So i noticed my car overheating (93' Subaru Loyale-EA82 NA)

 

Checked the cooling/water. It was low so i added some to the reservoir tank and also checked where it was leaking...its leaking from the water pump, so i figured its just a seal or a gasket. Drove 30 miles to olympia today for an appointment, and it got hot but not to bad. I stopped at a rest area, and checked the reservior...car hadn't taken any of it!

 

So i just continued to drive to my appointment, and when i got there, i checked it agian. Still..she hadn't taken any coolent. So afterwards, i went to the subaru dealership, and the first guy says its a seal. The next guy says it needs to be purged and probably a new seal. Get this...the subaru "tech" says..."its probably a blown head gasket..." ALARM: I just drove 60 miles round trip on a blown head gasket and it didn't smoke, or get real hot?? I don't think so...i don't see how that is possible..oh yah i might add there was no power loss...and it idled just fine...i think that guy wasn't paying attention when i was talking, but i'am not sure...i think its that it needs to be purged and wasn't taking anywater becuase there is air bubbles in the system...and it probably needs a new seal, or worse yet a new pump....but a head gasket..? To me thats out of the question, and i don't understand why the tech told me that after i thouroughly explained the situation.....

 

Sorry to rant....but its a little unerving

 

Bill

Bill- I would start with the known problem. Water pumps are cheap. I would replace it and flush the cooling system, make sure there are no clogs or bubbles. I would also run a compression test; it can give you a good idea if you have a blown head gasket.

what he said ^^^, Also, I'd also make sure that the line from the overflow tank to the radiator is clear from any blockage. I have heard about at least one blown HG from overheating because the person assumed this hose was open when it wasn't.

 

Might be worth getting another rad cap while you're at it. And a compression test would be good thing to get done as well.

When you go to refill the system, get the nose of the car pretty much as high as you can (within reason) as you refill it and let it run until the fan comes on once.

water pump may be leaking at the weep hole. mine leaked so bad it caused a blown head gasket. (towing with leaky pump)

 

fix the water pump first. if you may have ablown head gasket try the block sealer

 

my gasket blew to where it bubbled in the coolant, but no coolant in the oil. works enough to drive a 1500 mile round trip. have to add coolant so often bacuase it pushed out toe overflowm and the nipple for the hose is broken off

 

when you add coolant ad it to the radiator cap iteself, when the motor is cool during startup

Not likely to be a head gasket if you drove 60 miles and it didn't overheat. The cap and the overflow tube, as well as the water pump have all been mentioned. I would do all of that, and maybe run some radiator flush through it before you change the pump.

 

Once you're done, burp the air out of the system. You can do that by opening the cap and slowly squeezing the top hose. It helps if the nose of the car is uphill.

Not likely to be a head gasket if you drove 60 miles and it didn't overheat.

 

Oh i know its not a blown head gasket...i was just mad, cuase that guy was CRAZY! Anyway, ive got the whole front of my engine off this morning...just waking up and getting ready to go at her agian. I just have to get the front pulley off...i got a gasket for the pump, unfortunetly I can't afford a pump right now....but its all good. I know its leaking from the pump, becuase the timing belt cover was full of coolent right underneath where the water pump is...when i took out the bolts, and split it apart, i got antifreeze in my face..lol

 

Anyway, this engine is pretty easy to work on once you get started. It looked really complicated at first, but in an hour I had most of the front of the engine off.....

 

Anyway, wish me luck!

 

Bill

I would say if you have the radiator off, might as well take it to a rad shop and get it cleaned out. I did this to a suzuki samuria I had and it made all the difference. I plan on doing mine out of my 85 GL-10 this spring as I have had some problems with slight overheating.

Something you can do to check to see if the water pump seal is leaking is to hold the pump so that the impeller is up, the flange for the fan down, and put some soapy water around the seal and with one finger pluging one of the weep holes, apply compressed air to the other weep hole. If the seal is bad you'll see bubbles around the seal. Good way to check new or used pumps before installation. Also, the only time the cooling system can draw in coolant from the recovery tank is when the engine is cooling off. However, if there is a leak in the cooling system then it will suck air in through the leak instead.