I have a 2000 Legacy outback with the 2.5 engine. I just got it last winter and the cars been greet. The weather has been warming up and my drives have been getting more aggressive. The temp gauge responds to normal warm up conditions and then reads at the midpoint for any light driving and most freeway travel. Whenever I go up a steep mountain road for a couple of miles the gauge climbs above the 3/4 mark and comes near the red (no AC running, 70- 80 F). I recently had the timing belt, waterpump, thermostat and radiator cap replaced. Prior to this I installed a flush kit. Both fans turn on. I have noticed a small amount of coolant loss after driving 1000 + miles continously. I think the top of the radiator is leaking where the metal meets the plastic. After a 1400 mile drive I replaced maybe 8 oz of coolant. The heater drops the gauge instantly. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated. Thank you.

It sounds like you are developing the leaky head gasket problem with the phase 2 ej25's. Or you may still have air in the system.

This isnt a HG issue, as it would do it at any time. Also turning the heat on wouldnt help (99% of the time with a failed HG there is no heat).Something this repeatable can be traced to a cooling system issue. i think you may have found the problem all on your own. Another possability is a clogged or decrepid radiator.

 

How many miles are on this puppy?

 

nipper

I agree if turning on the heater drops the guage then it seems to me that the HG's, water pump, etc are fine-I wouuld vote for clogged radiator(internally or fins full of bigs, dirt and grass), blocakage/air pocket in cooling system or possible electric fan failure.

 

Let us know.

This isnt a HG issue, as it would do it at any time. Also turning the heat on wouldnt help (99% of the time with a failed HG there is no heat).Something this repeatable can be traced to a cooling system issue. i think you may have found the problem all on your own. Another possability is a clogged or decrepid radiator.

 

How many miles are on this puppy?

 

nipper

 

The coolants clean and the car has 113,000 miles.

I agree if turning on the heater drops the guage then it seems to me that the HG's, water pump, etc are fine-I wouuld vote for clogged radiator(internally or fins full of bigs, dirt and grass), blocakage/air pocket in cooling system or possible electric fan failure.

 

Let us know.

 

I took a close look at the fins and pulled out all the bugs and small rocks. External blockage seams to be minor. The fans are opperating when the car goes hot.

Get a new radiator cap. Also get that minor leak fixed.

 

nipper

Sounds like internal radiator gunk-up. I think I'd try a flush and a coolant replacement, and if that didn't help, a new radiator.

Yeah, radiator is clogging up.

 

Does your top hose connect to the middle of the rad? That configuration has proven susceptible to clogging, since the flow is compromised.

and radiator cap replaced.

you're sure they installed a new one? did they use a Subaru thermostat? aftermarket thermostats are tiny, dinky, whimpy little things compared to the Subaru. if they didn't use a Subaru thermostat, get one, they are amazingly better.

 

those are minor and easy checks worth making, but it does sound like the cooling system just isn't up to task, it's working under full capacity. i'd suspect a clogged radiator as well.

Not to be any kind of smart *** but did you drain the radiator after the flush?

My thinking is that you maybe had a coolant problem and compounded it if you didn't drain the system after running flush material through it,or sent al that crap right to the radiator. I'm sorry to say I've seen this before.