Coolant Change

[SBT]

I should have just done a conversion of quarts to gallons.

I was OFF on my initial thoughts.

 

7.7 quarts is 1.9 gallons.

 

SO even if we got every last drop of coolant out of the engine 2 gallons is still more than enough.

 

I bought 1 gallon of Subaru stuff and I will use 1 gallon of distilled water!

 

Can't wait!

 

Also bought a bottle of Redline Watter Wetter when I got my gear oil today.

 

That's correct math...

 

Hopefully the "1 gallon of Subaru stuff" is the older coolant and not the Super Long Life coolant as you don't dilute that - it's already diluted at 50/50. You just buy two gallons of the SLLC and call it a day. If it is the older coolant, then yeah, do use the distilled water with it.

 

And to be safe, I wouldn't add anything else to the cooling system except the Subaru Coolant System Conditioner, and definitely wouldn't use the Water Wetter as I don't know what chemical reaction might be caused when it interacts with the alloy block and aluminum cooling system components.

[SBT]

In regards to changing out the thermostat I haven't seen much discussion about it. Someone asked the question earlier and the response was that if there isn't a reason to chagne then I would wait until timing belt change at 105k miles.

 

I agree with this thinking.

 

Only thing that confused me is that I was visiting a Subaru only vendor and in the list of services they had listed coolant change and they showed a new thermostat swap with every coolant change.

 

Is this overkill or a good precaution?

 

About to do my 60k service and was wondering about that thermostat.

 

I would think it would be fine for 105k miles.

 

Your thoughts are appreciated......

 

If it passes the check test in the attached .pdf, I'd use it until the T-belt change out. Just make sure you reinstall it the same way it came out and use a new T-stat housing gasket.

05 - Thermostat.pdf

[2006Specb122]

Thanks for the PDF. I've never seen that one before.

I'm not sure I wouldn't by the $6.00 replacement and just change it instead of heating water and taking measurements.

 

I do appreciate the info though.

 

I'm also considering an aftermarket thermostat.

 

 

In regards to the watter wetter it is completely safe for aluminum and modern day systems. They even have kits designed specifically for subaru vehicles and the WRX guys have been using watter wetter for YEARS.

 

most all of the subaru vendors will also recommend, use, and sell the stuff.

 

Should be no worries there.

[SBT]

I'm sure that the T-stat .pdf is mostly to diagnose whether a temperature control / overheating issue is isolated to the T-stat or something else. But, I'm with you. If I'm pulling the housing, why not just put a new T-stat in there at the same time. Just make sure the jiggle-pin is "up" in the housing and you'll be fine.

 

WRT water wetter, I've talked quite a bit about this topic with my master tech and he has seen low-mileage WRXes and other Subes come in with clogged and partially-clogged radiators that had had AM "formulas" (WW included) added to their otherwise OEM cooling fluids. The difference was the additive so I guess my caution is that YMMV... and let it go at that.

[2006Specb122]

Interesting... I had never heard of that before...

 

I know that "SUBARU CONDITIONER" is pretty chunky stuff and I'm not really sure how much good it does but if something was clogging I would guess it was that stuff.

 

Perhaps I will use less than the full bottle of Water Wetter this time around.

 

I did noticed a build up on my overflow tank recently.

I took it out and cleaned it.

 

It was horrible because the build up was on the entire bottle up to the FULL line so it always looked FULL when it had actually started to get low.

 

Eventually I realized the coolant must evaporate at some point and a closer inspection of the tank showed the residue.

 

It has been fine since cleaning.

 

Thanks for the info....

[2006Specb122]

OK, I am sitting in the waiting room while they give me the wonderful $89 alignment but I just asked the parts counter for a price for the thermostat and gasket.

 

Thermostat is around $15

Gasket is another $4

 

$19 plus tax to do the thermostat and gasket.

 

 

SEEMS LIKE TOO MUCH FOR ME...

 

I woudl rather buy the lifetime cooler thermostat for $45

probably comes with a gasket!

 

I'll go check!

[RustyShackleford]

Man, lotta worrying about nothing, IMHO. My old car is on 160+K miles with

original thermostat, current is on 30+K, never a hint of any problem with the

thermostat. And yes, I DO pull it to change coolant, and I do regularly

drive in 100+ degree weather. OTOH, I am never subject to extreme cold,

if that would matter ...

[2006Specb122]

Hey Rusty... cool deal..

thanks for the info...

 

Do you change the gasket out when you drop the T-Stat for teh coolant change?

 

Or do you simply re-use the original?

[RustyShackleford]

Hey Rusty... cool deal..

thanks for the info...

 

Do you change the gasket out when you drop the T-Stat for teh coolant change?

 

Or do you simply re-use the original?

 

Yeah, I replace it. Oddly, there is no gasket there where the

housing mates to the flange on the water pump, but everyone seems

to call the rubber o-ring'ish type thing that fits around the thermostat

a "gasket" which I guess technically it is. I guess somehow it prevents

coolant from leaking through the flange mating surface but I don't quite

see how.

[2006Specb122]

OK I think for now I might just get an o-ring gasket type thing

and drain the coolant that way.

 

keep the original T-Stat for now.

[bluesuby]

It's fairly common for Japanese carmakers to use a rubber o-ring as a gasket either at the thermostat or the waterpump.

[TSiWRX]

OK, just to be sure that my reading-comprehension FTL self has got things right, particularly as I've gotten about 4 hours of sleep over the last 3 days, thanks to the little one getting sick:

 

(1) The new 50/50 pre-mixed "blue" Subaru "Super Long Life Coolant" is *not* directly compatible with the old "green" coolant. Although the two can be mixed, it'll drop the former's "super long life" down to the old "green" coolant's recommended change-out interval of 30K miles or 3 years.

 

(2) Both the "blue" coolant as well as the old "green" coolant requires the Subaru Coolant Conditioner.

 

I got that right, right?

 

Just wanted to be sure, now that we've got a new and an old Subaru in the family.

[SBT]

OK, just to be sure that my reading-comprehension FTL self has got things right:

 

(1) The new 50/50 pre-mixed "blue" Subaru "Super Long Life Coolant" is *not* directly compatible with the old "green" coolant.

 

(2) Both the "blue" coolant as well as the old "green" coolant requires the Subaru Coolant Conditioner.

 

Just wanted to be sure, now that we've got a new and an old Subaru in the family.

 

I believe they are "compatible", just that you don't get the Super Long Life capability (blue - 75K) if you mix them, only what the Long Life Coolant (green - 30K) provides. You would need a full-flush with a Subaru approved coolant flushing machine to remove the green and certify it "ready" for the 75K SLLC load.

 

Also, you don't use any additional water with the blue SLLC pre-mix , but you have to with the green LLC. So if you're adding green to the blue, you just divide how much green you're adding in half and make the other half up with distilled water, e.g., you're a quart low, mix 1 pint of green with 1 pint of distilled water, and that's your top-up "quart"

 

FWIW, I've stayed with the LLC (green) - just buy one gallon + one gallon of distilled water for each of the Subes, and I'm good to go.

 

You do need to add the coolant conditioner whichever coolant you choose.

[TSiWRX]

^ Cool, that's just as I understood it!

 

Thank you much for the confirmation, bruddah!

 

PS: Man, you're fast! How did you get to quote my un-edited/original version?!!!?!

[Rizwanholo]

Hey guys,

is there an alternative to buying Coolant from Subaru only?

I mean All the coolant are supposedly the same chemical etc Only thing we need to worry about is whether subaru takes the Green or the blue or whatever color type of coolant.

 

I am curious what kind of coolant should i put in my subaru? the Blue Green or whatever color.... And if there is a brand you guys use please let me know thanksss

[TSiWRX]

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f88/coolant-conditioner-not-required-my-05-a-54698/

 

This should give you all the background you need, and no, all coolants are not the same, and is one of the reasons why Subaru wants you to use their own formulation - to prevent someone who thinks that all formulations are the same from going to the store, and making a costly mistake.

[Onthewagon]

Did the coolant change today, using the OP's method. Everything seems to be OK, but only ~5 qts drained out, and (of course) I could only get 5 qts of the fresh coolant in.

 

Anybody know why so much coolant stayed behind in the system?

 

I think I should be OK if I just do the next change a little sooner. I'm at 30K right now, the next change would be due at 60K...maybe I could move it up to about 50K since this wasn't a complete replacement?

[stewartg]

Hey guys, im doing a track day tomorrow and I was just doing a check over the car, my coolant reservoir is almost completely empty. My dealer is closed and I need to be at the track at 7, i think thats the same time the dealer opens. Is it possible to just add some phosphate coolant to it? Do I need to worry about the additive? The manual says not to mix the coolant. The car only has 9k on it, so i dont think its ready for a flush just yet.

 

Or would I be better off just running my morning sessions and then running to a Subaru dealer in the afternoon to top it off with genuine coolant?

[subawang]

You would always be safe by just topping it off with distilled water. You just need to remember to adjust the coolant/water ratio before winter hits (assuming you live in a cold climate).

[kirbwrx]

does anyone know where online i can buy the coolant additive?

[2006Specb122]

No idea, but it's not bad at the dealer. Just a few bucks if I remember correct and no shipping.

 

I'm sure you have a dealer in Texas!

[RustyShackleford]

You would always be safe by just topping it off with distilled water. You just need to remember to adjust the coolant/water ratio before winter hits (assuming you live in a cold climate).

 

Topping off with distilled water, maybe so. But some people don't

realize that preventing freezing is not the only reason for having

anti-freeze in your car. It also contains additives that prevent

corrosion, lubricate the water pump, etc. There are products

that will give you this without the freeze protection. But top off

with distilled water TOO much, and you'll have a problem, winter

or not.

[stewartg]

I had stopped at my dealer that morning on my way to the track, he told me they just use generic coolant. Whatever is cheap at the time. The only time they use Subaru coolant is for warranty work. So he sold me some generic coolant and I topped off with it.

[2006Specb122]

Well I know for a fact that is no good.

Subaru specifically calls for a certain type of coolant.

 

I don't have the book in front of me but just from memory I think they require silica free coolant.

 

You can however find big name brands that meet this criteria like PIKES PEAK coolant found at Walmart.

 

I had stopped at my dealer that morning on my way to the track, he told me they just use generic coolant. Whatever is cheap at the time. The only time they use Subaru coolant is for warranty work. So he sold me some generic coolant and I topped off with it.

[fishbone]

^ I have often wondered what exactly the OEM specs call for besides being silica-free. I would LOVE to be able to go to Valvoline and have them flush the system out, that would take care of every last drop. I am not too lazy to do this myself with a garden hoze and the kit Valvoline sells, but tap water here is VERY hard and full of minerals Valvoline Zerex Dexcool supposebly meets the specs of many Asian vehicles but it does not name Subaru specifically. Their Zerex G-05 meets the specs for our Mini, so it's very nice to know we can take it down the road to the Valvoline service and have them flush it out.