going through more engine coolant than usual

[paulo]

hey all,

2000 subaru legacy GT - i get my oil changed every 5000 or 6000 kms. in that time, i've had to fill up my coolant reservoir at least twice.

i've had both headgaskets replaced, there is no froth in the reservoir, or the other signs that it could be the gasket.

any ideas??

the only change lately in what we've been doing, is running the AC more often. we get that usual water run off in the garage each time after parking the car, but aside from that, the garage floor is clean and there is no sign of leakage.

last time i was in, they did a pressure test and there were no signs of leakage in teh system.

thoughts? thanks all, in advance.

[idosubaru]

Were the headgaskets replaced with Subaru gaskets or something else?

 

Your model year engine will loose coolant at the rear of the engine typically. Now, having already been replaced I'm not sure what to say that opens up other possibilities. But I'd at least take a cursory glance at the rear of the engine where the head gasket mating surface is - only takes about 1.5 minutes to check that out.

 

Some coolant loss is okay...so says subaru...the key is whether it gets worse or not.

 

Have you actually looked under the car?

[paulo]

thanks for the reply gross,

i have looked under the car but haven't been able to squeeze right under there myself. i can't see any sign of coolant coverage on any part of the underbelly of the car.

i failed to mention, the check engine lite came on last week, then went off after about 4 days, then reappeared last night.

the car runs fine, all systems operate smoothly.

with each of my gaskets, the tell tale sign was the water running sound behind the dash and the frothy coolant resevoir...neither of which im getting..

 

the gaskets were both replaced, at seperate times by a subaru dealership shop.

 

thanks again.

[idosubaru]

Replace your radiator cap, that's a good place to start, cheap, and not a bad thing to replace anyway.

 

Many aftermarket chains read your codes for your check engine light for free, go have that done. They should be able to pull from memory what made it come on.

 

Or you can do what I did and buy the $30-$40 jokers off ebay, they're awesome and read and clear the codes for you. Well worth it to save time driving to a parts store and waiting on them.

[bheinen74]

replace the cap with a Subaru oem cap, not one from a discount store.

[nipper]

Replace the cap.

 

What subarus can sometimes do is devlop a hairline crack in one of the tanks. They only leak under heat and pressure (like the car moving at 60mph with the AC on) so you will never really see a leak.

 

What you need to do is clean the car up under the hood and under it, then get a dye test. Then you dirve the car for a while, and they expose the car to balck light to see where the leak is.

 

 

nipper

[paulo]

turned out to be a leak in the bottom of the radiator that only really leaked when warm and moving. so...thanks everyone, i appreciate your help, as always.