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Greeting everyone!
As the title states, i have an 09 Outback 2.5i limited with 217k+ miles that is having some overheating trouble.
Some back story: It started about a year ago when i took a road trip from Oregon to SoCal to pick up my partner from a hiking trip. I picked her up from Bishop which is quite hilly and rather toasty. She had asked if i could transport some of her hiking friends up the hill to the next trail head. I'm estimating 1000+ lbs added to the rig (4 extra people and 4 backpacks weighing 40+ lbs each). Everything was fine for the most part, but my rear struts would beg to differ. The outside temperature was near 100* F and the car handled it pretty well until we got into the hills where the climb was steep and the airflow was trash. With how slow i was able to go up the hills and the lack of wind, i noticed the temp needle start to climb. I turned off the A/C, cranked the heat and rolled the windows down. This kept the needle from climbing much more but wouldn't drop until we got to the top and into the wind. We dropped off the hikers and made our descent. At this point the A/C functioned perfectly and the temperature was back to normal, but then my brakes started taking a beating due to the amount of downhill braking (lol.)
After that fiasco, and on the drive home and ever since, the temperature has been fine, until last Autumn. Coming back from a local eatery for lunch, I was sitting in my car with the heat on enjoying some tunes. I glanced down and saw my temperature needle spike, so I turned off the car and went off to work. Since this happened, I've noticed my car do that same thing about once a month, however its been more frequent as we get through the heat of the summer, where the temperature climbs every time I come to idle for more than 20 seconds.
The Symptoms: Obviously, the overheating is the big noticeable problem. What I notice happens just before the overheating begins is a bit of tremble/struggle at idle, only for a moment, as if something struggled to activate but couldn't. Right after that, we can observe the needle climb steadily. When this happens, hot air is unable to pass through the vents even at full blast and both climate controls at 85 with the A/C turned off. I have not observed a coolant leak, and although there is a very faint hint of coolant smell, there is no steam or observable mess due to eruption in the engine bay. After it overheats, and once we get driving again, heat returns to the vents and the temperature climbs down to normal operating temperature, only to *sometimes* repeat the cycle. As a result of the overheating, heat-soak takes its toll which is hilarious because the car is already underpowered as it is. The lower radiator hose maintains pressure at operating temperature, which makes us think it might not be the thermostat.
The car is currently at the local Subaru dealership right now, where they are convinced that it is a bad head gasket. I'm not convinced yet, partially because I'm certain the previous owner had the head gaskets recently replaced with they layered steel gaskets (which I think I have paperwork to verify), and partially because I'm too stubborn to admit that it might be head gaskets before exhausting other options. Any help is greatly appreciated, I have so many optimistic plans to restore this car to its former glory and just want to know what I need to do.
Thank you all in advanced.
As the title states, i have an 09 Outback 2.5i limited with 217k+ miles that is having some overheating trouble.
Some back story: It started about a year ago when i took a road trip from Oregon to SoCal to pick up my partner from a hiking trip. I picked her up from Bishop which is quite hilly and rather toasty. She had asked if i could transport some of her hiking friends up the hill to the next trail head. I'm estimating 1000+ lbs added to the rig (4 extra people and 4 backpacks weighing 40+ lbs each). Everything was fine for the most part, but my rear struts would beg to differ. The outside temperature was near 100* F and the car handled it pretty well until we got into the hills where the climb was steep and the airflow was trash. With how slow i was able to go up the hills and the lack of wind, i noticed the temp needle start to climb. I turned off the A/C, cranked the heat and rolled the windows down. This kept the needle from climbing much more but wouldn't drop until we got to the top and into the wind. We dropped off the hikers and made our descent. At this point the A/C functioned perfectly and the temperature was back to normal, but then my brakes started taking a beating due to the amount of downhill braking (lol.)
After that fiasco, and on the drive home and ever since, the temperature has been fine, until last Autumn. Coming back from a local eatery for lunch, I was sitting in my car with the heat on enjoying some tunes. I glanced down and saw my temperature needle spike, so I turned off the car and went off to work. Since this happened, I've noticed my car do that same thing about once a month, however its been more frequent as we get through the heat of the summer, where the temperature climbs every time I come to idle for more than 20 seconds.
The Symptoms: Obviously, the overheating is the big noticeable problem. What I notice happens just before the overheating begins is a bit of tremble/struggle at idle, only for a moment, as if something struggled to activate but couldn't. Right after that, we can observe the needle climb steadily. When this happens, hot air is unable to pass through the vents even at full blast and both climate controls at 85 with the A/C turned off. I have not observed a coolant leak, and although there is a very faint hint of coolant smell, there is no steam or observable mess due to eruption in the engine bay. After it overheats, and once we get driving again, heat returns to the vents and the temperature climbs down to normal operating temperature, only to *sometimes* repeat the cycle. As a result of the overheating, heat-soak takes its toll which is hilarious because the car is already underpowered as it is. The lower radiator hose maintains pressure at operating temperature, which makes us think it might not be the thermostat.
The car is currently at the local Subaru dealership right now, where they are convinced that it is a bad head gasket. I'm not convinced yet, partially because I'm certain the previous owner had the head gaskets recently replaced with they layered steel gaskets (which I think I have paperwork to verify), and partially because I'm too stubborn to admit that it might be head gaskets before exhausting other options. Any help is greatly appreciated, I have so many optimistic plans to restore this car to its former glory and just want to know what I need to do.
Thank you all in advanced.