ok so heres the deal:

 

this isnt on my turbo wagon either, but when i idle in traffic, my temp goes up... (pretty standard)

 

fan wont bring the temp down (somethings not right here, yes fan works, it didnt before so i hardwired it to a switch)

 

driving just maintains this temperature until i stop again and it starts to rise

 

driving straight and uphill = no cooling effect 90% of time

 

driving downhill = cooling effect 200%!

 

why is it only cooling when i go down hill? only thing i can think of is radiator?

 

i dont understand how a water pump would be in the equation if im cooling going downhill and not uphill?

Exactly the symptoms I had with a clogged radiator. On level ground and up hill you're putting more load on the engine and thus the cooling system. Going down hill you're getting lots of cooling air through the radiator with very little thermal load on the engine. A cooling system that's working well shouldn't "need" either fan at speeds above 40 mph, because they can't pull anymore air through the radiator above that speed.

symptoms did get better for about a week when i did a radiator flush, but the problem just came back again... (but it is better after the flush)

I would get your radiator properly cleaned out.

how is the water pump? i bring this up since a recent observation of my own car

 

i towed my rx with a dolly in the spfi sedan 300 miles last week. ran a steady 230 deg in tow when the car would run 190-210 before. after i dropped the rx the car still ran at 230 deg on the highway

 

at first i figured the load of towing was for 230, but with no towing and the same temp maybe the thermostat was bad or stretched out. then i let tim drive the car to work and the belt breaks. water pump had seized up. i freed it up with pliers and now the pulley wobbles.

 

and this is why i bring up the water pump...

 

well anyway i parted the new water pump from the rx and bought a thermostat, i'll change the pump first and see if she runs 230 or not and then the thermostat so i can narrow down the problem and post it here to go along with this topic

it was the radiator..

 

i installed a new CSF radiator for a turbo model (2 core)..

 

WOW!! this thing is COOL! literally, my temp bearly comes above "C", just high enough to go into closed loop (no thermostat installed)

I honestly think the radiators are designed not to be as efficiant as they should be,,,i ' mean it seems like car manufactures design things to clog break or crack after so many hours,, who needs cars that 3 or 400,000 miles anyway??? i mean if cars did last that long without relacing parts the new car market would really be hurting worse. funny thing, the (Advance Auto) auto parts store, recomended thermastat is 180 deg. however a Subaru machanic told be that he recomended the 160 degree termastat to increase the engine life..and proper transmission cooling could double the life of a tranny.

Anyway,, just somethoughts.

Get a thermostat in there ASAP.

 

Running your engine cold will wear your engine more then running it too hot. Oil needs to be at the right temp before it flows and lubricates correctly.

 

I would recommend you get a working thermoswitch and have a automatic fan. Don't skip on the cooling in these cars, its just not worth it.

i went to pick one up the day of install, but it was after hours and schucks was closed..

 

just a rough guess, but i'd say im around 150 without a tstat (guessing according to where 180 degrees sits)

 

ill go buy a 180 later

SO! it came back...

 

water pump next, although, the turbo radiator still cools 100% better.

 

180 thermostat will go in next, might run the 192, but until i find out whats the deal on the temp, ill go with the safer 180.