overspool Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Hokay, 99 Legacy with an EJ251 (SOHC). Headgaskets are fresh (no problems), new thermostat, and new radiator cap. I've burped the system several times, and it's straight coolant now. I'm not losing any coolant. I only have problems with overheating when cruising on the freeway for a long time, or if going uphill in low rpms (ex: 5% grade in 5th gear ~3k). I downshift, bring the rpms up, and the temperature drops again. It never gets ridiculous (at least I never let it gets really hot) only about a notch higher. So, here are my diagnosis options. 1) I noticed that a little bit of the plastic surrounds on my bumper have disappeared. I am thinking that air isn't being directed through the radiator, and causing an issue. 2) I could have a partially clogged radiator, so the extra pressure of the water pump running faster allows the coolant to flow faster. 3) My water pump could be corroded and not moving the coolant fast enough. Has anybody else experienced this? I did a bit of searching and didn't come up with anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Hokay, 99 Legacy with an EJ251 (SOHC). this combination did not not come from the factory in a 99 legacy in the US. but that probably does not matter in regards to your over heating problem. before you did the head gaskets, did you add any coolant stop leak or conditioners to the radiator? they can clog a rad once you drain the coolant out and it sits around if you don't flush them out. 1) I noticed that a little bit of the plastic surrounds on my bumper have disappeared. I am thinking that air isn't being directed through the radiator, and causing an issue. not this. 2) I could have a partially clogged radiator, so the extra pressure of the water pump running faster allows the coolant to flow faster.maybe this. 3) My water pump could be corroded and not moving the coolant fast enough. only if the water pump was not replaced when the head gaskets were done, but maybe. how many miles? who did the head gaskets and when? what brand of head gasket was used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baddog Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Waterpump was not replaced when you did HG's? *facepalm* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overspool Posted December 30, 2011 Author Share Posted December 30, 2011 Waterpump was replaced like 5k before I bought the car, then 5k later the headgaskets blew. I did not think to even inspect the waterpump when I had the motor pulled apart. I totally spaced it. The engine is a swap, it originally had the ej22. I did the headgaskets myself, had the heads machined, followed the FSM to the TEE. No stop leak was ever added to the system. It's not the headgaskets. Don't worry about that. I already tested for hydrocarbons in the coolant. I was about to get a shop to do a coolant flush for me, but then found out they wanted 80 bucks for it. eff that. I'll wait til the semester starts again and pull my car into the shop at school and do it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overspool Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 So, I went through 2 of the cheap o'reilly's thermostats. I decided that I was going to replace with an oem one just to see if that was the issue. So far so good... I've put around 2k on it and haven't had a problem since. This is so interesting to me, because the symptoms were so different than a normal thermostat issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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