Subaru Liberty 1997

[j]

Hi,

This is from Australia down under, just bought myself a pre-owned '97
Subaru Liberty. History of car was good, no major faults, accidents.
Unfortunately I was over eager and used the car (not too heavily)
without having checked all fluid levels. This afternoon, I found a
huge puddle on the road presumably dripping from the undercarriage.

Does anyone know if driving on a empty reservoir + radiator tank cause
the pipe from the bottom of the car to pop? Because its backflowing
and siphoning fluid the wrong direction?

The puddle on the floor was a clear fluid and odourless. I crawled
under the car to snap a picture but unfortunately cant post it here.
The fluid was dripping from a "hose" which seemed like it was supposed
to be connected somewhere, but also seemed too short.

Im completely lost without my dad.

-J-

 

[j]

found a way to share photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25185094@N03/2376299983/

I have zero knowledge about cars and would appreciate any help! Thank
you all!

 

[Brian]

I can't tell quite what I'm looking at from the angle of the photos, but it
looks like you snapped your pics up near the firewall.

Perhaps that is the drain for the air conditioning just releasing a bit of
water which would be a normal thing after running the air conditioning for a
while.

Suppose you've checked all of your fluid levels by now, and have determined
if anything is low? If you have the auto tranny, there is a seperate gear
oil dipstick for the front differential, and a dipstick for the
transmission. Check both while you're at it!

~Brian

 

[Bugalugs]

found a way to share photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25185094@N03/2376299983/

I have zero knowledge about cars and would appreciate any help! Thank
you all!

You had your air conditioning on ???

 

[j]

yea, the air-conditioning was on, I guess it might be it eh? brian
reckons too, thanks guys! I thought I was in alot of trouble! =X
thanks once again, =))

 

[sarahs choice]

yea, the air-conditioning was on, I guess it might be it eh? brian
reckons too, thanks guys! I thought I was in alot of trouble! =X
thanks once again, =))

It's most certainly the overflow from the Air Conditioning.

It's very hot in Australia this time of year!

 

[j]

yea, weather is crazy-hot, then really cold now.

I actually used the car till the radiator fluid doesnt show when the
car is cold, apparently its supposed to be visible when the car is
cold, my friend said, "dry as a bone! she's so thirsty!" his dad is in
the country so he fixes his car. on that note, he remedied the problem
by adding water to both the coolant reservoir and into the bit that
the radiator cap goes over. strange though, cos I thought green fluid
was supposed to go in, why did he just add water? a helpful member of
this community advised that i need to drain it/bleed it asap, the car
manual said add 50/50 soft water and e.gly... something. does the same
mixture go into both coolant resevoir and radiator thing?

 

[Brian]

Umm "j", cars aren't supposed to use up the water in the radiator the way
you are describing. Might be something to have checked out.

Why didn't he put in the green stuff? Perhaps he didn't have any on-hand?
Also, if your car is going through coolant like it's cool-aide it can get
expensive. The anti-freeze, coolant additive stuff that is often times
green, increases the temperature the water is going to start boiling at,
decreases the temperature the water will freeze at, and helps condition /
lubricate stuffs in the engine such as the water pump. While plain water
will do you for a time, it's not recommended as the rate at which things
break down in the cooling system increases. Also, water with lots of
minerals, such as well water can have, can potentially lead to a clogged
radiator, so that is more you might keep an eye on.

~Brian

 

[Brian]

The coolant reservoir and radiator should be connected with a small diameter
hose that attatches near the filler cap on the radiator. It's the same mix
in both places. The reservoir is just a place for the water to expand into
as it heats up. The motor sucks coolant back in as things cool down.

~Brian