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Ok, so about 3 weeks ago my radiator mysteriously busted open, so i ordered a replacement and installed it. Ever since it has been over heating like crazy. I did notice that the last time I test drove it that the overflow was filled to the brim, but this morning it was nearly dry. I cant figure this thing out. here is what I have tried so far.

Rock the car to expel air, lots of bubbles, but still over heating
drained everything again including block, new thermostat, flush, refill, rock and still over heating.
more rocking, still overheating.
Performed exorcism, still overheating.

I haven't let it overheat to the point that it pinned the temp, and I can't find any leaks. No steam or leaks coming from the heads, no exhaust smell in the coolant, no coolant/oil mixing anywhere. It also will do the geyser routine when I try to refill it when running once it gets warm. The only thing I haven't done is radiator cap.

If anyone has any ideas, please help me. This is my only vehicle and I really cant buy another one right now.

Thanks!

what i do to try to get all the air out is take the cap off, place my hand over the hole and grab the upper radiator hose and squeeze it several times... it's always worked for me.

you check to make sure your fans are plugged in?
did you use an aftermarket thermostat?
did you put the thermostat in backwards? (ive never had to do a thermo so i don't know if it can go in backwards or not)

Tried the squeeze thing too, forgot to mention it. but didn't put hand over the filler neck. Will attempt after picking up new rad cap today. Also, yes, used stant thermostat. I know, people on here hate them, but I use them all the time and never had a problem with them.

it's not that people hate them, aftermarket thermos just seem to fail, from what i've read

greenmonster94 wrote:Tried the squeeze thing too, forgot to mention it. but didn't put hand over the filler neck. Will attempt after picking up new rad cap today. Also, yes, used stant thermostat. I know, people on here hate them, but I use them all the time and never had a problem with them.

People hate them for a reason. They're built wrong. Stop being cheap and use the OEM subaru thermostat. If you had the OEM one sitting next to an aftermarket one you'd notice the difference immediately.

You most likely have air in your system. Replace the thermostat with OEM. Then fill the system back up and make sure your overflow tank is filled to the fill line. Check to make sure your radiator fans are both plugged in solidly. Sounds stupid but sometimes they're not plugged in all the way. Then turn the car on and let it idle while it slowly warms up to operating temp. Meanwhile leave the cap off and keep squeezing the radiator hoses and adding more coolant as it drops. Once it's reached operating temp and the fans come on then put the cap on and check to make sure the overflow tank is still full to the fill line. Grab a bottle of coolant mixture and hit the road. Periodically stop and check the fluid level. Be careful, of course, it will be hot. Use a rag and keep pressure on the cap when you open it so it won't pop off and shoot water everywhere. Do it very slowly and you will notice if water comes out then it's full and tighten it again.

After driving it, let it cool down all the way and check it again. Then just keep checking it over the next week to make sure it's still full, squeeze the hoses again and top it off. Good to go. If this doesn't work you probably have a different problem like a clogged heater core or head gasket failure.

Found a picture comparing the two. OEM on the left, aftermarket on the right.

Wow big difference

Indeed, it's no wonder they don't work properly.

And the price really isn't far off, either. People are afraid of the dealer's parts department, but the prices on some things are very reasonable so it doesn't hurt to check there first.

I'm not sure it's really an issue of the aftermarket unit failing so much as failing to work with these engines. I tried one myself and had issues. When I checked it in hot water and let it cool off, it cycled appropriately, but caused problems while installed. Went and bought an OEM one because of the obvious difference in size and quality (which I didn't know until I bought the aftermarket unit and removed the old one) and that was the end of my thermostat problem.

I wonder how many different engines this applys to...lol. If I knew that before, it probably would've saved me a lot of time and money.

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There should be a square plastic bolt on the left side of the radiator if looking at it from the front of the car. It is for purging air, unscrew it and start the car. Allow it to warm up until the thermostat opens, air bubbles should be evacuated out of the vent, when coolant starts flowing out of it, replace the plug. Leave the cap on during the process.

Wow, that is a big difference on the thermostat. I guess i'll go pick one up from the dealer on wed. when i get paid.... Its so weird though, my last thermostat was a stant and it worked perfectly for over a year. maybe they are just not built to last or something...

Just to add a little more info, the aftermarket thermostats respond different to rates of temperature change than the stock setups. They tend to respond more quickly so you'll get temp spikes or drops. I first experienced this phenomena with the aftermarket t-stats back around 1995. I replaced the t-stat with an OEM Subaru t-stat and it was fine.

Also, you didn't specify whether your car is turbo or non-turbo. The non-turbo cars have bleeder screw on the passenger side of the radiator that needs to be opened as you fill the cooling system to allow air to escape.

its a NA, and is still being a bee-atch. I just cant get this thing right.... but not seeing any signs of headgasket failure. to recap, no white smoke, no oil/water mixing in any areas, no steam/leaks around heads. haven't checked plugs yet, what am i looking for on the plugs if it is a headgasket anyway?

None of those things. The car will simply overheat, particularly during steady driving or stationary. You might get a little filth in your coolant, but that could just as easily be corrosion. It's combustion gases. They get into the cooling system and block off the water pump impeller.

but it will idle all day long and not over heat, but as soon as i take it for a drive, i usually get about 2 miles, and stop to turn around, it will start overheating. im starting to suspect a tiny tiny HG leak, but cant see any evidence of one besides overheating. Im a do it yourself kinda guy, how difficult is a HG change? i have access to a hoist and have pulled the motor before for a clutch change (last month, wish i had saved that money now). is it possible to remove the heads without removing the valve covers, cause i just changed those gaskets when i did the clutch.? also, when i stop moving, the temp holds steady where ever it may be. after i drive when i hit the throttle the temp rises and falls when i let off the gas, but never falls to normal after it gets hot, but just sits at 75-90%

Yes you can pull the heads on the sohc heads with the valve cover gaskets on, the headbolts are on the outside of the vc, 6 on each head. I would check the water pump before you go the head gasket route.

how would i check the water pump?

Almost all of the time, if the water pump is bad it's because the seal failed and coolant ate the bearings, but you should see the tell tale leak if that's the case. If you're doing head gaskets, it makes sense to me to do the timing belt (unless you know it's recent) and tensioner, too. I would break the head bolts loose before pulling the motor. The whole job can be done in the car, but I find it easier to just pull it.

With the HG, it seems to be the fire ring that goes most often, so you get combustion gases into the coolant. The coolant doesn't really get into the combustion chamber because it's under much lower pressure. The failure mode isn't always the same. Mine did it under steady state highway cruising, but would cool off when accelerated or in moving traffic, I think because the varying impeller speed helped break up/keep the air from collecting at the impeller. But at some point, nothing will work.

I've had a waterpump that went bad that didn't leak at all but you could here the bearing grinding in it. My car would be alright at idle but would overheat under load driving around. But i've also had a headgasket that went bad on my toyota that had the same symptoms. Maybe try checking the compression to get a better idea of whats going on inside.

Here is the weep hole that the coolant would be coming through( the one on the left). It is kind of stupid, but you cant actually see this hole from under the car or while looking down from the top. As you can kind of see in the picture, there is a triangle piece of metal right below the hole that obscures your view from under the car, but if coolant is coming from anywhere near this hole or appears to be coming from the front of the oil pan (as this is where it gets blown to while driving and is not actually the source of the coolant) this is almost definitely your problem. But as boostedsubie said, it may not leak, but the bearing will howl like a banshee if it has gone bad. As you can see from my picture, infrequent changes can, and inevitably will cause your coolant to become acidic and corrosian and failure is the only end result.

kimokalihi wrote:Found a picture comparing the two. OEM on the left, aftermarket on the right.

That garage looks oddly familiar.

Ok so I'm like 99% positive that if it wasn't head gaskets, it is now. Noticed tiny wisps of stinky gases coming out of the radiator. So I'm pretty much fu¢ked for now. Anyone in va or nc got a sub 1000$ subaru for sale?

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93forestpearl wrote:

kimokalihi wrote:Found a picture comparing the two. OEM on the left, aftermarket on the right.

That garage looks oddly familiar.

LOL you caught me red handed! At least I didn't say it was my picture.

Hey, spread the word. I was giving you a little crap. For four years I've hoped that pic would go viral in the Subaru community. It needs to be known......