Hello all,

We are having poor heat issues with our '92 Loyale. Archived threads have been helpful and we've seen some improvement.

 

The temp gauge is staying low. I know it's registering correctly from the summer days. The car has a recent water pump (last 4 months) and an OEM thermostat. I've also tried burping the system. The radiator and heater hoses are pretty warm to the touch. I have a shield in front of the radiator.

 

Still, heat gauge only gets about 1/4 up and heat is only mediochre at best.

 

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Dave

I had similar problems with my 93 Loyale. What it came down to was replacing the heater core. I tried running hot water through the pipes once I had the old core out and it would barely get warm after a few minutes, but the used one I picked up would heat up very quickly. What happened is the smaller tubes that actually touch the fins are loaded with minerals and other junk but there is plenty of flow through the main pipes.

NV has a very valid point but before changing the core

(a major undertaking)

 

Please make sure the blend door is working as it should.

 

Follow the cable from the hot /cold control

and make sure the door is moving to the proper position.

 

Another thought is, maybe the AC (if equiped) is stuck on.

Look at the compressor and see if it's spinning.

 

There is a micro switch under the console that can be

unplugged to disable the system.

 

I have mine wired to a switch on the dash under the blower speed knob so I can turn it on in any heater position.

(in the summer - - having cool feet is neet!)

 

Good luck and hope you don't have to tear the dash apart.

The AC does run with the heater blowing on a loyale. Supposedly it is supposed to dry the air or something like that. Checking the blend door is a good idea.

Sorry NV I am not here to argue

 

the AC should only run in the

"AC" "ACmax" and "defrost" positions.

 

You are correct in the defrost position

it drys the air for dehumidification.

But only when the temp is above ~45 deg F.

(Note: the temp is only an observation on my part and

not a figure I have seen in a FSM)

Hello all,

We are having poor heat issues with our '92 Loyale. Archived threads have been helpful and we've seen some improvement.

 

The temp gauge is staying low. I know it's registering correctly from the summer days. The car has a recent water pump (last 4 months) and an OEM thermostat. I've also tried burping the system. The radiator and heater hoses are pretty warm to the touch. I have a shield in front of the radiator.

 

Still, heat gauge only gets about 1/4 up and heat is only mediochre at best.

 

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Dave

 

 

 

Check the thermostat (start car with the radiator cap off, watch the coolant, there should be a burp when the T-stat opens). I know you said you have a new one, but the temp gauge is a dead give away. Also make sure your cooling fans arent on. I bet your gas mileage is down too.

nipper

Yes Nipper you may have a point.

 

but

I currently own and have driven many

GL/Loyale series cars.

 

All, with a good radiator and proper 190 deg t-stat,

will have the temp gauge at 1/4 to 1/3 of it's full scale travel

and they all yielded good heat.

 

However:

You are correct when it comes to the four Legacys I have,

they all sit at 1/2 of full scale.

 

The temp gauges used to be notorious for this.

He also has his rad blocked if you missed it.

Yes Nipper you may have a point.

 

but

I currently own and have driven many

GL/Loyale series cars.

 

All, with a good radiator and proper 190 deg t-stat,

will have the temp gauge at 1/4 to 1/3 of it's full scale travel

and they all yielded good heat.

 

However:

You are correct when it comes to the four Legacys I have,

they all sit at 1/2 of full scale.

 

The temp gauges used to be notorious for this.

He also has his rad blocked if you missed it.

 

If he lived in minnisota or alaska i would agree thats all hes going to get.

But i think it s t stata issue of some kind.

Not too many things cause over cooling.

 

nipper

Nipper,

You're spot on about the gas mileage. I had a parts store thermostat in the car, but changed for one from the Subie dealer after reading archives. Actually, that helped a lot, as the temp gauge before was barely moving on cold days.

 

I'll look at the control cable this weekend and try flushing the core.

 

The thing is, I know whe engine can get to normal operating temperature, because it does that in the summer. I beleive the gauge is accurate and the engine is just not warming up, so I think it's got to be more down to thermostat type issues than heater core problems.

 

Thanks to all for your posts!

Nipper,

 

 

The thing is, I know whe engine can get to normal operating temperature, because it does that in the summer.

 

well er um, its summer thats a huge heat exchange rin the front of the car.

 

nipper

turn the temp to hot, but leave the fan off... let it warm up... once it's warmed up turn the fan on and see how hot the air is... does the air get cooler or stay at the same temp? if the air gets cooler then you probably have a clogged core... disconnect your heater hoses and run low pressure garden hose water through it... low pressure so you don't blow anything...

 

if the temp is a constant luke-warm then you may have a cable out of adjustment... you can remove the air controls from the dash and on the left side of the slider area is where the cable clamps down... if that slipped it may not be opening all the way to let enough warm air through...

 

 

--Spiffy

Thanks Spiffy, sounds like good ideas which I will try today!

I put a 195 thermostat in my 91 loyale and reverse flushed the core from under the hood with full blast garden hose, Heater now works great temp guage never goes barely off cold.

I reverse flushed my heater core with a garden hose ,put in a 195 thermostat,

And my heater works great. My temp. gauge still reads very low,(better than hot!) All my other subarus ran mid gauge.

I'd sure take ten minutes to try this before tearing into core R&R

I reverse flushed my heater core with a garden hose ,put in a 195 thermostat,

And my heater works great. My temp. gauge still reads very low,(better than hot!) All my other subarus ran mid gauge.

I'd sure take ten minutes to try this before tearing into core R&R

 

 

A 47ohm resistor connected instead of the sender(one end clipped to ground, other to temp wire) Will tell you where you're gauge is reading 175 degrees F. I tried this on mine, and the gauge only rose to below 1/4. I was thinking this whole time my car was running cool, but actually he gauge is just reading out very low.

Other value resistors to try:

133-175 ohms = 122 degrees F

47-56 ohms = 175 degrees F

26-29 ohms = 212 degrees F

15-17 ohms = 248 degrees F

 

Testing you're gauge with these resistors will give you an idea of where you're real "red zone" is at. 3/4 of the way to red on the gauge is where mine reads with the 15 ohm resitor. 248 is too hot. now I know not to wait until it gets to the red.

A 47ohm resistor connected instead of the sender(one end clipped to ground, other to temp wire) Will tell you where you're gauge is reading 175 degrees F. I tried this on mine, and the gauge only rose to below 1/4. I was thinking this whole time my car was running cool, but actually he gauge is just reading out very low.

Other value resistors to try:

133-175 ohms = 122 degrees F

47-56 ohms = 175 degrees F

26-29 ohms = 212 degrees F

15-17 ohms = 248 degrees F

 

Testing you're gauge with these resistors will give you an idea of where you're real "red zone" is at. 3/4 of the way to red on the gauge is where mine reads with the 15 ohm resitor. 248 is too hot. now I know not to wait until it gets to the red.

 

How universal to the different subaru models is that?! For that matter, is it only that applicable to subarus? (I'm thinking it probably is)

 

If that isnt model specific, then that needs to be put in the USRM. A way to check the calibration of your temperature gauge is a VERY helpful thing....

I'd be willing to wager that it would work on ALL nippon seiko gauge clusters,

(that's what the little NS in the lower right hand corner of the cluster stands for), As they are interchangeable through several years/models.

That chart applies for sure to All EA82 models. If EA81s use the same sender, it would apply to them too. It would apply to any vehichle calibrated to use the same sender.

 

But it could go in the USRM for ea82s for sure. Those values are straight from an 88 FSM. 85, 86, and 89 FSM also lists the same specs.