2003 OBW Legacy 2.5 L 4 cyl.

 

Greetings, at 95 degrees F out sidetemp on the highway the temp gauge goes up. If I click off the AC it comes back down. In my search it looks like it is time to replace the Radiator. I ordered one and should arrive later this week. Great. The bad news is I have never replaced a radiator. I have flushed and burped with sucess so I can do that part. I figure the Subaru stop leak has just gummed up the works.

I could use some direction in How to remove the Radiator.

Drain

Remove Fans

Replace Thermostat with Genuine Subaru.

Use genuine Subaru coolant.

Any other Doodads that I should remove?

 

Thats about all I know whats the best way to flush it just stick a hose in it and turn the water on till it is clear?

Anybody have a good link.

Thanks John

next time the car "gets hot" get out of the car immediately and see if the fans are running. might be the fans not clicking on, that would be more likely than the radiator i would think. is it not still under warranty?

Sorry, I should have given the group more info.

Fans Checked and OK

120,000 miles out of warrenty

fins cleaned and flushed both ways.

HG work completed at 87,000 under warrenty

never worked on a soob newer than '95, but once you've removed the fans and drained the coolant, you should be able to disconnect the upper and lower coolant hoses, unbolt the radiator, and remove it

Don't forget about the auto trans oil cooler connections if you got them. Two little hoses that connect to the radiator by the battery. Not much holds that radiator in place.

<<120,000 miles out of warrenty>>

 

you have 180,000 miles on a 2003 Outback?

No just 120000 miles. And I have been cutting back.

The most critical part is bleeding out the air. Setright wrote a pretty good piece on that a while back, it may be in the stickys.

dont waste your time removing the fans while it is in the car, if possible just take the whole thing out and swap them. it may take some jockeying, but its alot easier this way. and dont fret if you know how to burp it, then there isnt much you can f up.

Thanks Cookie :-)

 

 

I think searching for "coolant replacement"

should bring it up.

Mission complete. just a few notes.

Radiator.com was a good source.

I replaced the thermostat at the same time.

The Subaru hose clamps suck just rusted shut plan on buying new ones.

A long bladed screw driver is very handy for getting at the hose clamps.

Setright's burp system is good reading. Just fill it up and run the engine with the cap off and wait till the bubbles stop about 25 minutes of idle for me.

I spent 3.5 hours on the project. If you know what you are doing probably 1.5 hours. I couldn't get the ATF lines off so I just sliced them at the radiator and fit them on the new one.

The modular clips were different from anything I have seen but once I figured out the tab they were really easy. It is a pull up and away tab not a squeeze.

Anyway thanks for the helpful hints.

Well done, that's pretty good going timewise.

 

What I want to know now is: Did it work???

 

 

My car started running a little hotter than normal at ~80mph and 3500rpm constant highway with the A/C on in similar temperatures to those you describe.

Not overheating, the needle just moves up to halfway along the scale, instead of being just below the mid point as I have been used to. All in all, about a needles width higher. Still in the normal range.

Was your temp needle moving up and up or did it just find a new level like mine does?

bump

I hate to say it worked until I test it for a week or so. I have some hard miles on it now specifically up a really steep 7 mile mountain. The Wintergreen Resort access road in VA. The gauge just stayed pegged just below the half way mark. But the ambient temp was about 70 to 65 degrees. I still need to get on the highway at 95 degrees to match the original conditions.

Some additional observations:

The old T stat was coated with a light chalky deposit.

There are 2 radiators in my car I guess one is for the A/C.

I was pretty good about flushing out the fins, I thought. But in between the two radiators there was a good bit of 'stuff' lodged in there.

My speculation is the stop leak program just gummed up the radiator a bit in the process of stopping the leaks. Reducing its effeceincy. For a grand total of $210 for radiator, tsat, gasket, subi fluid. I would consider it good insurance to get the cooling system back into spec.

John

Yep, the front rad is for the air-con. That's why the engine temp will tend to rise: All the heat taken from the sun-drenched cabin is being deposited right in front of the radiator that's supposed to cool the engine.

 

Did your temp gauge indicate overheating, or just a slight increase?

 

 

I've never had any stopleak or similar in my cooling system. It's a 2.0 liter and there have been no HG issues. I flush my radiator and cooling system with pure water only, and refill with Shell premix 50/50. Always before schedule. In between flush/refills I empty, clean and refresh the overflow tank, since that's where a lot of "snot" tends to get deposited by the cooling system. So, I seriously doubt my rad is blocked....but your experience could indicate that I may be wrong.

 

As far as I can see, there's nothing blocking inbetween my radiators, but perhaps I need to look more closely.

 

Oh yeah, my 90k mile old thermstat was coated in white too.

 

 

Please report back on your findings

Yep, the front rad is for the air-con. That's why the engine temp will tend to rise: All the heat taken from the sun-drenched cabin is being deposited right in front of the radiator that's supposed to cool the engine.

 

Did your temp gauge indicate overheating, or just a slight increase?

:-p Here is what I got 3 times. 95 degree F day. A/C cranking full blast. I got a sudden rush of hot air from the AC. Temp gauge just below max. I knew enough to turn off everything not essential and it came down into range 1/2 to 3/4. I brought it into a shop and had them check it for cooling problems they flushed the exterior of fins and said it seemed OK. The next hot day and the same problem. I said screw it I can do this for half the price of the shop.

 

 

I've never had any stopleak or similar in my cooling system. It's a 2.0 liter and there have been no HG issues. I flush my radiator and cooling system with pure water only, and refill with Shell premix 50/50. Always before schedule. In between flush/refills I empty, clean and refresh the overflow tank, since that's where a lot of "snot" tends to get deposited by the cooling system. So, I seriously doubt my rad is blocked....but your experience could indicate that I may be wrong.

 

As far as I can see, there's nothing blocking inbetween my radiators, but perhaps I need to look more closely.

I didn't see the stuff in between the radiators till I took it out. Maybe a long thin bottle brush.

 

Oh yeah, my 90k mile old thermstat was coated in white too. bbbb

 

 

Please report back on your findings

jjjjj