digdug18 Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 I noticed that the dash gauge on my 1999 legacy Outback 2.5 manual, was showing that it was running hotter then normal. It previously was reading in the 1/4 to 3/8 range, but now is steadily on the 1/2. I put power to the fans directly from the battery, and they do work. I tried following the factory service manual, the first step requires the engine to be at 202 degrees, but with my engine fully warmed up, and at the 1/2 mark, which is hot, the OBD sensor reads that the engine is 166 degrees. I'm stumped as to where to go from here. So any suggestions would be helpful. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 If your thermostat is closing correctly and it isn't well below freezing out it shouldn't be hard to get the car to 185. Driving makes a good deal more heat than idling parked. OTOH if your thermostat is openning correctly and your radiator isn't plugged with sludge you probably can't get it to 200 parked. You can try blocking off the radiator with cardboard on the front face. It'll be a little fiddly to get it in there and blocking most or all of the face, but when you do the temp should climb right on up. You'll have to watch it and take the cardboard out again before it passes about 215. All four (2 fans, each two speeds) fan sections should be going by that point. The FSM also has a chart about what each fan should do at different temps and with different A/C settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdug18 Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 My A/C isn't working, hasn't been for about a year, the belt tensioner broke, and I haven't fixed it. The main fan is the one that was working the entire time. I bought most of the parts to fix the belt tensioner, bad design though, I'm sure it'll break in another 150k+ miles, just like the old one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 I've replaced my tensioner as well, but I broke mine by not running the fasteners in the right order. If mine breaks again I'll probably make from scratch that cast part out of rolled steel. That should take care of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdug18 Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 The plastic piece you mean, yeah. Just a bad design, it puts too much side load on the tensioner itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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