coolant system

[Opaphis]

How do I go about upgrading my cars coolant system? I have a 94 legacy l. It was overheating and after I have the heads tested, put new gaskets, etc. I want to put a performance coolant system in it if possible. Any info, advice you might have thanks in advance.

[silver03]

Do you have an OEM t stat in there? If not, I would put one in to start with.

[asotwavb]

If the car is close to stock, and its has a good working factory cooling system, it should cool the car fine!

If your looking to go above and beyond i would possibly start with a thicker radiator.

[Opaphis]

Yeah it should be OEM, i want to put in a Koyo, but im wondering if there are any after market parts as far as the overflow and pressure box and such go. I just want to find as much information on similar projects, if there is any.

[kimokalihi]

You shouldnt need any beter cooling unless youre doing serious racing. The oem system works quite well. If its overheating you probably have air in the system or a buildup of debris somewhere.

[Danny-G]

You shouldnt need any beter cooling unless youre doing serious racing. The oem system works quite well. If its overheating you probably have air in the system or a buildup of debris somewhere.

Or the fans aren't working. Happened to me once.

[kimokalihi]

Oh yeah that happens a lot too but it's never caused overheating for me in washington weather. It's always turned out to be loose or dirty fan connectors. Shove them together real hard or clean them with some MAF cleaner or brake cleaner. To see if they're functioning take the car for a nice hard drive and then park it for 5 mins or so and see if the fans come on. They should be on already if you've been driving it but give it a few mins if they're not on just in case. Also sometimes one comes on and the other doesn't. I think that's normal if both fans aren't needed for the temp level but it could be a bad connection again.

[Opaphis]

I didn't say it was overheating. Thanks for the input though.... so the only aftermarket part made for these are the radiators?

[BoostedSubie]

I know svx owners have put the thermostat on the top hose with a universal housing that is supposed the keep things cooler as the eg33 is prone to overheating issues when upping the performance. Also, there are aluminum plates you can buy for the top of the core support that is supposed to keep air flow directed more towards the radiator but i've never seen them for our cars. You might be able to make an impreza one work or have one custom made. These are things i've read about but never used so can't say for sure how much they actually help.

[Legacy777]

For the non-turbo cars, there's very little if any aftermarket parts available. The larger Koyo radiators are typically only for the turbo cars. The turbo cars have a slightly taller radiator compared to the non-turbo cars. The non-turbo cars have a single row radiator.

I did some research a couple years back and I believe the early 2.5 Legacies/Outbacks 95-96 era had the same radiator dimensions as the first gen non-turbo Legacy, but were two-row radiators. I was going to upgrade to one of those radiators but never bothered since the stock cooling system was working fine.

Mind you, I am in Houston, TX so it's hot as a mother in the Summer. One thing I do add is Redline Water Wetter to the cooling system. It helps improve heat transfer. Other than that, I run a stock 50/50 distilled water & antifreeze mix.

I have a small coolant leak somewhere around my radiator. I'm not sure where it is, but I may be replacing my radiator sooner than I thought if I have a leak. If I do replace it, I'll go with the two-row and let everyone know that it indeed works.