Okay, I replaced the thermostat on my 95 LSi about a year and a half ago. Last night my engine started overheting--nothing but cold air out of the vents with the heat turned up and I topped off the fluids. I got this thermostat from O'Reiley's. Are the non-Sube thermos usually an unwise replacement? There is no Subaru dealership near me, so I have to get a thermostat from Auto Zone or Advance or NAPA or someplace. Who has had good luck with a replacement thermostat from one of the chain parts stores?

 

Thanks!

Most here say the OEM unit is much better and in ALL of My roos I have just stuck with it.

i've never had a problem with aftermarket thermostats.

you can place it in a pan of boiling water and see if it opens.

 

more importantly, have you checked coolant? any loss of coolant? any leakage? why did you replace it last year? did the car overheat last year?

 

i would guess this is something other than thermostat related, no way to tell without looking into it further as a thermostat can fail though.

Classic air-in-the-system symptoms. You just need to bleed all the air out of your cooling system.

Well, it had been running fine for a long time with no over heating problems. My fluid level was not topped off, but wasn't low enough to cause a problem, imho. I watched the temp guage slowly keep rising past the half mark it usually stops at. I pulled over, let it cool a bit, and then topped off the fluid level. Nothing. Drove a little bit and stopped as the temp rose and then let it cool again. At one point the hot air started blowing and the temp rested at the half mark. That lasted about 10 minutes and then the air turned cold and the temp rose again. It acted just like it did when I changed the thermostat before, so I'm assuming that is the prob.

Classic air-in-the-system symptoms. You just need to bleed all the air out of your cooling system.

 

I'm picking up a thermostat on my way home this afternoon, but I'll start by trying to burp out any air in the system. Even if it ends up not needing the thermo, it's good to have one stashed away in a storage compartment.

I'm replacing a heater core in a different vehicle, but....how do you best burp the system?

I've never used an aftermarket T-stat, and I never want to after hearing horror stories like this. It's worth it to go out of your way to get an OEM one, overheating can cause blown headgaskets, and that's faaaar more expensive than a few extra bucks in gas.

 

JT95, I can probably get you an OEM T-stat for a reasonable price plus shipping. Email me at subyluvr2212@gmail.com and I'll see what I can do.

 

The OFFICIAL way to burp the system (if your car has this) is to remove the plastic screw out of the passenger side of the radiator while filling it. Once coolant starts coming out of that little hole, your system is full of coolant and nothing else.

 

If your car doesn't have this screw, then the best advice I could give would be to shake your radiator as you're filling it, until no more bubbles come up when you shake it, and the level won't go down anymore. That's not the best way, but it works pretty well.

Hopefully this is just a thermostat issue. I hate to bring up the other possibility but the problem may also be due to a leaky headgasket and it is forcing air into the coolant. If you are getting bubbles in the reservior this may be the problem.

My aunt blew an engine because the stock thermostat stuck...

for those of us who live in the mountains.... park the car nose up the hill. it can't hurt. then burp.

 

did you say if it was 2.2 or 2.5L?

 

I've never used an aftermarket T-stat, and I never want to after hearing horror stories like this. It's worth it to go out of your way to get an OEM one, overheating can cause blown headgaskets, and that's faaaar more expensive than a few extra bucks in gas.

 

JT95, I can probably get you an OEM T-stat for a reasonable price plus shipping. Email me at subyluvr2212@gmail.com and I'll see what I can do.

 

The OFFICIAL way to burp the system (if your car has this) is to remove the plastic screw out of the passenger side of the radiator while filling it. Once coolant starts coming out of that little hole, your system is full of coolant and nothing else.

 

If your car doesn't have this screw, then the best advice I could give would be to shake your radiator as you're filling it, until no more bubbles come up when you shake it, and the level won't go down anymore. That's not the best way, but it works pretty well.

It's a 95, so it's a 2.2. The 2.5 came out in 96.

You won't go wrong with a Genuine thermostat.

 

Some aftermarket replacement parts might be just as good, but it's a big risk for a small saving.

 

 

The classic symptom of a non-genuine thermostat is over cooling though. The springs tend to be too weak to hold the coolant back.

Well, it had been running fine for a long time with no over heating problems. My fluid level was not topped off, but wasn't low enough to cause a problem, imho. I watched the temp guage slowly keep rising past the half mark it usually stops at. I pulled over, let it cool a bit, and then topped off the fluid level. Nothing. Drove a little bit and stopped as the temp rose and then let it cool again. At one point the hot air started blowing and the temp rested at the half mark. That lasted about 10 minutes and then the air turned cold and the temp rose again. It acted just like it did when I changed the thermostat before, so I'm assuming that is the prob.

 

At least Cougar mentioned it first

I really really hate being the bearer of bad news, but cold air in a hot running car MAY BE a head gasket. Especially since you said its been running a long time with no problems, somehow the airpocket had to be made. The only way this happens if no one has opened up the cooling system is from a leaking head gasket. Replace the thermostat and the radiator cap, but also check for exhaust gasses in the coolant.

 

nipper

My aunt blew an engine because the stock thermostat stuck...

 

How many miles did the thermostat have on it? Even an OEM thermo won't last forever....

Pretty sure it was around 150-175k at the time.

If it was still the original thermostat after 150K, I'd say that's pretty impressive that it would last that long! You shouldn't try to push it much more than 50-60K without swapping in a new one, even if the old one is still working. It's an inexpensive preventative maintenance item that will save you a world of pain and $$.