my turbowagon has ran with 4 bars on temp for a year straight. Never got more than 5 at anytime. Now whenever i turn on the heater or fan, the bar goes up to 5 and sometimes 6. when i turn the heater off, it slowly drops back down to 4 but sometimes it doesn't. When i first drive it around in the mornings i hear this bubbling/cavitating noise coming from the motor when i rev it up. Then today with the heat off, It got up to 5 bars on the freeway driving normal. (a first). I just flushed the system about a month ago. I tried to burp it the best i can but am not sure if i did it right. Anyone else ever had this problem?

I got the same noise. After all that work that I did something still wasn't right.

Read the thread may help you out...

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28873

I just wanted to add that I did use CRC Copper Weld block sealer a couple months ago because i did find the white/yellow creamy stuff on top of the oil cap. I was wondering if the copper weld might have clogged things up. I did follow the instructions very carefully and didn't use too much. The radiator was very low and i'm pretty sure the cap is shot because since last time i added coolant, the overflow tank filled up, but never emptied back into the radiator. I filled the radiator back up full and drove on the freeway. It still got up to 5 bars, then when i turned on the heater, it jumped up 2 bars at one time. Then when i shut it off, it dropped back down 2 bars after a couple seconds. I'm real confused with this situation. I'm going to get a new cap to see if that helps.

Is your water pump old? Maybe the impellor has erroded excessively?