96 Outback; overheating problem

[RAJP53]

The temp. gauge on my 160k miles '96 Outback is suddenly showing hot. Cold air
comes out instead of hot. The thermostat, the radiator and the sensor were all
changed. It still reads between the middle and beyond "H". There is no
reduction in performance but still cold air comes out. The engine does not
overheat and smoke. He showed me on a laser pointer thermometer that the
engine temp is 229 degrees with the radiator as 140 degrees. He says that's
all normal. The mechanic now says it may be the gauge. Would that be the case
even with the cold air. Any ideas? Thanks for the attention.
Ric

 

[Pete D]

Air bubble, cooling system needs to be bled. Happens because the heater
raidiator is mounted so high in the dash.


The temp. gauge on my 160k miles '96 Outback is suddenly showing hot. Cold
air
comes out instead of hot. The thermostat, the radiator and the sensor were
all
changed. It still reads between the middle and beyond "H". There is no
reduction in performance but still cold air comes out. The engine does not
overheat and smoke. He showed me on a laser pointer thermometer that the
engine temp is 229 degrees with the radiator as 140 degrees. He says that's
all normal. The mechanic now says it may be the gauge. Would that be the
case
even with the cold air. Any ideas? Thanks for the attention.
Ric

 

[RAJP53]

Thanks Pete D. Bled it, but still the gauge goes up, however not smoke, no
loss in performance. The engine and radiator are still running at temperatures
noted in my earlier message. Should I ignore the gauge or not? Could it be
something else? Thanks for the time and ideas.

 

[Pete D]

What some do is drill a small hole in the top of thethermostat (1/16") to
allow proper bleeding. You can also run clear tubes from both the radiator
cap and the bleed hole and check if there is an air leak, if there is any
indication of air bubbles when the car has been running with setup it could
be a headgasket leak. If the heater is running cold then it is not bled
properly, try running it up some ramps then bleed again, it can take a lot
of mucking around to get it right, don't assume you have until the heater
works again.

Cheers.

Pete D


Thanks Pete D. Bled it, but still the gauge goes up, however not smoke, no
loss in performance. The engine and radiator are still running at
temperatures
noted in my earlier message. Should I ignore the gauge or not? Could it be
something else? Thanks for the time and ideas.

 

[RAJP53]

Thanks, Pete