feardaram Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I have a 2006 2.5i with 110K. I recently noticed that during sustained highway driving (75+ mph or climbing mountains at 60+) the temp gauge will climb to about a needle-width below the 3/4th line (not all the way to the 3/4 line or beyond into the red H area). This happens once the car is sufficiently warm and I've held that speed for 5-10 minutes continuously. During most other driving the gauge stays right in the middle. The needle did climb sharply the other day under heavy acceleration from stop to 75, then quickly came down when I slowed down. The coolant was last changed by subaru approximately 40K miles ago. I checked the coolant in the reservoir this morning and it appeared to be completely empty. Drove and bought coolant, added just a bit to the reservoir, drove the rest of the way to work and parked for 8 hours. After work filled the reservoir line to the full mark (which it appears I should have only filled it to the lower line since it was cold?) and drove home. I haven't added to or looked in the radiator. I took the highway home to see how it would do. The temp gauge stayed right in the middle for most of the drive, probably 25 minutes at 80 mph, which is longer than previous experiences. At about the 25 min mark the needle started to climb to a bit below the 3/4 mark. Got off and after a few min at slower speeds the needle came back to the middle for the rest of the drive. When I got home I looked at the reservoir and it appeared to be empty, although it was hard to tell because it was dark (at the very least it wasn't to the top). I plan on checking the reservoir level in the morning. Any thoughts on what is going on here? What should I do/try/look for? I know basically nothing about cars so explicit thoughts/instructions are appreciated in advance. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTS Jeff Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 My car occasionally overheated under load like yours until I snipped the reservoir straw like in the TSB and did a good flush of the coolant system. Haven't had any problems since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feardaram Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 could you explain the contents of the TSB? thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShrinerMonkey Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 You are overdue for a coolant flush anyway so I would start there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTS Jeff Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 The TSB was posted on theL7 back when it was working. But basically, take the straw out of the overflow bottle, and snip it so it's short enough to not suck debris from the bottom the bottle. The debris would get into the rad cap and gunk it up, causing a vacuum to form in the cooling system. I think. I really don't remember the specifics anymore. I snipped the straw, did a thorough flush of the system, took the overflow bottle out and rinsed the crud from the bottom of it, and replaced my rad cap and tstat. Car has been fine for the last couple years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datrumole Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Sounds like you have a bubble in your system. Here are some steps you can do to make sure thats not the case -Open the top reservoir up by your turbo (the little black box with a radiator cap on it) -Start your car and get it warm so that the thermostat opens. You can check this by feeling the big fat tube that goes from the top of your radiator to your engine. Squeeze it, if you can, then its just air, if not, then there is coolant flowing (and it will probably get very hot) -Start filling the reservoir little by little, revving the engine a bit (you'll need two people for this) in between each pour. Keep the rpms low on the revs or you'll bubble over. Continue to do this until the res will not take any more, and as you pour, then rev, it will over flow a bit, as it's over flowing get the cap on it quick. I went for a coolant change for subaru, and they did not do this properly. What happens is an air bubble flows through your system and the engine gets hot. Once it passes through, it cools down, and repeats this process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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