottom radiator hose hot or cold when the car overheated? Don't assume head gasket problems, it's likely the cause, but don't assume that your head gaskets are bad lol. 

some folks will take the top hose loose and fill the block with coolant thru there, then reconnect and finish filling. To try to reduce trapped air.

Driving it to work currently. Put it up on ramps to burp the coolant system this morning. 

Temperature gauge keeps going from hot to normal. Back and forth, back and forth. 

Heat comes on and off

Lower Radiator hose is cold 

20 minutes ago, ChemicalSoldier said:

Driving it to work currently. Put it up on ramps to burp the coolant system this morning. 

Temperature gauge keeps going from hot to normal. Back and forth, back and forth. 

Heat comes on and off

Lower Radiator hose is cold 

So you're not getting any coolant to the bottom hose. Thermostat might not be opening or your radiator cap might not be building up enough pressure before opening. I know I've already said this haha, but If you don't have an oem radiator cap and thermostat, get those before anything else. They're cheaper than most other fixes.

Thermostat should come in today. Does it hurt the subies to run them without a thermostat? I know it'll take longer to warm up, but I'm thinking is the free flow will help narrow it all down. 

Got to work, bottom hose cold, top hose hot with only air in it.

I put a pressure relief cap on it, and when I lift the red tab, it begins to release pressure. 

One of these will tell me which direction to go in.