Yarphir Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 I have a 91 legacy wagon. I changed the thermostat, Bled the coolant & it's still overheating. ran fine without the thermostat. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnstrmech Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 need more info. fans working? does it overheat just sitting or does it while driving? you SURE you got all the air out?....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarphir Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share Posted August 26, 2013 Fans run fine. It overheats while driving. I'm actually going to air it out again today to double check... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarphir Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share Posted August 26, 2013 Also I'm not getting any hot air inside the car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnstrmech Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 no not air inside the car is evidence of air pockets. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24610-Spill-Free-Funnel/dp/B001A4EAV0]Lisle 24610 Spill-Free Funnel : Amazon.com : Automotive[/ame] get one of those. they are invaluable for bleeding air from cooling systems. Every technician ive met has one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarphir Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share Posted August 26, 2013 sweet they have 1 in stock here in anchorage AK lol shipping would have been spendy... thanks I'll post the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnstrmech Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 i should've said they can be found locally. I just used amazon for the pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarphir Posted August 27, 2013 Author Share Posted August 27, 2013 Ok so we got all the air pockets out with the funnel... unless there is a technique to doing it with the funnel. I dont mean to sound like such a noob but hey im learning. the reservoir overflowed after about 15 minutes of driving and it overheated. gave heat inside the car and did fine at an idle but when on the road it heated up yet again... Also there's very little black sandy dirt like powder in the coolant reservoir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USLiberty Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 I've learned to take the top radiator hose off the radiator side and pour antifreeze in to that, as much as you can, it should be flowing into the motor. then reinstall the hose and fill the rest normally. That way it fills the motor with water first, and you know the majority of air pockets are out. If you keep overheating then you might want to pressure check the radiator system for leaks, this tells if you have a cracked head. After its warmed up both upper/lower radiator hoses should be the same warmth, this proves your thermostat is working. You could also keep letting it burp out air. Let it get warm, let it spew water... let it cool and fill it back up. If you have to repeat this more than 3-5 times then you probably have an issue with the heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnstrmech Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Without actually seeing the car, the symptoms he describes sound like a cracked block. Same issue i had when i bought mine. Here's my quick story. When i bought mine, the craigslist ad said it needed a radiator. I, being a "professional" mechanic(i do this for a living) realized i can do this easily. I called, inspected the car, saw the big crack in the radiator, seller admitting car overheated a few times, bought it anyways. Replaced said radiator. At idle, No air bubbles coming up thru my coolant funnel. Take off on test drive and after a few minutes overheated with lots of pressure in system. Did headgaskets. No change. Still overheated while driving. BUT, got better. Only overheated on the hightway, not in city traffic, Not with air on. Only thing could be was cracked block between coolant and cylinder walls. Ordered a used engine. Tore down, fresh headgaskets, USING MY HEADS (not the heads from the used motor), plus MY thermostat, built engine, and now problem solved. Im not saying this is his issue, but headgaskets are a place to try first, as the black sandy dirt COULD be the gasket material?..... Worse case being the block itself. (only cause that's my experience) Oh, and the technique to using the funnel is using the appropriate adaptors that fit your radiator, then simply runnign the engine with coolant in the funnel, turn the heat on to max hot, and maybe having to rev the throttle to spin the water pump to get coolant flowing until you have really good heat, usually warm enough to sting your fingers lol. I usually let the car cool down cause the coolant will contract a bit, pull it off and put on your cap.. viola. simply enough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USLiberty Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Happened to me on my first SS, previous owner had installed a new radiator, I thought gee that's nice. 2 months later after the car running flawless I suddenly get a bad rod knocking. Pull the motor, cylinders are warped from a previous overheating. Lesson learned,don't buy a Subaru that apears to have been overheated they're fragile in that respect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnstrmech Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Thats the bad thing about aluminum engine blocks. In all honesty, for the most part, buying any used car as old as ours(15-20 yrs old), your gonna have to put some money into them. Thier used for a reason... LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skateaddict1 Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 That story scares the oil out of my pan. I'm in the middle of doing my head gaskets, a first time 'big job.' Hey MNS, was your head gasket blown even with the cracked block? I still have the head off in the shop getting machined.. should i look anywhere in particular for a crack, or just overall check it out? It would be easiest to look now before i put it back together. Yar: Since i had the same problem recently, i thought you might like to know i also heard that if you open the small air vent valve (plastic plug screw) on the top of the passenger side of the rad when you fill, it helps get the air out. That and pouring slowly. I have also heard that some aftermarket thermostats can actually just crap out of the box and a fresh subaru one is the only way be guaranteed a good to go. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyposeur Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Is the black sandy stuff in your coolant reservoir floating or sediment on the bottom? Another trick to get out air bubbles is to squeeze the upper radiator hose with the cap off. But be warned, if your hose is old and dry () you risk cracking it. I got lucky when my wife's SS overheated. My wife was driving it home and the upper radiator hose blew and smoke billowed out of the hood. Of course she did the right thing and kept driving it home . The temp gauge was pegged and I was pretty worried that she had cooked the motor or warped the heads. I replaced the rest of the coolant hoses, it made a horrible noise upon start up but still runs beautifully after many miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnstrmech Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Im not sure If the head gaskets were bad or not. It didnt fix the issue, so hard to say. As for cracks, a good machine shop will look everywhere for cracks. Sad to say, Im ASE certified, and i been working in shops doing this sorta stuff professionally for 10+ years, yet i didn't send my heads to the machine shop. Ya, sham on me. lol. I just got lucky i suppose........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHiway Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Water pump (leaking would be obvious)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarphir Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 The dirt was floating. I'm guessing it's a cracked head. coolant flows cleaned the radiator and bought brand new hoses. Burped the air bubbles out of the coolant. But. After we burped it.....the next day it gave air bubbles again like it was getting air from somewhere....could it be coming from the head being cracked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyposeur Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I'd do a hydrocarbon test to get an idea if your head gaskets are failing. I've never dealt with a cracked block so I don't know if that would give the the same hydrocarbon test results as a failing head gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skateaddict1 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Yea man, don't assume its a cracked block first, that's worst case. I bought a compression tester for 30 bucks and found out my left side cylinders were low.. aka, head gasket. .. the source if my overheating problem. I don't know how to check for a cracked block other than take it apart to look? I do know its easy to check the hg though The gasket job, i would imagine, is a whole lot cheaper and a lot less work than replacing your block too. I had air bubbles coming up in my overflow tank as well, and dirt too. Sounds like the same problem I had. You might even be able to borrow a compression tester from a shop or friend? It only takes about 1/2 to check. Good luck! - james Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USLiberty Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 They are notorious for head gaskets failing, they can just wear out from the aluminum expansion.I think Subaru actually recommends it as routine maintenence.Hope that's it for you, that's a cheap fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarphir Posted September 10, 2013 Author Share Posted September 10, 2013 Head gasket problem fixed. Now our antifreeze isnt flowing into the motor from the overflow.... waterpump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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