legacycentral bbs

so today i took my girls 95legacy up to my borthers to change the oil..well about 1000ft from my driveway, i noticed the temp gauge climbing awfully fast....then past the [H] for hot...i immediatly pulled over and shut the car off....i messed with the radiator, popped the top off, no over flow...-cold as can be for just starting it....so i tapped the thermostat housing..
..nothing...i started it back up and it was still there [above hot], knowing that the motor is not that hot, i put it in gear and moved about 10ft...then the gauge went to about 1/4 between [C] and [H], normal readings.
i stopped at the auto parts store and bought a thermostat and replaced it...seems to have fixed it...is this a sign of a bad thermostat? ive never had this happen to me..never seen a temp gauge move so rapidly....
tia
sam

If you say the engine wasn't as hot as the gauge was saying, then you might have a faulty coolant temp sensor, the one that tells the gauge what to do. But you said that it seemed to be fixed after the new T-stat install, so the engine probably was that hot and the T-stat was indeed stuck closed.

However, Subarus don't seem to like aftermarket T-stats, as I understand. Granted, that was an emergency situation, but what I personally would have done is taken the thermostat out entirely, let the car run cold all the time until I could come up with an OEM thermostat.

Is it also true that OEM T-stats are fail-safe, meaning that if they were to fail, they would only stick open, allowing coolant to reach the engine? Can someone confirm that for me??

I would only use OEM T-stat. Have you seen it? It's a big beafy typically overbuilt thing and the aftermarkets are flimsy and small. I have also tried the aftermarket one with no success. Didn't work for more than a week. Replaced with OEM and found out it was only a few dollars more anyway, and unlike Foreign Auto Parts, they didn't give me one for a Loyale (twice).

I always use an OE thermo. Reading storys about aftermarket units getting stuck close or binding up on the housing changed me real quick.

make sure you use an OEM. The aftermarket jobbers do not have the same opening rate, temp change rate, and other issues which will cause problems.

[quote="subyluvr2212"] but what I personally would have done is taken the thermostat out entirely, let the car run cold all the time until I could come up with an OEM thermostat.

quote]

Sometimes taking a thermostat out can also cause overheating.The coolant does not stay in the radiator long enough to dissipate the heat.

well i had to use a big A thermostat for now, as far as getting a OEM t-stat, well thats over 100miles away..it seems to be fine...ill find out tomorrow, or atleast ill know myself...thanks for the input though everyone!

Order it from 1stsubaruparts.com or subaruparts.com, then its only the walk to your mailbox!

i took the scooby for a ride today...about 40miles+ working fine, temp is actually a little cooler than b4...but i will put a oem t-stat on my to-do list...along with my impreza, and my LSi...i need a vacation!!

Not having to much experience with the cooling systems in these cars, but after dealing with my MB diesel, I know to always use OEM t-stats. Can anyone tell me if they are hard to bleed all the air out of the cooling system? I know that in my MB it is very hard to get the air all the way out...

Until I realized that there is a air release valve on the passenger side of the radiator, I always just shook the radiator while I was filling it, and when it was full, shake it some more until no bubbles came out and also squeezed the top radiator hose to expel any more air before I put the cap on.