awilkie84 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 So, my engine ticks very loudly when not idling after running for awhile (which I'm told is normal for a boxer), but I wanted to be double sure everything was good. I was checking the oil on my new to me 98 LGT. The oil level's confusing to read (or it's REALLY over-filled). It's nowhere near the marks on the stick (Well above them). I'm going to take it in & have an oil change done by a shop & then recheck it. I don't have the time to do it myself before a trip tomorrow afternoon. While I was at it, I decided to check the coolant level. My coolant reservoir's empty, but there's lots of coolant in the radiator. This was stone cold, too. Should I warm it up & then check the coolant level? Is this something I should be worried about, given that the radiator's full? It hasn't overheated, or come anywhere close to. Then again, it's been from +5 to -9*C here for the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 With a filter change a 2.5 will take 4.3 qts. Far as the coolant, is there a leak? My overflow bottle is always had coolant inside. When it's hot it will be at the full mark and cold a little lower. The problem will start when you have oil inside the bottle. When headgaskets go oil will end up inside the bottle and on the radiator cap. It's possible it was flushed once and not filled with the correct amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapture Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 could b a leak in one of the hoses check them too id just add some after checking the hoses if it goes down again then u kno somethings up also how long ago was the water pump done? if ever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilkie84 Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 With a filter change a 2.5 will take 4.3 qts. Far as the coolant, is there a leak? My overflow bottle is always had coolant inside. When it's hot it will be at the full mark and cold a little lower. The problem will start when you have oil inside the bottle. When headgaskets go oil will end up inside the bottle and on the radiator cap. It's possible it was flushed once and not filled with the correct amount. could b a leak in one of the hoses check them too id just add some after checking the hoses if it goes down again then u kno somethings up also how long ago was the water pump done? if ever... I'll check the hoses when I have light tomorrow. I haven't noticed a leak. Nothing spilling onto the ground where I park the car. The coolant's bright green, too...so no oil getting in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 The coolant reservoirs on all my vehicles pretty much stay empty- I just make sure that the radiator is full to the top, on a weekly basis. Since you just bought the car, everything should be OK with your cooling system if your radiator stays full and there are no obvious leaks, both radiator hoses get hot when the car is fully warmed up and and you are getting heat out of the ducts. Your temp gauge should likely be just below the halfway point between cold and hot if it's like other Subaru's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 The coolant reservoirs on all my vehicles pretty much stay empty I hate to say it but that's not the correct way they should be. Cars have overflow bottles for a reason, the coolant level verises with engine temp changes. When a engine build more pressure than the cap allows, the coolant goes into the bottle and if the engine needs a tad more it pulls it from the bottle. In every vehicle the bottle should have the proper amount of coolant in it. If they don't and the engine needs some all your doing is allowing air to be pulled into the system. Like Rapture stated, fill the bottle and if it goes down again you have a problem. It's either a leak or the engine is eating it meaning headgaskets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilkie84 Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 So, I went & had a pressure test done on the LGT. The rad's cracked where the large hose up top connects. -_- Luckily, the guy who sold the car to me is going to give me a rad. I'll just have to pressure test it before installing. *sigh* It's either that or pay $450 to have a new one put in as I'm not familiar with coolant systems, nor do I have the place to put one in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 $450 installed? That's high. The radiator costs about $125 and labor shouldn't be more than 1 1/2 hours. These are pretty easy to R&I and that's $245 parts and labor on the high side. Book time for a radiator r&I is 1 hour. I think you need to find a new repair shop at those prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 youre forgetting the 250% mark up on parts. that would be about right with that in the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilkie84 Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 $450 installed? That's high. The radiator costs about $125 and labor shouldn't be more than 1 1/2 hours. These are pretty easy to R&I and that's $245 parts and labor on the high side. Book time for a radiator r&I is 1 hour. I think you need to find a new repair shop at those prices. youre forgetting the 250% mark up on parts. that would be about right with that in the mix. The cheapest place in town is $398 w/ coolant & labor, from a shop that does nothing but coolant systems. I've called them & set up an appointment for tomorrow. It will be cheaper if I get that free rad from the dude I bought the car from, but I almost want to go with the brand new rad, instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 you can order the GT rad from auto zone for 125 bucks. an hour labor (75ish) and coolant (about 25 bucks shop rate) and youre still way under the 300 mark, let alone the 400 mark. what are they charging if you bring your own radiator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilkie84 Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 you can order the GT rad from auto zone for 125 bucks. an hour labor (75ish) and coolant (about 25 bucks shop rate) and youre still way under the 300 mark, let alone the 400 mark. what are they charging if you bring your own radiator? I don't know what the charges are if I bring my own. I'm in Canada. No Auto Zone available. If I go through Lordco (our kind of equivalent), then I'm looking at close to $250 for the rad. There are also environmental fees for the old coolant & radiator disposal. The coolant's also more than $25, as I'm not going with 2 year coolant. I'm going with 5 year. I think part of the disparity is the difference in cost from the US vs Canadian markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny5280 Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I had to replace the radiator right after I purchased my Outback. Cost was approximately $450 from my indy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooln30 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Damn you guys are getting ripped off. Sorry to say. Like I said book time is only an hour and a shop can't charge you a mark up over a walk in customers price at an auto parts store. Well they shouldn't but most shops are crooks. Do your homework and find best place for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny5280 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Damn you guys are getting ripped off. Sorry to say. Like I said book time is only an hour and a shop can't charge you a mark up over a walk in customers price at an auto parts store. Well they shouldn't but most shops are crooks. Do your homework and find best place for you. I'm sure I could save money if I wanted to do so. However I am fine with paying my mechanic to do all of the work (including obtaining parts). He is a German car specialist (my other car is a BMW X5) so he's not the lowest cost mechanic in town. But he does provide me with a loaner vehicle, gets me in immediately when my car needs work, and he's saved me quite a lot of money (my BMW needed a valve body for the transmission. BMW price was $2,600. He located a distributor who sold it to him for $550 which he passed straight through to me without a markup, he's performed some diagnostics at no cost to me, etc.). Plus he uses higher quality parts (see my fuel pump thread) which are going to cost more. I know I'm not getting the lowest price possible by taking my Subaru to him but I'm very pleased with him and that's why I am willing to pay more for his work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleaidestar Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 ^ that's what counts, honesty and good work is missing from most auto shops these days. For the most part I do most of the work on my subarus but if I really needed something critical done that I couldn't do there is one mechanic I would let work on my car. He is a Volkswagen mechanic, he has a 56 oval window with a boosted ej22 in the back of his vw. That thing eats v8's for brunch.lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilkie84 Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 Well, book price on the radiator here is $220+tax ($246.40), and I'd be waiting close to a week for them to ship it. The shop has one, and I NEED it changed. So, even with $75/hr labor & $25-30 for coolant, plus a flush, and tax. I'm in a good position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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