1990 Subaru Legacy Overheating

[Preacherman]

I have a 90 Legacy that is overheating. My mechanic replaced the
timing stuff, water pump, radiator & thermostat (With Subaru
thermostat). After investing over $1,200.00 to this point it still
overheats. My mechanic continually tells me that it's not a head
gasket problem. He said that he's already done a CO2 check that he
states would tell him if it's a head problem or not. I don't have any
antifreeze in my oil or water coming from my exhaust. Nothing seems to
make sense at this point but I'm beginning to wonder, is it a head
gasket problem after all? The car has 180,000 miles on it but still
runs strong, even with the overheating problem. I don't want to get
rid of it, but I don't want to keep sinking money into either...Any
advise at this point would be great!

 

[Porgy Tirebiter]

I have a 90 Legacy that is overheating. My mechanic replaced the
timing stuff, water pump, radiator & thermostat (With Subaru
thermostat). After investing over $1,200.00 to this point it still
overheats. My mechanic continually tells me that it's not a head
gasket problem. He said that he's already done a CO2 check that he
states would tell him if it's a head problem or not. I don't have any
antifreeze in my oil or water coming from my exhaust. Nothing seems to
make sense at this point but I'm beginning to wonder, is it a head
gasket problem after all? The car has 180,000 miles on it but still
runs strong, even with the overheating problem. I don't want to get
rid of it, but I don't want to keep sinking money into either...Any
advise at this point would be great!

I would bet you that the timing is off ONE tooth retarded.....
It will start fine, idle smooth.
It will run HOT and have a loss of power.
It will NOT overheat idling.
If an Auto, it will downshift a lot.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I would bet you that the timing is off ONE tooth retarded.....
It will start fine, idle smooth.
It will run HOT and have a loss of power.
It will NOT overheat idling.
If an Auto, it will downshift a lot.

Good post - at 180K are you due for your 3rd (if 60k interval) or almost
due fro your 2nd timing belt? Though he should have inspected for wear
since he changed the water pump, it could still be off as Porgy suggests.
Do you lose coolant due to boil-over? Is the electric fan coming on?
Have you changed the radiator cap? Is your mechanic familiar with
'burping' the Subaru coolant system? Have you always had good,
non-mineralized water and good anti-freeze in the system?

I vote for the TB issue or air entrapment.

Carl

 

[Preacherman]

Good post - at 180K are you due for your 3rd (if 60k interval) or almost
due fro your 2nd timing belt? Though he should have inspected for wear
since he changed the water pump, it could still be off as Porgy suggests.
Do you lose coolant due to boil-over? Is the electric fan coming on?
Have you changed the radiator cap? Is your mechanic familiar with
'burping' the Subaru coolant system? Have you always had good,
non-mineralized water and good anti-freeze in the system?

I vote for the TB issue or air entrapment.

Carl

Hey, thanks for the feedback so far...The fans do come on and on time.
They have not changed the radiator cap, and I'm not too sure about the
burping thing. Makes sense though! I do not use mineral water. I use
well water that is not fit for drinking, however the last two times in
the garage the mechanics had put antifreeze in it.
As the car gets hotter (within 5miles now), I can begin to smell
antifreeze a bit inside. The radiator doesn't steam at all, but I have
noticed antifreeze inside the engine compartment and the overflow is
usually full with the cap popped off. The other big thing is that the
mechanic never really took it for a test drive (maybe 5 miles at the
most). He did tell me that he let it run for an hour and nothing
happened.
They never stated anything about the possibility of the timing being
off at all
Looking forward to more input...

 

[Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B]

Hey, thanks for the feedback so far...The fans do come on and on time.
They have not changed the radiator cap, and I'm not too sure about the
burping thing. Makes sense though! I do not use mineral water. I use well
water that is not fit for drinking, however the last two times in the
garage the mechanics had put antifreeze in it. As the car gets hotter
(within 5miles now), I can begin to smell antifreeze a bit inside. The
radiator doesn't steam at all, but I have noticed antifreeze inside the
engine compartment and the overflow is usually full with the cap popped
off. The other big thing is that the mechanic never really took it for a
test drive (maybe 5 miles at the most). He did tell me that he let it run
for an hour and nothing happened.
They never stated anything about the possibility of the timing being off
at all
Looking forward to more input...

Ditch the well water, unless you are filtering it. You may well be
introducing fine particles/sediment to the radiator and cooling passages
and clogging them.

I would give the thing a good power flush and fill with the proper mixture
of coolant/water, and use absolutely CLEAN water and see what happens.

 

[AS]

Overheating problems:

-Valve timing off
-Ignition timing off
-Water pump
-Thermostat
-Radiator plugged (water)
-Radiator plugged (air)
-Radiator Fan
-Radiator Cap
-Fuel/Air mixture too lean
-Exhaust pipe clogged, blocked, restricted flow including cat. converter.
-Engine Lubrication issues
-AT slipping


Can you give us additional info?
- Do you notice power loss?
- Engine Pinging?
- Increase fuel consumption?
- Loss of power at higher RPMs?

 

[Preacherman]

Overheating problems:

-Valve timing off
-Ignition timing off
-Water pump
-Thermostat
-Radiator plugged (water)
-Radiator plugged (air)
-Radiator Fan
-Radiator Cap
-Fuel/Air mixture too lean
-Exhaust pipe clogged, blocked, restricted flow including cat. converter.
-Engine Lubrication issues
-AT slipping

Can you give us additional info?
- Do you notice power loss?
- Engine Pinging?
- Increase fuel consumption?
- Loss of power at higher RPMs?




- Show quoted text -

I don't notice any power loss. In fact, I drove it to the garage
tonight (8-13) and it ran great; however, within 5 miles I noticed my
temp was already in the red (after sitting for the entire weekend).
After I got it to the garage (10 mile drive), I lifted the hood and
everything seemed okay. I popped the top off of the overflow and stuck
my finger in it and it was cool water. I am not sure what's going on
at this point...HELP!!!

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I don't notice any power loss. In fact, I drove it to the garage
tonight (8-13) and it ran great; however, within 5 miles I noticed my
temp was already in the red (after sitting for the entire weekend).
After I got it to the garage (10 mile drive), I lifted the hood and
everything seemed okay. I popped the top off of the overflow and stuck
my finger in it and it was cool water. I am not sure what's going on
at this point...HELP!!!

Well, the overflow bottle can only heat up if hot coolant is pushed
there from the radiator. If the radiator is low on coolant, the gas/air
may just get compressed and whatever coolant IS in the system gets
circulated. The overflow is to absorb, hold, then return small amounts
that are relieved due to expansion with heat. Eihter your radiator cap
is borked or the radiator is low on coolant-for one of several reasons.


Carl