willisdaye Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 Thanks, I bet that manual really comes in handy. I'll have another update once I start hammering this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisdaye Posted April 16, 2017 Author Share Posted April 16, 2017 Ok, so I took out the radiator and condenser, and removed the bumper as well. The radiator and condenser don't look that bad, except the metal strip on the bottom of the radiator is rusted and broken off, and one of the fans was damaged. I noticed that the lower rad support is bent upwards as a result of the vertical bar. I used a ratchet to pull the bar outwards. The distance between the hood reference hole and the rad support hole is now less than an inch longer than it needs to be. I also started hammering everywhere that was out of whack. I used a strap and just pulled really hard on it to pull out the front facia areas where the headlights attach. They need more work but it's a start. Now I need to bend both the upper and lower supports downwards, but I feel like just smacking the upper one will bend the vertical bar and not the lower support, so ill probably have to bend the lower one by itself. I'll attach pictures, tell me what you think I should do next. http://imgur.com/a/TWaUK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 That's looking a lot better already. It seems like most of the big parts are fixed, if I were you, I'd get a hold of a propane torch and start heating and massaging out the smaller stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 A length of lumber will let you hit down on the lower support. Good work so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setnev Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 You're making awesome progress. Keep going and get that lower support straight or else everything else is going to give you headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 A length of lumber will let you hit down on the lower support. Good work so far. I'm not sure if this was what you're suggesting but what if you took a stack of 2 2x4s or a 4x4 and strapped it along the length of the bottom rad support and THEN hammered down onto it. That way you have a set even plane of movement and it should end up nice and flat when you're done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisdaye Posted April 17, 2017 Author Share Posted April 17, 2017 I did some more work today, and it looks like it's mostly back into shape. I still need to pull the center part out about an inch or so, and the center part of the upper support could be flatter, but other than that, it looks pretty decent. http://imgur.com/a/GmScU I also noticed that there's a little black cylinder with hoses coming out of it, and the bottom hose is broken off. It looks coolant related, and the bottom hose goes into the frame. What is it, and should I just epoxy that broken fitting or should it be replaced? Pics: http://imgur.com/a/1jDJO The next thing is getting a new radiator. My current one is probably fine, but one of the fans won't spin because the cowling is bent, and the bottom metal strip of the radiator with the two metal pegs is pretty rusted, and one of the pegs is gone. Last thing for now, when I remove the hood, should I take out the four bolts holding it on the hinges, or take out the hinges themselves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Just take the 4 bolts out that hold the hood to the hinge. Mark hood with a paint pen or sharpie so you know how to line it up on install though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setnev Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I also noticed that there's a little black cylinder with hoses coming out of it, and the bottom hose is broken off. It looks coolant related, and the bottom hose goes into the frame. What is it, and should I just epoxy that broken fitting or should it be replaced? That looks to be the charcoal canister. It's emissions related. I would just epoxy the fittings. If you're in an emissions area, you may throw a CEL and not be able to pass evap emissions due to a crack in the canister. The next thing is getting a new radiator. My current one is probably fine, but one of the fans won't spin because the cowling is bent, and the bottom metal strip of the radiator with the two metal pegs is pretty rusted, and one of the pegs is gone. I would just spring for a new radiator. They're cheap for the Legacy and will give you future peace of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I got my new radiator off rock auto and it ended up being like $57 or something along those lines, mind as well for the price. Those fan mounting bolts always rust solid and are a pain to get off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisdaye Posted April 18, 2017 Author Share Posted April 18, 2017 Yeah, I tried taking them off, and all but two broke off. I'm getting a new radiator, but where can I get the brackets for the fans? I can't find them anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton96 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 You will probably have to order fan shrouds or get new fans that come with the shroud. The new radiator will come with pre-drilled holes to mount the fans to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setnev Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 When I repaired my Legacy, I just got some used fans at the junkyard with a 30 day warranty in case they didn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisdaye Posted April 18, 2017 Author Share Posted April 18, 2017 I went to the junkyard and got a hood and a grille for 70 bucks. The fans they had there were rustier than mine, so ill try somewhere else. I found a radiator on ebay that has the fan mounting hardware pre-installed, so now I just need to get a hold of the passenger side fan, and some headlights. Then it's time to paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisdaye Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 Okay, the car is finally done. I haven't painted it, and the hood latch is still not totally working, but it looks decent, and it drives well. I can post some pictures soon. Thanks everyone for the help! There's been a new development however. While driving today I noticed the heat guage was at maximum. I stopped and checked what was up, and I noticed that the radiator was cool. The hose at the bottom of the rad was cool as well, but the top hose was hot. I also noticed that the hoses didn't have pressure in them, they squeezed easily. Its not the fans, because those work fine. I turned the heat all the way up, and it worked, but then it cut out after a while and blew cold air. I stopped the engine and let the fans run. When I started the car it took more than one attempt so I'm worried about heat damage. From there I drove about a mile to get home, and the heat worked again. Also the coolant reservoir was more full than last time I left it, in fact, it's almost completely full. However, the level seemed low when I looked down into the radiator through the cap opening, but I couldn't see that far down. I was in the process of cleaning the coolant system, so instead of coolant, it was a mixture of water and rad cleaning fluid, but I don't think this would be the problem. I would suspect a stuck thermostat or something. Any Ideas? Edit: I think my head gaskets might be okay, I checked the oil and it seemed normal. The car also started fine once I let it cool down all the way, so its not seized either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 The radiator should be full right up to the top. If it got low and air got into the block it would behave as you describe. It is some work to get all the air back out. But stuck thermostat might also do those things. If it is an after market stat not a dealer unit it isn't to be trusted. I found that out the hard way. The official Subaru stat has a hole about twice the area of the parts store unit. That together with getting stuck made for some hot times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisdaye Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 Thats probably the problem, I never bled the radiator after adding water and cleaner, I didn't know it was a necessity. Does that explain why my reservoir was almost full though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 reservoir almost full could be the air pressure inequality from needing to be burped. smell the reservoir, make sure it doesnt smell like exhaust tho just in case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setnev Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Thats probably the problem, I never bled the radiator after adding water and cleaner, I didn't know it was a necessity. Does that explain why my reservoir was almost full though? Your reservoir was full because the pressure in the radiator built up so much, it took the path of least resistance through the overflow tank. My money is on the stuck thermostat. If the bottom hose was cold and top was hot, it's not kicking the thermostat open. Two factors cause this: 1.) Defective thermostat 2.) Bad head gasket. Side note to prepare you in case it is a head gasket: Head gasket failure causes this because on the second gens the failure is internal, meaning combustion gasses enter the coolant and coolant enters the combustion chamber (I've personally seen this on 4 different Subaru engines, 3 H4 and 1 H6). After a while, the coolant level in the motor drops below the coolant temperature sensor on the crossover pipe, which then reads hot air temperature. Since the coolant in the block isn't heating up, it's not recirculating properly as the hottest water is going into the combustion chamber. In turn causes it not to trigger the thermostat that the engine is at operating temperature, thus not opening it. Symptoms of a bad head gasket are: overheating after replacement of thermostat, gurgling in your heater core after bleeding the system of air, excess coolant overflow into the overflow bottle, white smoke in the exhaust, exhaust smell in coolant. There is only one way to tell for sure if it's a bad head gasket and that is with a block tester. It has a special fluid that detects the presence of exhaust gasses in the cooling system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willisdaye Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 I got a thermostat, and began taking off the coolant hose and its manifold to get to the old thermostat. I thought the head gaskets were okay, but I'm starting to have second thoughts. When I finally got the lower rad hose off the block, the fluid draining from the radiator was clear/green, but the fluid draining from the block was brownish. It wasn't oily, it had the consistency of water, but it was just brown. I also couldn't get the manifold off today because the head of the bolt on there was too rusty. There also wasn't as much coolant in there as I thought. Granted the overflow reservoir is almost completely full, but it's still concerning. I guess I'll continue with the Tstat replacement and refill it with coolant, but I really think the head gasket is bad. I've never done anything like replacing head gaskets, and I heard it's not a cheap to get done either, especially because I could use a new timing belt as well, and I'm a (almost) broke student. I don't want to be negative, but I think the future of my car is uncertain at this point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setnev Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Head gasket jobs aren't hard, they're just time consuming. It is possible to not pull the motor to do it, but if you have the means to pull the motor, it'll save you a few busted knuckles and back ache. Good head gaskets will run you about $40 a piece for the Fel-Pro Permatorque MLS or OE Subaru gaskets. Since you're not running a boosted motor and it's the first time the heads have been off since original assembly, I'd say head bolts can be reused. (Many purists will tell you otherwise, but we're not dealing with a high performance STI motor) If you don't pull the motor, I'd just get some cam seals, valve cover gaskets, intake/exhaust gaskets, and full timing kit to replace at the same time as the head gaskets. First time I did it, I pulled the motor, took me about 16 hours of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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