my car keeps over heating i think my radiator is shot

i just installed a new thermistat a week ago it helped with the problem but it still over heats on hot days

fix this now or you won't be driving an XT6 very long. you are currently damaging seals and gaskets by continuing to drive it this way and eventually you'll blow a headgasket. it doesn't take much on 15 year old gaskets.

 

i currently own 8 XT6's and have owned other through the past 10 years, trust me on this one - there are no aftermarket radiators for the XT6. don't bother looking and don't write me back telling me you found one. yes you will find shops and people that tell you they found one, but it's not. some places incorrectly list the XT (4cylinder) radiator as a replacement for the XT6. the only source for an XT6 radiator is Subaru or a used one. the cheapest you will get one for is 300 if you look around or talk them down at the dealer.

 

on a side note - a 4 cylinder XT radiator, while smaller, will work on the XT6 and can be found for less than half that price. i've never used one, but i did install one a long time ago (and then removed it and returned it before i even put antifreeze in it) and i know one person that has been running one for a year or two in Hawaii with no problems even with the a/c on. i wouldn't do it on my XT6, but it's far better than running your car hot with a faulty radiator. go fix this now unless you want to start looking for another motor or XT6. i told someone last year to get an XT radiator because they didn't want to spend the $ for an XT6 radiator and kept driving around overheating. ended up blowing a headgasket and both heads were ruined as well. (actually i now have their heads to practice porting on). it is not a direct fit radiator, takes a little bit of tweaking to work. it was like 8 years ago so i don't recall what it took, but it wasn't that much to get it to work. if you have an automatic just get a manual trans radiator and install an aftermarket trans cooler while you're at it. they are only 30 bucks.

it's also possible that one of your radiator caps is bad, but it sounds like you've tracked the problem down a bit so that's not likely. also - when it starts getting hot, are the fans turning on?

yes the fans come on the dealer wants 400 for a raditor i am planning to get the old one cleaned out or re-cored i found a place that only wants $80 what do i have to lose also i just replaced the raditor cap the old one had a big whole in the gasket either way looks like i'm driving my truck for a few days

yes the fans come on the dealer wants 400 for a raditor i am planning to get the old one cleaned out or re-cored i found a place that only wants $80 what do i have to lose also i just replaced the raditor cap the old one had a big whole in the gasket either way looks like i'm driving my truck for a few days

 

Let us know how things go with the clean-out and re-coring.

you'l love this i pulled ou the raditor and the middle of the core about 4-5 in was solid stop leak the raditor is toast now i know why the old owner traded it into the dealer

i orderd a new one today should be here tommorow

i'll try to get some pics of the old one on the board soon

My rad went bad a few months ago and I went through a lot of crap to try to find a cheaper than OEM one that would fit. I don't have $300 for one from the dealer, so I bought the one every parts place had, a 2 row copper fot the 4 cylinder xt's. The hoses are slightly smaller, so get a stepping ring, and cut out the radiator support. Then buy some hood pins. It worked for me, and my car temp gauge stays right where it should.

I was at a Pap today where there was a XT6 with a rad still in it. I was getting ready to remove it after I got the fans and stuff off and I looked down at the bottom. Where both fans had been the cooling fins were seperating from the rods and falling out. I didnt even remove it the rest of the way

i found out why the prevouse owner sold it 1/4 of the raditor was welded shut pics coming

 

i found the same raditor i said forget it i'm not modifying an xt raditor the major reason is that i am planning to turbo charge mine and i need the bigger cooler

i know no one is reading this anymore but i thought that i'd tell you that the new raditor came in today and so far seems to be working properly.

Congrats! Your XT6 will run for another 100K now (without overheating anyways)

thx btw are those pics of all your subarus?

 

also if so is that an xt or an xt 6