cheetah8799 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Greetings everyone! I'll keep this short if I can. '98 Legacy Outback Wagon, 147k miles. I changed my thermostat and radiator hoses about 4 or 5 months ago due to a cracked hose and leakage issue. Non-oem thermostat, couldn't get an oem one at the time. No problems for quite a while, a few longer trips (300 miles) were taken, no issues. This past weekend I was on the road when the car overheated. 40 miles into the trip only, speeds around 65mph the whole time. Nothing aggressive. I heard some squeeling (coolant on the belts it turned out) and noticed the temp gauge was pegged. No check engine lights or anything else else. I pulled over to inspect and saw lots of coolant had burst from the top of the reservoir. I let the car cool down for about 5 to 10 minutes (sub freezing temps outside in MN). Some of the coolant from the reservoir pulled back into the radiator, not all though. I could tell a fair amount had spilled out though. I started the car again and the temp gauge would quickly rise above normal when I revved the engine. I also noticed I could not get any heat to blow out of the vents with the fan on high and heat maxed. Only cold air. Stopped the car again, dug out a bottle of water and mixed into both the radiator and reservoir to try to top it off. Roughly 10 minutes later after letting it cool more I started the car. The heat came on this time. I started driving for home hoping I'd make it all the way, or at least to a gas station. The car ran fine the whole way... Temps stayed great, even when I brought the speed up to ~60mph. I ran the heat and fan on high just in case. Three days later now, no problems on the short drives to and from work and such (5 to 10 miles). This morning I noticed on the way in, temps -14F outside, the engine warmed much faster than usual. I expected it to overheat, but it steadied at the usual mark on the gauge and was fine when I got to work. I was having a hard time getting the heat in the car to really warm up as well. So, any thoughts as to what is going on here? My dad and I suspect the thermostat I installed a while back is sticking. I am not finding any coolant leakage at all on my driveway or in the parking lots. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAWalker Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I would assume the head gaskets are original? Do a search on EJ25 DOHC head gaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 get a Subaru thermostat, make sure it's installed properly and that you have properly purged all the air out of the system. EJ engines are prone to need "burping" as it's called to get air bubbles out of the system. also check for loss of coolant...if you're loosing coolant that could create loss of coolant, pressure, flow, etc...and all sorts of issues. you want to rule out something simple first because: of course the EJ25 (2.5 liter engine that's in your car) are prone to having head gasket issues. bubbling through the reservoir is a common symptom and they will exhibit bizarre behavior....overheat...then fine for awhile...overheat....etc, it will appear random. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 That doesn't sound good. Even if the thermostat is stuck closed you would still get heat from the heater (unless you've got a big air pocket trapped in the system). Soobs refilled quickly with coolant through the rad filler neck with the vehicle level on the ground are likely to trap air). These symptoms sound like the phase I 2.5L dohc head gasket exhaust blowing into coolant breech possibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 sometimes over heating coupled with poor cabin heating is a strong sign that a head gasket is going bad. 98 Subies are known to develop this problem. Look for bubbles in the radiator over flow tank when it is over heating. If you see bubbles, then you know that exhaust gas is getting into the cooling system through a bad head gasket. There is a lot written about the Subie head gasket problem in this forum. Look in the "search" section near the top of the USMB for past info posted about this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheetah8799 Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 sometimes over heating coupled with poor cabin heating is a strong sign that a head gasket is going bad. 98 Subies are known to develop this problem. Look for bubbles in the radiator over flow tank when it is over heating. If you see bubbles, then you know that exhaust gas is getting into the cooling system through a bad head gasket. When it overheated I did not observe any bubbles in the overflow tank. It was just filled to the top. Head gasket is original I believe. I purchased the car with about 45k on it from the dealer. I'll do some digging into the various head gasket threads on the forum. Hopefully that isn't the problem. edit: Just found a thread with this posted. Sounds scarily familiar. I'll keep digging. Thanks. http://home.comcast.net/~skipnospam/Head_gasket_replacement.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Its the begining of the HG. They are hard to diagnose when it first happens, but there is only one thing that will spray water out of the overflow, and make you loose heat at the same time. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmithmmx Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 We should have a sound clip that we could attach to every one of these posts, it would be the "Imperial Death March" for the 2.5. Sorry, you have a busted HG. I would suggest the Suabru Coolant conditioner "Blue Bottle" ASAP. You might be able to save it....... for a year or 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 We should have a sound clip that we could attach to every one of these posts, it would be the "Imperial Death March" for the 2.5. Sorry, you have a busted HG. I would suggest the Suabru Coolant conditioner "Blue Bottle" ASAP. You might be able to save it....... for a year or 2. HAHAHA Its an innie, not an outie. the blue bottle only works (sort of) with outies. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Its an innie, not an outiehehe that's a good one nipper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screwbaru2 Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Your story sounds like dejvu all over again to me. Nurse it. It may last a long time. Last one I had lasted 6 months, would have lasted longer had I changed the themostat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheetah8799 Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 Your story sounds like dejvu all over again to me. Nurse it. It may last a long time. Last one I had lasted 6 months, would have lasted longer had I changed the themostat. That's what I'm doing right now. Just babying the car, checking fluids after each drive and watching temps and other funkyness closely. I'll be calling around today to locate someone to do the labor, since I think this project is above my skill (and patience) level. Again, sorry for filling the forums with yet another head gasket / overheating issue. Thanks everyone! I'll be sure to report back once this is all sorted out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Again, sorry for filling the forums with yet another head gasket / overheating issue. Thanks everyone! I'll be sure to report back once this is all sorted out. You wont be the last one i am sure nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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