Legacygt97 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 okay, heres what we got. a 1997 legacy 2.5 GT, with a 96 ej22 in it. Everything was perfect untill a few weeks ago, i was driving down the highway, at normal speeds, notbeating on it.. nothing. i got off the eamp and she overheated and stalled. i let it cool off, and then was able to make it back home , only having to stop to let it cool off twice, i had the heater on, it seemed to help. I asked a local subaru guru, and suggested the thermostat ( wich is what i suspected as well). So i changed the thermostat.. filled the coolant back up and let her idle for about 20 minutes......and AGAIN it overheated. i removed the thermostat and checked it by placing it in hot water.. it opened fine.. as did the old one. my father suspected the radiator... wich i happened to have a spare.. i changed that.. and still nothing. i resorted to the trouble codes.. as the check engine light was on.. this said that the knock sensor was bad.. i changed that as well... it was def bad because it was melted. the chk eng, light went out. but still it overheats. now the light is back on... but i do not want to spend another 75 bucks to get it checked again, and it flashes too fast for me to count the code. i suspected the temperature sensor.... changed it.. still nothing. AND the fans do not come on when it gets hot.. checked both fans.. both work. when i connect the connector to put in it diagnostic mode.. the fans turn on ... then off.. and keep switching on and off. i ooked up the fans to the battery, to force them to stay on... then started it. again it overheated.. what else could be wrong!?! PLEASE HELP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMattyD Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 may be a water pump failure... matt d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcspeer Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 This was my thought also. may be a water pump failure... matt d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacygt97 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 according to the manual, if it wera a waterpump failure it would be making a screetching sound, or would be leaking. it is doing neither. also i removed the radiator cap and turned it over, water SPRAYED out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 according to the manual, if it wera a waterpump failure it would be making a screetching sound, or would be leaking. it is doing neither. also i removed the radiator cap and turned it over, water SPRAYED out. I bet you have a clog in the main line going from the radiator to the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 according to the manual, if it wera a waterpump failure it would be making a screetching sound, or would be leaking. it is doing neither. also i removed the radiator cap and turned it over, water SPRAYED out.Water sprayed out is usually the sign of a bad head gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 okay, heres what we got. a 1997 legacy 2.5 GT, with a 96 ej22 in it. Everything was perfect untill a few weeks ago, i was driving down the highway, at normal speeds, notbeating on it.. nothing. i got off the eamp and she overheated and stalled. i let it cool off, and then was able to make it back home , only having to stop to let it cool off twice, i had the heater on, it seemed to help. I asked a local subaru guru, and suggested the thermostat ( wich is what i suspected as well). So i changed the thermostat.. filled the coolant back up and let her idle for about 20 minutes......and AGAIN it overheated. i removed the thermostat and checked it by placing it in hot water.. it opened fine.. as did the old one. my father suspected the radiator... wich i happened to have a spare.. i changed that.. and still nothing. i resorted to the trouble codes.. as the check engine light was on.. this said that the knock sensor was bad.. i changed that as well... it was def bad because it was melted. the chk eng, light went out. but still it overheats. now the light is back on... but i do not want to spend another 75 bucks to get it checked again, and it flashes too fast for me to count the code. i suspected the temperature sensor.... changed it.. still nothing. AND the fans do not come on when it gets hot.. checked both fans.. both work. when i connect the connector to put in it diagnostic mode.. the fans turn on ... then off.. and keep switching on and off. i ooked up the fans to the battery, to force them to stay on... then started it. again it overheated.. what else could be wrong!?! PLEASE HELP!!! Autozone will pull codes for free. You dont say the mileage (GRRRRRRRRR) or if the waterpump was ever replaced. Possabilities: Water pump impeller failure due to mechanical failure or erosion of the blades Clogged radiator (simple flow test with a gardehose will confirm) Bad timing belt tensioner (allowing the belt to just pull over the waterpump and not turn it and the ever popular (but rare on a 2.2) head gasket. You can get a Hydrocarbon test kit from an autoparts store to test for exhaust gasses in the coolant. The fact that the car was hot enough to stall means you need to do an oilchange asap. The oil has gotten cooked and the last connecting rod bearing will fail under these circumstances. SO the 10.00 question, when was the last timing belt change, and what was done when it was changed. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacygt97 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 230,000 miles, but about 70,000 on the engine. Engine was swapped around december. I believe the timing belt, waterpump, spark plugs, and a few other odds and ends, were replaced. The radiator should not be clogged, it has been changed anyways. but as edrach said , water spraying out of an open radiator cap would indicate a blown head gasket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrwitty_1 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Water spray from rad cap... doesn't sound to good for the head gasket(s). Did you check for signs of a external leak or check the oil for a milky look ? Also does there seem to be excessive moisture from the exhaust ? any of these points to the head gasket. what is the mileage ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacygt97 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 oil looks good, it is at normal level and normal color. no moisture or smoke from exhaust. no signs of a leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 230,000 miles, but about 70,000 on the engine. Engine was swapped around december. I believe the timing belt, waterpump, spark plugs, and a few other odds and ends, were replaced. The radiator should not be clogged, it has been changed anyways. but as edrach said , water spraying out of an open radiator cap would indicate a blown head gasket? when was the raditor changed? what was the reason for the engine swap? DOnt jump to conclusions just yet, any boil over can cause water to come out of the cooling system. Also when the tstat was repalced, are you sure the air bubbles were removed from the cooling system. Usually you get no heat with a bad HG, and you said you had heat. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacygt97 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 engine was swapped because 2.5 blew cam seal twice, ran out of oil.... that was a very bad day.... i changed the radiator the other day, i had a spare kicking around, wanted to eliminate the bad radiator factor. Tstat was changed right bofore radiator. i know tstat is good, placed it in hot water(200 deg) and it opened fine. Yes i do have heat.....way too much. i had someone else suggest air in the system, but i bled it out. may not have done it correctly though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Just wondering here but is the temperature gauge accurate? When its reading hot do you actually get a boil over or could the gauge be lying? Doesnt happen often but ive seen it. Other than that you could try removing the thermostat and top rad hose, see if Anything flows with the engine running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 engine was swapped because 2.5 blew cam seal twice, ran out of oil.... that was a very bad day.... i changed the radiator the other day, i had a spare kicking around, wanted to eliminate the bad radiator factor. Tstat was changed right bofore radiator. i know tstat is good, placed it in hot water(200 deg) and it opened fine. Yes i do have heat.....way too much. i had someone else suggest air in the system, but i bled it out. may not have done it correctly though? ok if you have heat we can rule out an air bubble, and i almost want to rule out the HG. Usually a blown HG you have no heat. Where did this radiator come from, and have you done a flow test on it, or at the very least felt the radiator hoses. Does the car overheat with the cap off. If the car pushes out fluid with cap off (after the tsat opens) then you have a hg issue. tsat should be an oe tstat. The thing is, its possible the HG did not cause the first overheat, but if the car got so hot for it to stall, chances are now you have a blown HG. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacygt97 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 keltik: yes i do get boil over, and engine is VERY hot. nipper: radiator came from junkyard, did not do actual flow test, but when i too off hose for tstat with cap off water flowed freely. have not tried to see if it overeats with cap off. i will try it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacygt97 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 have been running car since last post with rad cap off. does not push seem to be getting too hot, does not push out water unless reved up slightly. ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacygt97 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 now it is warmed up, and is slightly boiling out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 now it is warmed up, and is slightly boiling out. headgasket i dont know what came first, but thats a headgasket. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacygt97 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 okay. well looks like i got some work cut out for the next few days. thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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