ssbtech Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 It seems like it is always the passenger side that is affected. Anyone having the driver's side blow cool with the passenger side remaining warm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN 2.5i Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Just had my dealer flush the cooling system. It seemed to have fixed the problem with the passenger side blowing only warm air, now it just blows cold Driver's side still OK. Sounds like the blocked it further instead of clearing it... I wonder if they didn't backflush and just pushed the coolant through the normal direction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Sounds like the blocked it further instead of clearing it... I wonder if they didn't backflush and just pushed the coolant through the normal direction? That's what I am thinking. When I asked for just the heater core to be flushed the service writer said the whole system needs to be flushed When I take it back I'll ask the mechanic who worked on it if he thinks backflushing would fix it. Did you get yours flushed yet? Did it work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN 2.5i Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 That's what I am thinking. When I asked for just the heater core to be flushed the service writer said the whole system needs to be flushed When I take it back I'll ask the mechanic who worked on it if he thinks backflushing would fix it. Did you get yours flushed yet? Did it work? Yah, I've had mine done. It improved it somewhat, maybe 20% better, but still not as hot as driver's side. I had drained and refilled the system a couple times, flushing with straight water as well, so when I took it in I asked specifically for just the heater core as I wanted to limit any changes to the system to the heater core in particular. I've purchased a new heater core from Fred Beans in any case to have on hand if I end up taking apart the dash at some point in the future. But for now, the heat has been restored enough that it's reasonable. It had gone completely cold at one point, but after my flushes I got it back to lukewarm, and now it's decently warm, just not hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Shouldn't heater cores last longer than 130,000km?! I'm not looking forward to having the dash ripped apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndas Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I have had this same issue...for about 4 months at 150,000 kms...we have tried flush and many other things with the exception of ripping out the dash...I get the idle gurgle and everything...the head machanic at my suby dealer is a client of mine and he has tried many things...! After inititial flush some heat came back to the passenger side but not much...then my car started to overheat...it would kick up 3/4 of the way not far off the red when sitting in traffic then kick back down as soon as I started driving...after monitoring this for awhile even a few long trips 700k plus I had a steamy radiator moment...filled and drove to dealer had the system tested for pressure etc and all was okay! Drove for a week locally and while temp was half way up radiator completely cracked and exploded...! Towed to dealer and had radiator, radiator cap and thermostat replaced...system flushed and after 2 weeks car is running fine...temp has been completely normal and things seem back to normal...! Except...no heat in passenger side and gurgle in dash still eveident! My questions would be...did this issue cause the demise of my radiator...? J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I had the gurgle in the dash when starting up but that was resolved with a cooling system drain and refill. Still no heat passenger side, car is at dealer today to fluch/backflush the heater core. Hopefully that resolves it and doesn't cause more problems :s johndas, does your dealer use the Subaru coolant conditioner? They should be using it to keep the head gaskets happy but I suspect this is plugging up the heater core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndas Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Thanks for the note...they are as far as I know using the Subaru coolant conditioner. We are monitoring the results...very frustrating...and do not look forward to pulling apart the dash...as I am far out of warranty! Keep me posted if you can...thanks...J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Thanks for the note...they are as far as I know using the Subaru coolant conditioner. We are monitoring the results...very frustrating...and do not look forward to pulling apart the dash...as I am far out of warranty! Keep me posted if you can...thanks...J I was about set to have them replace the heater core today but I wanted to try the flush first. It's a big job to replace it. Some people have had success with a flush, others have not. Sometimes it takes several forward/reverse flushes for it to clear up depending on how much junk is in there. I worry that they'll just do a quick flush and say "nope, nothing came out". I was quoted $140 for the core, not bad, but the labour will be a killer (didn't ask about that yet). IMO the conditioner is a poor excuse for shoddy head gasket design. I shouldn't be on the hook for repairing any damage caused by the conditioner (which is basically rad-weld, stop-leak, etc...). The service rep thought it was one of the air mix actuators getting stuck, but I can hear it running when I turn the temp knob. The temp does change from AC-cold to luke-warm indicating that the air mix door is in fact moving. Add to that people with a single-zone climate control are having the same problem and the only explanation is a plugged heater core. If that doesn't do it maybe I'll bring it over to Van and we can get a group buy rate on the labour to replace the core I'll keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndas Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Sweet...I am all ears...the overheating issue was expensive and stressfull and I am just wondering if air in the system or said possible plugged heater core caused issue to damage my radiator or thermostat? Hope it works out! J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I haven't looked too closely at the drawings, but I was told that a plugged heater core wouldn't impede the cooling system for the rest of the car. As for air in the system - I don't know. Mine was like that for quite a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN 2.5i Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I elected to not run the coolant conditioner after the most recent flushing. I think it is probably the root of the problem for the blockages in the heater core. The parts advisor stated it really isn't needed on our generation of motors - it was more of a bandaid for the older designs and they haven't seen the same sort of headgasket failures in the newer motors, say '05+. Heater core through Fred Bean's was less than $70, 60-something. I bought mine with the last order I did and just have it on hand for the next time the dash needs to come apart, whenever that may be. Not going to bother replacing it by itself at this point as I do get reasonable heat (80%) from the passenger side after all the flushing I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Well I know there have been head gasket failures on the turbos in as little as 80,000 miles so I think I'll keep the condit.. er.. stop-leak in there. Heater core is cheaper than an engine rebuild :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndas Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I hear you on that one...I had a leak-down test done with all signs normal...removed turbo and intercooler and clean as a whistle...there was an issue and Subaru bulleting for a 2097 code reading for the engine management sensor and I replaced that as per guidlines...as of now I have no signs of overheating or engine running issues...just this freaking heater issue...! Hate the speculation! J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 If your hearing is good, turn the car to ON (no engine running) and twiddle with the passenger side temp knob. If you listen carefully down by the right side of the radio you should be able to hear the actuator moving. It moves in small steps so change the temp from 18 to 28 or something to hear it do a full sweep. If you have the AC running you should also be able to feel a temp change from cold to luke-warm when you turn the dial. Those are good indications that it is not the actuator. Unfortunately I can't think of what else it could be This is generally why stop-leak isn't recommended - it plugs things up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Well it seems like after several flushes/backflushes of just the heater core the heater works properly now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndas Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Update...is your heating still working properly? To update my progress...due to summer coming up we did a core bypass so no fluid is running through the core at all...result...no gurgle...all systems normal and just no heat...I have had no overheating issues for a few months now...out thoughts are that due to clogged heater core it put undue stress on my system (air in the system differrent pressures etc.) This over time did finally damaged my radiator until it was fried. Now besides heat it's all systems go and not had a single issue of overheating at all. Point...during the course of diagnosing all these items I was hearing words such as "Head Gasket" engine block etc...turns out that leaving the heater core issue too long will eventually pput stress on the entire cooling system...all subsequent engine testing turned up very normal results so no signs of engine issues! If you hear a gurgle probably best to deal with it asap.! J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Mine is working properly. Although I think my AC compressor might be having trouble engaging. Not sure, just noticed something amiss today. I had a sloshing sound at start-up quite a while ago. Dealer emptied and re-filled the cooling system and it went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shutterbc Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Reviving this thread because it's that time of year again, reminding me I never fixed this problem on my car. For those of you with just an actuator problem, did you notice that there was no air blowing in the passenger footwell? Or was it cold air blowing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Reviving this thread because it's that time of year again, reminding me I never fixed this problem on my car. For those of you with just an actuator problem, did you notice that there was no air blowing in the passenger footwell? Or was it cold air blowing? There are different actuators in the system. There is one for each side that is responsible for mixing the hot and cold air. That's all it does. It doesn't direct air flow to specific vents. Then there are actuators that do direct air to specific vents and others that select recirc/fresh air intake. If you have air flow that changes vents when you cycle through the air direction settings, then those actuators are working correctly. These actuators have no bearing on the temperature of the air, just which vents it comes from. So, when you press the button to cycle through floor vents, dash vents, defrost, etc.. does it cycle through properly? When you adjust the temperature knobs, does the air temp change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy05gtwagon Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 I'm new here just bought a 05 gt wagon have same problem how do I check vin with recalls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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