Subacy L Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 so the reason i joined this forum is so i can get some help with the cooling system in my 94 Legacy. its got a really bad problem of overheating. this car has been through like 4 mail carriers (its a right hand drive car) and the last guy also complained about overheating. he has replaced the thermostat several times he says and it does no good. well i was outside today working on it and i found out that when i squeeze on the top main hose on the radiator i can hear sloshing of the coolant in the line in multiple places. i also get NO heat in the cabin when the engine overheats. i know for a fact that there is a lot of air trapped in the coolant line and i need to know the best way of getting it out. i dont think that its leaking but i could be wrong. i mean there is no coolant dripping out when its sitting still but im not sure if it could be leaking just wile i drive. for a long time it wouldnt overheat and would run just fine but recently i took it out and did some drifting and a doughnut or two and the problem got worse. im hard on it i know. thanks for reading and i hope you guys can give me some good tips. i plan on visiting this site often; answering questions and asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Check out this thread - there's some helpful tips in it that you might find helpful. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 Check out this thread - there's some helpful tips in it that you might find helpful. oh theres a lot of info there! i read through it as best i could. i guess i should put it up on ramps and get the air to come up to the front eh? do i have to take off the top hose or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 well today i got out there and put it up on ramps and tried my best to get the air out of the line. then, i took her for a spin and it DID overheat but not as bad as before. i was able to drive further and wait for less time for it to cool. it SEEMS to start overheating when i stop then accelerate again. its that process that makes the temp go up and keep going up until i stop and let it cool for about a minute of two. after i start it up again it may still be a little hot but as i get going it goes DOWN. its confusing but ive still very pleased at what i was able to get accomplished today. i also had HEAT in the cabin!!!! WARM HEAT! it was able to defog the windshield for once! i also still get some heat when the engine is really hot. what could that mean? i know i got a lot of air out of the line today but im not sure i got it all. if there was an airlock then i would get no heat right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 There is a bleeder screw at the top of your radiator cap. Use that. The benefit of having the N/A has that, unlike in the previous post, the turbo engines don't and they are even harder to bleed. If you are still having problems, it could be a waterpump, or possibly the engine coolant temp sensor is wacky. I'd hate to say headgasket, but if it has been run at high temps like that for a while, it may have created a small problem into a larger one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 its quite likely a head gasket because it leaks oil but slowly. i know there is something wrong with the heads on the right side but getting that fixed will be hard and expensive. im pretty sure the thermostat is good if thats what you mean by temp sensor. the water pump MY be bad i dont know. what are some signs of a bad water pump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronemus Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Assuming you have coolant in the overflow tank, the system will bleed small amounts of air on its own. You have an air leak somewhere, and a likely (and inexpensive) source is the water pump; the shaft bearing wears and air is pumped in (there's a low-pressure area around the shaft). It would be a good idea to replace it quickly as it gets worse very quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 Assuming you have coolant in the overflow tank, the system will bleed small amounts of air on its own. You have an air leak somewhere, and a likely (and inexpensive) source is the water pump; the shaft bearing wears and air is pumped in (there's a low-pressure area around the shaft). It would be a good idea to replace it quickly as it gets worse very quickly. thanks. that sound like a good next step if this gets any worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 well i did some more air bleeding today and it seemed like i got it all out. so i took her a test drive on the SAME exact route that i did last time and it overheated at the EXACT same point as last time. it was after a stop sign when the temperature gauge started to climb it got so hot that i had to stop. when i did i had a thought that it might be leaking. so i backed it up a little and SURE ENOUGH! there was a green puddle on the ground. it looks to be coming out by the bottom main hose on the radiator. ive took some pics before i drove of today. http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp172/frightenedcow/diagramleakage.jpghttp://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp172/frightenedcow/Diagramleak2.jpg So what do you guys think? the weird thing is that i SWEAR that i tightened that up before. i guess i didnt tighten enough. i will later tighten that up ans clean it off and the see if it still leaks anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Looks like the hose is in need of replacement and 2nd the suggestion to check the WP for cavitation/leaks. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 Looks like the hose is in need of replacement and 2nd the suggestion to check the WP for cavitation/leaks. ok. what makes you think the water pump may be leaking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 ^^ Assuming you have coolant in the overflow tank, the system will bleed small amounts of air on its own. You have an air leak somewhere, and a likely (and inexpensive) source is the water pump; the shaft bearing wears and air is pumped in (there's a low-pressure area around the shaft). It would be a good idea to replace it quickly as it gets worse very quickly. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Subaru Fan Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Well, I think you've got a very similar problem to mine, bro. I also thought it could be water pump, t-stat, core heater etc. But in fact I had some nasty air pockets in the cooling system and I can tell you why: one of the hoses leading from the pump to the heater wasn’t tightened up properly, so the coolant was gradually escaping (especially when I pushed her harder) until there was too much air in the system and the coolant stopped circulating through the radiator. Then my car overheated immediately. I don’t think your car is overheating because of the head gaskets. I rather think there was too much pressure and maybe not enough coolant in the system when you went for drifting and stuff so the leakage deteriorated. In your case I would proceed as follows: 1) be sure you bled out all the air out of the system (by the way you could use just tap water to save environment and $$ until you get it right). Find out how much coolant suits in your cooling system. You should be able to put in a similar amount of coolant (water) (under assumption your cooling system is free coolant). While bleeding switch on the heater and squeeze the upper radiator hose every now and then (the bleeding will be faster). You can use a cut cola bottle as a funnel to monitor the air escape, but be sure it’s leakage tight (just use some tape to fit the top of the bottle with the cap on into the radiator, make a hole in the cap of course 2) when you are finished with that, go for a short ride until the engine is warm. Stop now and then and carefully check for the leaks: radiator hoses, thermostat housing, by-pass hoses (attached to the water pump) and also the heater hoses - you should be able to localize the source of the leak. 3) if you see there's a leakage but you're not sure where from, just tighten up all the hoses and the thermostat housing as good as you can. 4) If you haven't found any leakage and the engine is still overheating, then you might have an issue with the t-stat, collapsed water pump (however the last one is almost impossible provided the water pump is of a good quality), clogged radiator or core heater etc. GOOD LUCK!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 well thank you ALL for the help so far. i still have the overheating problem and i dont think that that part on the bottom radiator hose is leaking. i mean its tight and i took it out again today and i got it to overheat (took a long time for it overheat actually) and i looked at the hose and it wasnt coming out. i was just talking with my dad and HE said that i prolly have a bad head gasket and air is being forced into the system from one of the pistons or something. it sounds like a plausible idea. im 90% sure that i have a bad head gasket because if the amount of oil on the bottom of my engine. haha. my dad suggested that we get some stop leak and put it in the cooling system. hes says they make stuff for that. the idea is to get it to seal any possible leaks that we just cant see. for example: inside the engine itself. what do you guys think of that idea? he keeps saying that its not the water pump. i guess ill take his word for it. all i know is that SOMEHOW there is air getting in because every time i bleed the air out it seems like its all gone but then the hose leading out of the heater core is full of air again. like alot of air. so yeah thanks for all the ideas so far. its been a BIG help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Subaru Fan Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 well thank you ALL for the help so far. i still have the overheating problem and i dont think that that part on the bottom radiator hose is leaking. i mean its tight and i took it out again today and i got it to overheat (took a long time for it overheat actually) and i looked at the hose and it wasnt coming out. i was just talking with my dad and HE said that i prolly have a bad head gasket and air is being forced into the system from one of the pistons or something. it sounds like a plausible idea. im 90% sure that i have a bad head gasket because if the amount of oil on the bottom of my engine. haha. my dad suggested that we get some stop leak and put it in the cooling system. hes says they make stuff for that. the idea is to get it to seal any possible leaks that we just cant see. for example: inside the engine itself. what do you guys think of that idea? he keeps saying that its not the water pump. i guess ill take his word for it. all i know is that SOMEHOW there is air getting in because every time i bleed the air out it seems like its all gone but then the hose leading out of the heater core is full of air again. like alot of air. so yeah thanks for all the ideas so far. its been a BIG help. It can be HGs but you should rule out all other frequent overheating problems before dealing with your HGs. The HGs replacement is a BIG action and can cost $$$$$$$ There's just a simple test to see if you have any external HG leakage. You can use a plastic bottle for that (see my first reply above). Provided you've bled ALL the air of your cooling system you should be able to see if there any tine bubbles appearing in the bottle. Just place it tightly and leave the engine running, top up water so you see its level in the bottle and accelerate a bit every now and then using a throttle. If your HGs are blown you'll see tiny bubbles coming out and the gas coming out of those bubbles should smell like exhaust. I actually sniffed my bubbles and it didn't smell like exhaust so I knew my HGs are ok, and those bubbles was just trapped air. That all sounds pretty primitive but it works. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 so you are saying to use a clear soda bottle and tape the open end to the radiator cap and see if bubbles come out wile accelerating. i could try that. also i will check to see if the bubbles smell like exhaust. (clever idea!) now should i cut the bottle somehow? im not sure what you meant by a cut cola bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Subaru Fan Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 so you are saying to use a clear soda bottle and tape the open end to the radiator cap and see if bubbles come out wile accelerating. i could try that. also i will check to see if the bubbles smell like exhaust. (clever idea!) now should i cut the bottle somehow? im not sure what you meant by a cut cola bottle. Take a 1L plastic bottle with a top end and a cup that would fit the radiator hole the best. Cut the bottom end of the bottle (pretty much on the bottom). Cut a hole in a cap. Put some tape on around the cap or you could also use some rubber etc. to exactly fit the radiator. Now you'll have sort of a funnel attached to your radiator. Then do that stuff with filling water into the "funnel" and so on. Try to make it as leakage tight as possible. As far as I remember the 'head gasket bubbles' should come out even while idling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 oh OK. i understand now. i will definitely try this. Does anyone think that Stop Leak will seal a leak in the head gasket if there is one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Subaru Fan Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 oh OK. i understand now. i will definitely try this. Does anyone think that Stop Leak will seal a leak in the head gasket if there is one? I heard it can work but then it would be rather a temporary solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 I heard it can work but then it would be rather a temporary solution. well i went out and bought some today and put it in the radiator after getting it up to operating temp. then i took it for a drive cuz it says it needs 1-3 minutes to do its thing. when i was test driving it it did overheat but thats most likely cuz i know there was air in the line before i left but i wanted to get the K-Stop to circulate in the system. when i got home it did some system burping and got plenty of air out. hopefully it wont get any more in. BTW: this stuff i bought said on the bottle that its a PERMANENT seal and i also put the whole bottle in. FINGERZ CROSS'D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Subaru Fan Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 well i went out and bought some today and put it in the radiator after getting it up to operating temp. then i took it for a drive cuz it says it needs 1-3 minutes to do its thing. when i was test driving it it did overheat but thats most likely cuz i know there was air in the line before i left but i wanted to get the K-Stop to circulate in the system. when i got home it did some system burping and got plenty of air out. hopefully it wont get any more in. BTW: this stuff i bought said on the bottle that its a PERMANENT seal and i also put the whole bottle in. FINGERZ CROSS'D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The only thing that worries me is the fact that you were not really sure your gaskets are blown before you put that Stop Leak. So in case your engine still overheats, is it because it's not HGs or is it because the Stop Leak didn't work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 well today was the first time i drove since i put in the stop leak and it DIDNT overheat. i had to pick up my sister from the high school and then i took the long way back. had heat the whole time but when i got back i squeezed the hose coming out of the heater core and there was still air in it. when i squeeze and release it very rapidly i can hear and feel a sloshing. that wouldnt happen if it was all coolant. also the overflow bottle was nearly full. up from being half full when i left. i did my best to get out what air i could but still have a feeling that there is air that i just cant get out. not sure where it would be at but theres always air somewhere. *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Subaru Fan Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 well today was the first time i drove since i put in the stop leak and it DIDNT overheat. i had to pick up my sister from the high school and then i took the long way back. had heat the whole time but when i got back i squeezed the hose coming out of the heater core and there was still air in it. when i squeeze and release it very rapidly i can hear and feel a sloshing. that wouldnt happen if it was all coolant. also the overflow bottle was nearly full. up from being half full when i left. i did my best to get out what air i could but still have a feeling that there is air that i just cant get out. not sure where it would be at but theres always air somewhere. *sigh* Hey, how is your car going? Is it still overheating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subacy L Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 Hey, how is your car going? Is it still overheating? NO ACTUALLY! BUT.......the cooling system still has air in it. i drove it a lOOOng way today and no overheating. when i got back home i checked the hoses and they are still part air filled. the overflow bottle was FULL but not overflowing. then i unscrewed this valve thing on the left side of the radiator right next to where the top hose is. i dont know if anyone else has this on their radiator but its a thing that you can loosen and it lets air out. since there was a lot of pressure in the line the air came rushing out along with some coolant and lots of bubbles. it let all the pressure out of the system but then the level was low because a lot of coolant went into the overflow bottle wile i was driving. does that coolant get sucked back into the radiator some how? i hope so. well thats my situation right now. NO OVERHEATING but i am driving it lightly. you know, no hard acceleration and stuff. still air in the line. thanks for asking how it was doing. is yours working yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Glad to see you have resolved your issue. OH, and... There is a bleeder screw at the top of your radiator cap. Use that. The benefit of having the N/A has that, unlike in the previous post, the turbo engines don't and they are even harder to bleed. From post #5, that was the screw I was talking about. I don't have an N/A, so couldn't post an accurate picture for you, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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