CDB1996DCM Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 My 93 Subie Legacy Wagon with 150k miles on it overheated on my way to work. Closer inspection revealed a small crack in my upper radiator hose, spraying coolant all over the engine bay. I've since replaced the hose and refilled coolant. I thought I fixed it but not so. While running the engine, the upper radiator hose is hot to the touch. I have hot air through the vents inside the car and I can see no visible coolant leaks. This makes me think that the Thermostat/water pump are ok. The car is now driving really poorly, very sluggish when accelerating and over heats when idle. Any helpful information would be great. I fear it's my head gasket but don't know for sure. CDB- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterblaze Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 sounds like a head gasket. but did you open the bleeder valve on the radiator when u replaced the coolant and let all the air out?? sometimes an air pocket can get stuck in the engine. maybe even pump the top hose with the valve open to get the air out. whatever you do don't have the head gasket tests done. like compression tests and chemical tests NOTHING will show up for a blown head gasket on a subi. i had a blown head gasket on the same exact car and it showed up clean twice on tests then when i had my engine swapped i took off the head and the gasket was COMPLETELY gone! wow right. ur telling me. but u can do what i did. take out the thermostat and run on just water. thats only if u can tell if its burning off coolant or pushing it out the overflow tank. but i drove for 8 months with a blown headgasket with no thermostat and just refilled with water everyday and took it to the mountains to go snowboarding drove it too work and even rallyed the hell out of it. just refill and go. and i still could have kept driving. BUT when u have another engine put in, DRILL a SMall hole in the thermostat to have a consistant amount of coolant always flowing. this will stop further head gasket failure especially if ur thermostat fails. AND if u see battery acid change the battery. the acid can get sucked in through the overflow tank and change the consistancy of the coolant making it literly eat the head gasket away. and thats for any car. and don't try ANY head gasket repair, it will NOT work. subi's have way too much compression and will just blow it out. Do you live in washington??? i know a guy in tacoma who advertises on craigslist all the time for cheap engines and trannys. hes a guru. he put a 97 outback engine with 100,000 miles in for $600 and he'll sign anything and garentee his work for a year. its been 6 months and i'm still running strong. plus he'll come to ur house no fee. yes he gets his engines from junkyards but he tests them (he knows what to look for) and only takes ones with body damage and VIN verified. mine came from a totalled outback that had been re-ended. 2 owner both old ladys thats a good buy. VIN VERIFIED. and the date was recent. same price for a tranny. hes the man. but good luck man and let me know anything new u find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDB1996DCM Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 Thanks for the feed back. I made two mistakes, first was filling the radiator with 3 quarts of straight antifreeze. I forgot to mix it with water, stupid I know. The second mistake was not properly bleeding the air out of the system before I tried driving the car again. I have since tried to go back and bleed out whatever air I could but the car still drives sluggish when acclerating, also if left to idle too long the engine will kill and turn off. Do you think either of these two things would cause the symptoms I described above? Also, if I bypass having a thermostat and just use tap water for my cooling purposes what happens when the weather gets below freezing, like it did last night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 The big mistake was to miss the bleeding. Antifreeze and water will mix when you drive anyway, so that's hardly the cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDB1996DCM Posted November 6, 2009 Author Share Posted November 6, 2009 IF air did get into the engine do to me not bleeding the system what now? Would draining the whole cooling system of coolant, refilling and properly bleeding resolve the issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterblaze Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 possibly, yes drain into bucket and refill start with top hose filling the block with coolant then connect hose to Rad when full and fill radiator start car with cap on, open bleeder valve half way and take rad cap off and fill until coolant comes out bleeder valve and close valve and make sure rads filled close cap and fill overflow tank half way. check to see if ur bottom hose gets hot when car is up to temp or overheating to see if thermostat is working...and ur right when it starts to freeze u'd have to put some amount of anti freeze in to keep it from freezing. i had to when i went up to the mountains. at sea level tho i didn't bother. guess i got lucky i started it up in the snow at home and everything. maybe i just melted it lol! also if ur head gasket isn't blown or cracked then the no thermostat isn't needed (but all subi's should have a small hole drilled through the thermostat to prevent HG failure and thermostat failure). to KNOW if ur Head Gasket IS blown start ur car and immediatly take off the radiator cap if the water is making a whirlpool effect and/or bubbles are coming up u got a crack. or if when ur up to temp driving and ur pushing coolant out ur overflow tank and/or u see bubbles coming up in ur overflow tank. means HG is cracked and leaking combustion gas into coolant and pushing coolant and steam/bubbles out overflow and onto street thus losing coolant and car eventually overheating. could strap a 100 gallon tank of water to ur car and hose into ur radiator HA. jk .....on the other hand if u bled ur car correct then the sluggish issue could be a seperate issue. possibilities: Mass Airflow Sensor could be bad = symptoms: sluggish acceleration, stall at idle. happened with me. or Fuel Filter bad and/or clogged with scum AND/OR Fuel Pump Bad or intermittently working. happened to me TOO! start with fuel filter. JUNKYARD mass airflow sensor and fuel pump. Buy NEW fuel filter. fuel pumps are usually good and mass airflow sensors. LET ME KNOW ur situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDB1996DCM Posted November 22, 2009 Author Share Posted November 22, 2009 Update. Thanks to all that gave me feed back on my Subaru Wagon. I've seen little air bubbles in my coolant tank and other signs that the head gasket is blown. I have since bought another winter beater and have put this car up for sale as a parts/fixer car on craigslist out of Portage, Wisconsin for $400 or best offer. 151K miles. The Subie has a clean title and has been the absolute best all weather car I've ever driven. It's almost impossible to get these cars stuck on unplowed snowy public roads. I can't wait until I can afford to get a newer, better Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterblaze Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I'm so sorry. and those engines are supposed to be the strongest with head gaskets. when u buy a new subi MAKE SURE YOU DRILL A SMALL HOLE IN THERMOSTAT. every subi guy i kno does this. it prevents headgasket failure with normal usage. in the case that your thermostat FAILS to open. you'll still have a small flow going through, thus preventing a headgasket crack. adn it'll keep it a lil cooler but it'll still run at optimum temp for driving and everything. trust me. good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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