1997 subaru legacy overheating

well, I've done hours more of research, and found you can tell be smelling the exhaust fumes / testing the coolant, I'm now pretty sure I'll be riding that train but I still want to check into other things
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

Porgy Tirebiter wrote:
> "pr1mus" wrote in message
>
>
>>Got a 97 subaru legay (2.5l) and it blew the rediator cap the day I
>>drove it home from where I bought it. The price was so good, YOU
>>COULDNT GET ME TO RETURN IT. ($3,500 fools) This could have been
>>somewhat expected, the car sat in a 62.25 degree showroom for several
>>months, and was then thrust into a rather frigid 17 degree ohio
>>winter. The reson it leaked was the cap's rubber seal had dry rotted a
>>little and cracked a little on one edge. made it home fine, but I have
>>had the coolant purging/ overheating problem a lot recently.
>>
>>The radiator shop claims the head gasket, but i'm not ready to jump on
>>that train quite yet
>
> ALL ABOARD!!! they are correct..head gasket is blown...
>
>
>

Yeah, I'm definitely packing to head to the station, but I'm hoping to
cancel my trip if I get phone call telling me the thermostat is stuck
or there's an air pocket entrained. (<g>)

You could try putting the nose up on ramps, then doing a fill, run the
motor - cap off- till you get circulation (fans come on) then , cap on
and o'flow bottle filled a little past max, let the car cool off. You
could do the routine again, or check the o'flow bottle...drive car,
recheck radiator and o'flow bottle for a few 'drive cycles', etc.

good luck

Carl


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 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

"Carl 1 Lucky Texan" wrote in message

> Porgy Tirebiter wrote:
>> "pr1mus" wrote in message
>>
>>
>>>Got a 97 subaru legay (2.5l) and it blew the rediator cap the day I
>>>drove it home from where I bought it. The price was so good, YOU
>>>COULDNT GET ME TO RETURN IT. ($3,500 fools) This could have been
>>>somewhat expected, the car sat in a 62.25 degree showroom for several
>>>months, and was then thrust into a rather frigid 17 degree ohio
>>>winter. The reson it leaked was the cap's rubber seal had dry rotted a
>>>little and cracked a little on one edge. made it home fine, but I have
>>>had the coolant purging/ overheating problem a lot recently.
>>>
>>>The radiator shop claims the head gasket, but i'm not ready to jump on
>>>that train quite yet
>>
>> ALL ABOARD!!! they are correct..head gasket is blown...
>>
>>
>>
>
> Yeah, I'm definitely packing to head to the station, but I'm hoping to
> cancel my trip if I get phone call telling me the thermostat is stuck or
> there's an air pocket entrained. (<g>)
>
> You could try putting the nose up on ramps, then doing a fill, run the
> motor - cap off- till you get circulation (fans come on) then , cap on and
> o'flow bottle filled a little past max, let the car cool off. You could do
> the routine again, or check the o'flow bottle...drive car, recheck
> radiator and o'flow bottle for a few 'drive cycles', etc.
>
> good luck

It's a compression to water jacket failure Carl...if he is building up so
much pressure it's popping the cap that's all it can be.
He can get a detection kit but it will be a wasted $30.
He can't be overheating in 17 degree weather, not to the point of popping
the cap...
Usually when a Thermostat sticks, it doesn't show hot, the gauge lags.
I would run it cold at about 2500 RPM and look in the fill area for bubbles,
or if warm watch the overflow tank for activity.
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

Porgy Tirebiter wrote:
> "Carl 1 Lucky Texan" wrote in message
>
>
>>Porgy Tirebiter wrote:
>>
>>>"pr1mus" wrote in message
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Got a 97 subaru legay (2.5l) and it blew the rediator cap the day I
>>>>drove it home from where I bought it. The price was so good, YOU
>>>>COULDNT GET ME TO RETURN IT. ($3,500 fools) This could have been
>>>>somewhat expected, the car sat in a 62.25 degree showroom for several
>>>>months, and was then thrust into a rather frigid 17 degree ohio
>>>>winter. The reson it leaked was the cap's rubber seal had dry rotted a
>>>>little and cracked a little on one edge. made it home fine, but I have
>>>>had the coolant purging/ overheating problem a lot recently.
>>>>
>>>>The radiator shop claims the head gasket, but i'm not ready to jump on
>>>>that train quite yet
>>>
>>>ALL ABOARD!!! they are correct..head gasket is blown...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Yeah, I'm definitely packing to head to the station, but I'm hoping to
>>cancel my trip if I get phone call telling me the thermostat is stuck or
>>there's an air pocket entrained. (<g>)
>>
>>You could try putting the nose up on ramps, then doing a fill, run the
>>motor - cap off- till you get circulation (fans come on) then , cap on and
>>o'flow bottle filled a little past max, let the car cool off. You could do
>>the routine again, or check the o'flow bottle...drive car, recheck
>>radiator and o'flow bottle for a few 'drive cycles', etc.
>>
>>good luck
>
>
> It's a compression to water jacket failure Carl...if he is building up so
> much pressure it's popping the cap that's all it can be.
> He can get a detection kit but it will be a wasted $30.
> He can't be overheating in 17 degree weather, not to the point of popping
> the cap...
> Usually when a Thermostat sticks, it doesn't show hot, the gauge lags.
> I would run it cold at about 2500 RPM and look in the fill area for bubbles,
> or if warm watch the overflow tank for activity.
>
>
>
Yeah, you definitely do not want to see regular large bubbles - or
smell exhaust!

Carl


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to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

"pr1mus" wrote in message

> well, I've done hours more of research, and found you can tell be
> smelling the exhaust fumes / testing the coolant, I'm now pretty sure
> I'll be riding that train but I still want to check into other things

Depending on the miles on that engine, you are going to want to do a few
other things while in there.....
This vehicle is now 10 years old.....BELTS & HOSES......unless you have
proof they have been swapped out..DO IT.
The 2.5 is prone to oil leaks, fix them while you are in there....
Check fuel rails for bad hoses,clamps.(they leak from the factory in cold
weather..yes really!)
Ask around here, they have a lot of experiences in the problems with the
2.5L engines.
Try to NOT drive it while it's leaking coolant, your going to buy yourself a
ton of trouble.
Subaru engines WILL develop "Hotspots" when they get air into the system,
this will waste an engine.
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

Porgy Tirebiter wrote:

> Subaru engines WILL develop "Hotspots" when they get air into the system,
> this will waste an engine.

One thing I always liked about my Saab 900s was the purg valve:a tire
valve-at the high point of the cooling system. And it's easy to put one
on any car. Just install a tire valve in the highest hose in the
system. Voila, instant bleed valve.
Phil Brown
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

I am having the same problem with my 97 outback. I took it to the shop and the head gasket is blown! UGH!
They gave me an estimate of $1500-2000.
Does that seem high? Should I take it to the dealer?
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

Well people, we were all wrong, and the problem was fixed cheaper than we can all imagine.

I have a good mechanic in the area who is about 60 years old and knows (and has seen) more than your average mechanic. He tried first flushing the radiator realy good, examined the water pump and then realized they had been replaced, alon with the belts. He realized this car had a previous overheating problem. This mechanic is GOOD he actually taked the cars out driving, for good long trips, not just having them sit in the garage idling for 5 minutes before giving the OK. He drove it from akron to massilon and back, 2 times, the first time there and back he overheated. The next time he planned to watch the guage carefully, and then planned to promptly open the hood to see if anythig was wrong. the next trip to massilon he saw the guage beginnig to climb, and then he stoppes the car and opened the hood. After examinig the large rubber hose coming out of the radiator on the left hand side, he saw it was horribly collapsed form vacume pressure. After getting it back to his shop, he did the best thing that ever happend to this car, he put a SPRING in the HOSE. Yays for me and Yays for him. This was the cure, it stopped the overheating, and the temperature needly stays 70% lower than it used to. The heat still works, the airconditiong still works, and the car no longer overheats.

If any of you live in ohio, and want to know about this mechanic, just pm me or email at uranium_285.DeleteThis@sbcglobal.net
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

Depending on what part of Ohio he's located in this might be of interest to
some of us. However, your sig isn't included with your message, and the
email address you use is obviously false/spam trapped, so there is no way to
contact you off list as you requested to get the information. Trolling? Or
is the whole thing made up to see what responses you could draw out?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On 2/3/07 3:25 PM, in article
972794_935bd3aa9a3c3f76d60a994dc444dfe8 RemoveThis @0000.com, "pr1mus"
wrote:

> Well people, we were all wrong, and the problem was fixed cheaper than
> we can all imagine.
>
>
> If any of you live in ohio, and want to know about this mechanic, just
> pm me or email at [visit link below for email address]
>
> "Dotster" wrote:
>> I am having the same problem with my 97 outback. I took it to
>> the shop and the head gasket is blown! UGH!
>> They gave me an estimate of $1500-2000.
>> Does that seem high? Should I take it to the dealer?
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

On Sat, 03 Feb 2007 20:25:25 GMT, pr1mus wrote:

> After getting it back to his shop, he did the best thing that ever
> happend to this car, he put a SPRING in the HOSE.

A spring in the hose? I imagine a coiled spring, inserted into the hose to
give it some strength. Is that about it?

> Yays for me and Yays
> for him. This was the cure, it stopped the overheating, and the
> temperature needly stays 70% lower than it used to. The heat still
> works, the airconditiong still works, and the car no longer overheats.
>
>
> If any of you live in ohio, and want to know about this mechanic, just
> pm me or email at [visit link below for email address]

He is a very clever guy indeed.
--
Dan Langille
PGCON -The PostgresSQL Conference
http://www.pgcon.org/
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

But won't it be better to just replace the hose, cause won't the spring
eventually fail/corrode or the current hose eventually start to deterioate
or collapse further down pass where the spring was inserted? I'm just asking
cause I want to understand it better and I'm really really far from being a
mechanic.

"Dan Langille" wrote in
message
> On Sat, 03 Feb 2007 20:25:25 GMT, pr1mus wrote:
>
>> After getting it back to his shop, he did the best thing that ever
>> happend to this car, he put a SPRING in the HOSE.
>
> A spring in the hose? I imagine a coiled spring, inserted into the hose
> to
> give it some strength. Is that about it?
>
>> Yays for me and Yays
>> for him. This was the cure, it stopped the overheating, and the
>> temperature needly stays 70% lower than it used to. The heat still
>> works, the airconditiong still works, and the car no longer overheats.
>>
>>
>> If any of you live in ohio, and want to know about this mechanic, just
>> pm me or email at [visit link below for email address]
>
> He is a very clever guy indeed.
> --
> Dan Langille
> PGCON -The PostgresSQL Conference
> http://www.pgcon.org/
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

Well, the email is real (I figured if I cant trust a small number of mechanics/ those with a similar problem, who can I trust?) , and the fix is also real. My car now runs great. I guess I should now give out the garage's information. I'm sure he could use the business.

~~~Ken Chapman's Garage~~~
~~~5666 Wooster Rd~~~
~~~Norton, OH 44203~~~
~~~330-825-0622~~~

He is one of the nicest most profesional mechanics I have ever seen, I hope he helps you out too. Just say "someone named Andrew told me about you on the internet" and mention the subaru. He'll know who I am.
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating 

In the past they used to put in springs to keep the hoses from collapsing.
As far as I know all the new hoses are formed and as you are saying, when
they start to collapse, it is a sign that it is time to replace them. I know
one of the checks is to see if they have gotten soft.

Blair

"reversemidas" wrote in message

> But won't it be better to just replace the hose, cause won't the spring
> eventually fail/corrode or the current hose eventually start to deterioate
> or collapse further down pass where the spring was inserted? I'm just
> asking cause I want to understand it better and I'm really really far from
> being a mechanic.
>
> "Dan Langille" wrote in
> message
>> On Sat, 03 Feb 2007 20:25:25 GMT, pr1mus wrote:
>>
>>> After getting it back to his shop, he did the best thing that ever
>>> happend to this car, he put a SPRING in the HOSE.
>>
>> A spring in the hose? I imagine a coiled spring, inserted into the hose
>> to
>> give it some strength. Is that about it?
>>
>>> Yays for me and Yays
>>> for him. This was the cure, it stopped the overheating, and the
>>> temperature needly stays 70% lower than it used to. The heat still
>>> works, the airconditiong still works, and the car no longer overheats.
>>>
>>>
>>> If any of you live in ohio, and want to know about this mechanic, just
>>> pm me or email at [visit link below for email address]
>>
>> He is a very clever guy indeed.
>> --
>> Dan Langille
>> PGCON -The PostgresSQL Conference
>> http://www.pgcon.org/
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: 1997 subaru legacy overheating