collier89139 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Ok so I am at a loss. I have a 1992 Legacy and have now replaced the thermostat and the water pump and have put prestone cleaner in the radiator. The car is not overheating yet, but the top pipe to the engine is hot and the bottom pipe is cold. There is also water that has seemed to back up into the reserve and filled it up more. There is also a hissing coming fromthe engine, which I assume is bad head gaskets. I took the top plug off and water shooted out, which usually steam shoots out. I am not sure what else the problem could be. I hope someone out there can help. Thanks for all you do on here. I am trying to get this car to 300k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 It sounds like the system is working properly. The water in the radiator is hot, so the thermostat is open and the water pump is circulating the hot coolant from the engine back into the radiator. If the thermostat is open the lower hose should be pressurized. If you can't squeeze it very much when the thermostat is open it's fine. And a word to the wise... Don't ever open the radiator cap on an engine that is hot again. You almost caused serious injuries to yourself. The cooling system is pressurized. Because there is no air in the system, the coolant will never boil. As soon as you remove the cap and introduce air into the system the coolant will come to a violent boil and shoot out of the radiator as the coolant turns into a vapor and expands. The cap has a warning on it. I suggest you heed to that warning in the future. You can only run the engine without the radiator cap when the engine is cool. With a cool engine you can remove the cap, start the car, and let the car idle until it warms up. The coolant will never become pressurized and will not shoot out of the radiator violently when the car warms up. If there is an issue with the cooling system on your car, chances are the water pump is air locked meaning there is a pocket of air preventing the impeller of the pump from circulating fluid. Instead it's spinning inside this pocket of air while the coolant remains staitionary inside the engine and radiator. The most important thing you need to learn here is to never... EVER remove that cap while the engine is hot EVER again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver03 Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 Have you replaced the rad cap? Is it possible you have an air pocket in the system? Remove the burp screw on the rad and run it 15-20 mins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepedog Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I'm looking for a hood latch for a 1992 Legacy. Mine is worn out. There a few junk yards here in Taos, NM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.