Hello,

Just registered on this site and hope to find lots of info. Just got an '86 turbo xt from a good freind. It looks and runs like it just came out of the showroom. Very sweet! 74,000 miles. Drove it back to fla. from pa. took my time . ran great! But ran hot. I have replaced the themostat, radiator cap and flushed out the system ( including draining the cylinder jackets). No sign of leakage or problem at the water pump. Hoses seem fine. Heater core doesn't seem to be leaking. The electric fan comes on when it passes midway on the temp guage. I lose very little water, unless it actually overheats. The engines heats up normally but than slowly goes on up to just below the redline on temp guage and does not cool back down until it is turned off. The only thing unusual is the elctric fan does not continue to run after the car is turned off. What else can I check?

If you flushed the radiator ,yourself, many times that is just not good enough. Consider removing it & take it into a radiator shop.

Does the car actually get abnormally hot, or is the gauge just telling you that? I don't mean to sound rude, just troubleshooting. May be that the cooling sensor or gauge is faulty. If it is overheating, make sure the thermostat was installed right. Did you use an aftermarket brand, or a quality tstat? There is a world of difference in the quality of tstats. Double check hoses for blockages. Remove the radiator (very simple) and inspect it carefully. Any doubts, replace it, usually less than 100 bucks and can save your engine from costly damage.

my xt-6 had similar problems to that i pulled the raditor to discover that the prevouse owner had welded the middle of the radiator shut to stop a leak

 

check the radiator

also one of the cooling fans could be reversed that causes it to over heat at highway speeds or atleast it did on mine

The radiator may be clogged as well after all those years. If it is, it's not that expensive, and easy to replace.

once the car is warm, don't let it get too hot, run your hand from the bottom to the top of the radiator on both sides, if there are cold spots there are clogged spots.

....and, unlike some makes, the fan on these doesn't continue to run with the key off. So, yours is normal.

Check out these pics of a radiator.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6658&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

 

If yours is anything close to looking like that, time for a new one..

If you flushed the radiator ,yourself, many times that is just not good enough. Consider removing it & take it into a radiator shop.

THAKYOU. WILL CONSIDER

Thanks To Everyone For The Info! It Looks Like My Next Step Is Checking Out The Radiator. From What You All Are Saying, That Looks Like A Good Bet. I'll Let You Know What Developes.

Check out these pics of a radiator.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6658&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

 

If yours is anything close to looking like that, time for a new one..

 

Thanks. i finally got it checked and the radiator is badly clogged. is it hard to replace myself. and where can i find a decent radiator?

once the car is warm, don't let it get too hot, run your hand from the bottom to the top of the radiator on both sides, if there are cold spots there are clogged spots.

 

 

Thanks. i finally got it checked and the radiator is badly clogged. is it hard to replace myself. and where can i find a decent radiator?

The radiator may be clogged as well after all those years. If it is, it's not that expensive, and easy to replace.

 

Thanks. i finally got it checked and the radiator is badly clogged. is it hard to replace myself. and where can i find a decent radiator?

THAKYOU. WILL CONSIDER

Thanks. i finally got it checked and the radiator is badly clogged. is it hard to replace myself. and where can i find a decent radiator?

my xt-6 had similar problems to that i pulled the raditor to discover that the prevouse owner had welded the middle of the radiator shut to stop a leak

 

check the radiator

also one of the cooling fans could be reversed that causes it to over heat at highway speeds or atleast it did on mine

 

Thanks. i finally got it checked and the radiator is badly clogged. is it hard to replace myself. and where can i find a decent radiator?

Radiator replacement is really straight forward. Just remove the radiator fans ( a few bolts top and bottom), take the hoses off (sometimes it is just easier to cut them and get new ones from a parts store), unscrew the fan switch, and unbolt the radiator. Also of course drain the coolant!. I had never done a radiator replacement before and when i did, i didn't run into any problems. Radiator replacements are one of the easiest things to do on old subarus in my opinion. That and water pumps.

 

I wouldn't take my chances with a used radiator. Go to one of the local garages and find out where they get new radiators. Then go to them directly and buy a new one. Thats what i did and it was only about 200 if i remember right. Car ran very cool after that. Good luck!

Radiator replacement is really straight forward. Just remove the radiator fans ( a few bolts top and bottom), take the hoses off (sometimes it is just easier to cut them and get new ones from a parts store), unscrew the fan switch, and unbolt the radiator. Also of course drain the coolant!. I had never done a radiator replacement before and when i did, i didn't run into any problems. Radiator replacements are one of the easiest things to do on old subarus in my opinion. That and water pumps.

 

I wouldn't take my chances with a used radiator. Go to one of the local garages and find out where they get new radiators. Then go to them directly and buy a new one. Thats what i did and it was only about 200 if i remember right. Car ran very cool after that. Good luck!

 

I agree that the radiator is an EASY replace - I've had mine out several times and it only takes a few minutes. I have to disagree on the water pump being easy though. Well, it is easy to some, but it's not a quick fix like replacing the radiator or the alternator.....

 

I am sure that he can find a new radiator for WAY cheaper than 200 too - more like 100.

Compared to other cars, subarus water pumps are really easy to get to and work on. I did a a water pump in 3 hours and that was because i was taking my time. I don't even want to know how hard the water pump is to work on on my IROC camaro. "shudder...shudder"

Radiator replacement is really straight forward. Just remove the radiator fans ( a few bolts top and bottom), take the hoses off (sometimes it is just easier to cut them and get new ones from a parts store), unscrew the fan switch, and unbolt the radiator. Also of course drain the coolant!. I had never done a radiator replacement before and when i did, i didn't run into any problems. Radiator replacements are one of the easiest things to do on old subarus in my opinion. That and water pumps.

 

I wouldn't take my chances with a used radiator. Go to one of the local garages and find out where they get new radiators. Then go to them directly and buy a new one. Thats what i did and it was only about 200 if i remember right. Car ran very cool after that. Good luck!

 

Thanks alot! i will do it. I think the soob will run alot better after this.

I had to replace the radiator on my old DL (non-turbo), and it ran me $90 or so, and took under an hour of actual work to replace (I was doing some other stuff, it took most of the evening, but I wasn't actually working on it much).

 

There are two bolts holding the radiator in. Take them out, disconnect the radiator (watch out for the various sensors on the passenger's side), and it pulls straight out. Swap the sensors into the new radiator, and put it back in.

 

I'd replace coolant hoses while you were at it. They're cheap, and a blown coolant hose makes for a bad day.

 

-=Russ=-