Overheating

[Soul]

my car started over heating and sprayed coolant everywhere after having the steering on full lock too long in gear.
It now keeps over heating. Has this ever happened to anyone?

[Surge]

Yeah it happens when you blow a head gasket.

But there could be many other reasons.

Youd probably first check to see if there is a coolant leak anywhere and bleed the air from the coolant system.

I'd be taking it to the place you get it serviced and let them take a look.

Not a good sign.

[Soul]

Can this happen just from the steering being on full lock?
Because I never had any issues with it until just now.
If it was the head gasket wouldn't the exhaust be blowing white smoke?

[Soul]

I've just filled the radiator and it looks like a leak.
I really hope it's not the HG. I'm still stumped as to how the radiator blew
when on full lock.

[bigBADbenny]

You need to identify what type of liquid is leaking, and where from in the engine bay...
if that's not clear from a visual or e.g. smell inspection...
then clean up the area, completely,
and then after checking the relevant fluid levels,
e.g. engine oil, power steering fluid, coolant, and assuming its safe to proceed,
idle the car, or if safe try a short drive.
keeping an eye on fluid levels and engine coolant temp, and see if you can locate the source of the leak.

this is where a logging device comes in handy: for the digital (more accurate) temp gauge...

Its a great idea to keep a spotless engine bay so you can keep tabs on any developing leaks...

If you have lost a lot of any fluid, make sure you top it up with the correct fluid and bleed the system with the relevant procedure, before proceeding.

Its fairly common for the plastic end tanks on the stock radiator to split and piss coolant in the area adjacent, the precipitate will usually be a chalky blue or greenish in colour.

Power steering fluid and engine oils are slick and... oily.

[Soul]

I'd have to say it'd be the radiator.
As I was filling it up I noticed it leaking from the radiator, right near the bleed tap.
I'm just unsure how this happened? I was stationary in full lock for too long and all I can think is that it some how increased the pressure. ?
Any thoughts?

[Surge]

There is no way being on full lock or anything related to steering would have caused a leaking radiator.

Also if the headgasket leaks, it doesn't mean you get white smoke. For example I had a leaking head gasket and the exhaust was fine.

However I had endless bubbles and could never bleed the bubbles out of the system.

I suspect when the head gasket gives up, the increasing temp and pressure cause the old plastic on the radiator to fail.

When you change the radiator to fix the leak you may find it still overheats if it is head gasket related.

But there is a lot of diagnosis to go through before you should assume the worst.

[Soul]

Thanks for the replys guys.
Once I remove the guard tomorrow and sort this leak out everything should be a little clearer.
I've never had my coolant bubble but I'll be sure to keep my eyes open for it.
I know there prone to gasket leaks but so far so good.
It's never had any symptoms of Hg damage which has been great at 171000kms
Although I am dreading the day it does.

Thanks.

[outbackyarder]

I bought a 1997 outback a few months` ago and had overheating problems pretty much from the first day.

It overheated sporadically ,the temp guage went from normal to extreme in the blink of an eye while i was looking at it, it spat and sprayed coolant out of the radiator and the heater inside the car got really ,really rediculously hot and then went cold. Radiator was cold and sometimes hot,the lower radiator hose was cold and sometimes hot , if the thermostat opened. The coolant went out of the radiator in to the expansion tank ,but never returned. EVER.

The alarm bells in my head said HEAD GASKET . I tried for about 3 months` to discount the bigger problem of a head gasket by eliminating all the other possibilities. I had to drive my other car to work and try to remedy the outback`s problems on weekends, so this was a long ,drawn out process . The first thing i found was the waterpump belt was missing and the thermostat had the centre taken out ,so i put brand new OEM items in straight away.

I flushed the system several times and kept putting new coolant in because it kept overheating. A couple of times i flushed and replaced the coolant/water with the car on ramps to release air bubbles and other times the car was flat on the ground. I had the radiator cleaned out and checked by a radiator shop and tried driving in different conditions to see why the overheating was occuring . I drove with the heater on and heater off, uphill ,downhill ,highway ,backroads,slow speed ,faster speed and drove varying distances to assess what the problem was. I could smell coolant when i reached 40 kmh or more ,but couldn`t pinpoint the smell in the engine bay.

The fans only worked with the aircon on ,but the main fan wouldn`t work on it`s own.

I checked all the relays for the fans in the engine bay to see if they were working and what ohms they were running at . Everything worked and the ohms were within tolerances. I couldn`t get to the fan relay in the footwell because it is in a very tight spot and the thermo solenoid ontop of the back of the motor is concealed by everything else and too many things would have to be taken off the get to it.

I worked out that the thermostat wasn`t working in the car because water wasn`t getting to it and the thermo solenoid wasn`t activating the fan for the same reason . The thermostat was tested side by side with a non - original subaru item using boiling water in a saucepan. The OEM opened up 20 seconds or so quicker than the non - original part ,it opened wider & closed 40 seconds after the non - original had closed . The OEM part was MUCH better and worked perfectly , it just didn`t work in the car.
I tried to get any airblocks out of the system by feeding water through the top radiator hose when filling the radiator and motor . My radiator is the bigger aftermarket version and doesn`t have a bleeder valve. With the car on ramps to get the radiator higher than the heater core ,there weren`t any air leaks.

Still it overheated .



I tried the trick of joining up the two heater pipes with a t-piece to by-pass the heater core ,but still have heat . It works ,but still it overheated.

I tested the waterpump and it was working fine. I changed the hose in the expansion tank, incase it had a leak that effected the vacuum pulling the water back into the radiator. I changed the radiator cap to an OEM very early in the piece ,so i knew that was right. The car has a new battery and the alternator checked out ok ,so the electrolisis effect wasn`t part of the problem.

I did two block tests for carbon dioxide in the coolant because the coolant was a sort of green /white color. The block tests came up negative for a blown head gasket.

I got my snake camera out and put it under the driver`s side head area where i found a small drop of coolant in an obscure place ,but couldn`t work out where it came from .
At one point in the investigation process , i put in a mix of 7.5 litres coolant and water and the next time i drained it ,only one litre came out.

No smoke coming out the exhaust ,but alot of water missing and the car is overheating.

A common problem with this model is a head gasket failure where it fails on the inside and water goes into the cylinders .

I think the motor overheats sporadically with this sort of head gasket failure because the pressure builds up in the water jackets at different pressures depending on how much water is in the engine ,how hot the enine is ,what rpm the engine is doing at any given time , the ambiant temperature outside and where the notorious hotspot is inside the engine.. All factors in when or how much water you lose into the cylinders and how quick that happens. That is my assessment ,anyway.

This is what happened to my car and it has been in the repair shop for nearly 3 months` getting fixed because i don`t have the time to do it myself , at the moment.

The new improved head gaskets are a better design and are said to last alot longer than the original factory item.


Sorry to say Soul ,but this could be you ,too. I hope it isn`t because the parts are not cheap. I had to get the heads crack tested and all the seals , pulleys and bits and pieces that go with it ,as well as the shop labour.

Good luck and a i hope it is not this serious for you.

[Soul]

Unfortunately the head gasket was the problem I had. Not long after I started to get exhaust bubbles in my overflow.
I'll be getting it back either tomorrow or Wednesday. It's going to cost me $2300 but that's life, deal with it. Haha.
It's been gone for almost a week now and can't wait to get her back.

[outbackyarder]

It`s a pity these models have such a common head gasket problem.


Mine has been in the shop for a week short of 3 months and i`m told it will be another week, but i heard that answer 3 weeks` ago and a month before that the same thing.

Frustrating not having the car back because i don`t yet know if the air con works for the hot summer ahead and i just want the car home.


Outbackyarder

[Surge]

What sort of place takes that long for a head gasket change. Any random mechanic should be able to do it within a week .you must live somewhere really busy.

[gyroo]

What sort of place takes that long for a head gasket change. Any random mechanic should be able to do it within a week .you must live somewhere really busy.

A place that wants to make money

[outbackyarder]

The mechanic`s shop is really good and thorough . I asked them to take their time , do it right and don`t cut corners. Not everything that was replaced necessarily had to be replaced ,but i decided to do it anyway.

The mechanic`s workshop have about 3 dozens cars being repaired at any one time ,with a handful of blokes working on the cars. Country towns like mine with very few workshops are commonly this busy.

They ended up having to change the clutch and machine the flywheel and the alternator carked it ,too. That`s ontop of getting the heads machined and crack tested ( a 3 week wait on this alone ) and doing the rear main seal ,waterpump, timing belt , as well as all the timing pulleys and other bits and pieces , just to be sure it runs smooth. Anyway ,it`s all done and just has to be picked up after xmas.

3 months is a long time ,but sometimes that`s the way it is. I`m over the frustation now !!!!!!!!!!!!

[jp928]

Be aware that the temp gauge is pretty much worthless as far as actual temp goes, in most cars today. I put an OBD2 display on my car way back, and I have seen readings from 83C to 97C, while the gauge does not move at all. If you see the gauge move AT ALL above its normal place (just below half scale), its time to stop and investigate.

jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon