1999 Legacy Outback and Overheating

[EdN]

Well.. I needed to replace my '94 Toyota and I really have needed a wagon, so i found a '99, 127K miles Outback Legacy...

Went and looked the car over, it's up in the Baltimore area and I live in NC.. The car looked good..cpl of mnor dings, but everything worked as advertised..Cold Air, heat seemed to work ok..Drove nice..Tires a bit better than 50%... No "binding"..Auto shifted right.. Drove ot over to the notary..Did the deed, payed the balance and hit th road....

10 miles down the hiway the temp guage starts to climb.. I eased over onto the shoulder and grabbed the next exit... The temp went back down ok....But the overflow was full... I added water, didn't have any antifreeze with me at the time... And found a dealer!

The service writer took a quick look and told me to bleed the system, showed me how...And we talked about what else it could be..

Syemtems are:

Normal temps around town, for a cpl of miles anyway...

Temp spike at hiway speed...

Over flowing resevior...

Hot TOP Hose... COLD Bottom hose...

The service writer reccomended a thermostat change..I Bought one, and the cheap SOB that I am found a parking lot to change it out in..(yes, I had a heck of a time putting my bag in the overhead rack on the train)..

I serviced, and bleed the system..Ran it for 30 mins in the parking lot..All seemed fine... Normal temp ( I assume that just below the symble in the gauge is normal)...I checked the lower hose and it felt warm.. (the thermostat, btw was the "short" aftermarket one that I've seen here...)

I headed back out after runnning it for 30 mins and seeing normal temps..Drove through city traffic..Stop and go.Behind busses, etc for a mile or so, 10-15 mins at least and all was well... Got back on 695 S and went about 4 miles or so and noticd the temp taking off again...

I bailed off..Checked the level and the overflow is full and overflowing again!..AND the lower hose is dead cold...

So I sit in a motel room.Contemplating my next move!


Ideas??? Aside from th the dreaded Head gasket, Please!! I saw no bublles, aside from the odd one or two, at very long intervals when I was runnning it in the parking lot with the caps off.... (no, the bleed screw was installed)

Help!

(and I did do a search for overheating)

Thanks in advance

Semper Fi
Ed

[porcupine73]

Hi, sorry to hear it is having this problem. Make sure the radiator cap is in pristine condition, and there isn't any gunk underneath any of the rubber seals. Otherwise it can let coolant flow into the overflow tank even when the rad pressure is fairly low. If you replace rad cap, use Subaru OEM is suggested as with many other parts because they are known good quality.

Sometimes when a head gasket issue is just starting, it is very intermittent. LIke it will seem fine for a while then suddenly act up then seem fine, and over time the 'acting up' part gets worse..........

Radiator and/or heater core clogging can cause issues too; usually soobs are ok with these and if you have the rad with the bleed screw on it that style is not generally prone to clogging.

[EdN]

Thanks for the reply!
Flat bed is arriving this evening, and we'll tow her back to NC where repairs will be more convient, if not easier!
I keep telling myself it's just a function of money, and I did get the car for a good price!

(heck, you gotta be smiling..If you don;t you cry!)

73
Semper Fi
Ed

[brianjglas]

I had that problem once with my '99 Outback and it was due to the shorter aftermarket thermostat. It was an intermittent problem that I couldn't figure out as i had just replaced the thermostat and had ruled it out. I finally gave up and took it to the dealer and they said that they had to replace the thermostat with an oem as some of the short aftermarket ones that are labeled for the '99 Outback just do not work right.

[porcupine73]

haha aftermarket thermostat are often inferior (as are MOST aftermarket parts when compared to the SUBARU OEM part):

[nipper]

I hate to speak the unspoken word, but the letters between G - I and F - H come to mind.


The one thing I would suggest is to replace the Radiator cap, and hope that solves it. If it doesnt ......... those dreaded letters.



nipper

[EdN]

OK..Thanks for the replies..

The new developements are...
Friend from work drove up with a flat bed trailer, we loaded up and brought it home..

Yesterday I drained the radiator..Very SLOW drain down from the port...Ran the garden hose in and managed to remove some "smutch" from it.. Put the plug back in..Filled the radiator with water..Then popped the drain plug agin an at first was slow, then sped right up... More smutch removed...Flushed it for about 20 mins or so at the highest rate I could get on it...

Replaced the plug..Reserviced the radiator and proceded to ensure that the system had been burped properly..I also replaced the radiator cap..That makes a OEM thermostat and a new cap..

Ran the engine, and the temp held to the bottom of the symbol for 30 plus mins while at 2000RPM... Checked the hoses, top hot and firm..Bottom hot and firm!! First time for that! So I''m seeing progress!!

Let the system cool down..Opened the cap and the level was down a little..Opened the bleed screw and got another 10-12 oz of 50/50 in.. Started back up..Brought it back to running temp (I think just at the bottom of the symbol is about right) Then went for a drive..All seemed good to go at hiway speed...60+, temp held right in there.. Ran 20+ miles, stopped for fuel..Then headed back to the house, about 5 miles...As I pulled down out road, I noticed the temp starting to climb..Pulled into the driveway, parked got out, popped the hood and the expansion tank is full and leaking out..Reached under, the lower hose is cold... More smutch I think.. Going to reflush again thi morning..Hope that works!

73
Semper Fi
Ed

[xcgates]

Here's to hoping that will work.

Good luck.

[xnavnuc]

Whelp, for a Jarhead ya done most everything right

(What did you expect from someone with my screenname?)

Anyway, assuming you just don't want to donate great gobs 'o $$ to your local starving mechanic let me say that it does sound like it's a headgasket (sorry). The dealership I used to work for made beaucoup bucks on this issue...some customers came in with tales of multiple 'reseals', etc. One had the car towed to us (a '98 OB) that his daughter had driven till it STOPPED. The knock sensor and all other plastic attached to the engine looked like a poorly done Salvador Dali.

Too bad it wasn't the radiator cap... BUT WAIT...IF YOU ORDER RIGHT NOW...I would get myself one of them thar fancy radiator fill funnels that replace the cap and that have a long handled center plug and prepare to do some work (not in a parking lot).

What you have got to do is MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THE SYSTEM IS GAS FREE! This will entail filling and venting (repeat until egg whites stiffen). You may have to jack up the front end to assist this process. Some subies we have had in the shop were bastards to vent... go figger. OBTW do this with engine idling and hot. When done set the level in the funnel to some mid point and mark with a sharpie. With car level and idling hot feel both heater hoses (fan off), both should be hot, upper and lower radiator hoses should be hot (upper hotter than lower, obviously), check temp gauge for steady mid-range reading, squeeze the upper hose and the level should rise in the funnel and then drop back when hose released...observe for any bubbles at that time (and all the time from here on out). Punch the A/C on/off and observe both fans come on/off (sanity check). RUN AT HIGH IDLE (2-3 K will do it) till both fans come on (another sanity check). Sit a idle for at least 30 minutes and OBSERVE for bubbles or level change...Try the heater on high fan NICE and TOASTY? Good.

NOW, assuming no bubbles noticed, shut her down check level in funnel. Same as when started (assuming all was hot when level marked)? Let it cool down, mark level when cool (you'll probably want a couple of beers during all this). Restart, heat back up and check hot level to old mark OK? if not is lower? (crying at this time is permitted) is higher? (too many beers... or gas is in system {the car's} and 'hiding out' Jazz the throttle to sweep coolant and check for (you guessed it) bubbles. NONE noted but level is down some? Smell exhaust... sickening sweet smell? (more crying here as appropriate).

FINALLY (bet you thought this'd never end) with engine still idling put the center plug in the funnel (most have a small o-ring or elastomer seal ring). Shut down and observe upper radiator hose as everything cools down.. hose collapsing? Does it stay that way or does it come back to normal after 30 minutes? Answer these questions and obviously check under the car for leakage as well as inside the car for heater core leakage (almost never happens).

AFTER ALL THIS you still can't prove that coolant is going away then refill overflow tank to correct level and make sure the hose is not cracked or leaking anywhere from the radiator cap to the end piece inside the tank.

Mark tank, drive, check level, mark hot level. Check again after overnight. Level OK? If so this qualifies as a bonafide mystery. Put car up for sale in next town and try another Subie)

Subies (especially 2.5 twin cams) do not take well to overheating. Seems as how them flat cylinders just hate it when partially covered with coolant and tend to generate steam quite quickly (Instantly comes to mind) which just shoves more coolant out which causes more ... well you know what I mean.

[EdN]

Well I expected no more from a screen name like that! At least it isn't XNAVNUCELECTRICIAN!

Thanks for the words of encouragment!

I drained the radiator again..A bit of smutz came out..Going to carefully service it and try again.. Hope springs eternal!

Oh, you tired of shoveling snow yet?

73
Semper Fi
Ed