Overheating/Temp problems with 92 Legacy Wagon
Greer Reichow
manual, think LS model?) that is overheating when cruising on the
highway for 20min or so with the air on. By overheating I mean that
the temp gauge will start to climb above halfway on the gauge and keep
rising. Once it does this, turning the vents on with the fan on high
will bring the gauge back down but it will continue to overheat
without the air on again after that. It just started doing it this
summer. So far I've changed the thermostat, flushed the radiator
(used prestones radiator cleaner as directed as well) and refilled
with a 50/50 water/coolant mix. Nothing has helped as of yet. Is
this a common problem or does anyone have any solutions for me so I
can get her car back up and running with air. I was thinking maybe
the rad cap wasn't holding its seal anymore, or the water pump was
going but I'm not sure yet. I can cure miatas overheating but this
one has me stumped. Also, please email a response as well as posting
as my news server has a tendency to drop posts sometimes.
Thanks
Greer
Turbo miata with the g/f's cargo hauler.
Kevin
Try flushing out the heater core under the dash. This is the miniature
'radiator' used to heat the interior of the car. It seems strange that once
you open the vents, the temp starts to recede, so I'll put my money on
blockage there.
I've seen this problem before (though not on a Subaru) and this fixed it.
Hope it helps.
Kev.
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"Greer Reichow" <gr...@miatadriver.com> wrote in message
news:3b492bb3...@news.nova.org...
HVYFUJI
radiator, through the little cap on the passenger side of it. fill the coolant
until it comes out of that hole, the put the plug back on, and the rad cap and
see what happens.
JT
is on my subaru at least there are 2 wires hooked up to an electric fan that
only turns on to cool the engine when the a/c is turned on. Somehow these 2
wires had become disconnected.
James Venables
probably plugged up. When the system is cool or not pressurized, take the
radiator cap off and see if the fluid level is all the way to the top... if
not, fill it up. Then fill the overflow/recovery bottle to the proper
level. Then test it out, and recheck the fluid levels in the radiator and
bottle again. What happened?
"Greer Reichow" <gr...@miatadriver.com> wrote in message
news:3b492bb3...@news.nova.org...
Bill Putney
your e-mail addy from James' reply post.
To answer your question: *YES* - absolutely - James is right - a clogged
radiator is *very* common for that age Subaru. And your experience with
unsuccessful flushing is also very typical. Save yourself a lot of time and
trouble worrying about it and replace your radiator. I'd recommend a 2-row
from www.radiator.com (I have no connection whatsoever with them, other than I
bought one from them). About $150 including shipping.
Don't waste too much time fixing the problem unless you want to drop a lot more
$$ into a head/head gasket job.
Also, once you get your new radiator, use only distilled water (not tap water)
and phosphate-free antifreeze (Dexcool™ or Prestone Extended Life™).
The Subaru radiators have *very* fine (meaning *small*) tubes and fins - which
are good for cooling when new. The problem is that it doesn't take much
internal residue build up over the years or external clogging of the fins with
sand and insects to really cut down on their cooling ability. The internal
clogging is accelerated by minerals in tap water and phosphates in regular
(green) antifreeze. You might be able to back flush the fins with compressed
air and water, but for all the time it takes, and marginal improvement, you're
better off biting the bullet and starting with a fresh over-designed radiator
(fins are larger and less likely to clog, and using the right stuff internally
will prevent internal clogging, plus the extra capacity of 2 rows of tubes).
Just do it - you'll be glad you did. 8^)
Hallraker
I had a similar situation with my '95 Ouback. Turned out to be the fans in
front of the radiator, only one was turning. Normally this was not a
problem, but with the A/C on, extra strain is put on the entire car and a
second fan is needed to cool the engine. The 2nd fan wasn't engaging, so
with the A/C on the engine would overheat, especially in traffic. At first
I suspected the radiator, and then a blown fan motor, but it turned out to
just be the fan fuses. Both of them were blown, and oddly enough, one was
still running, I presume through some fail-safe system designed into the
electrics. I replaced one fuse, and the fan that was turning stopped, while
the other one started. I replaced the other fuse and they both turned with
the A/C on. It's been 4,000 miles and the problem hasn't returned, so I
think it's fixed now. :) Give it a try, check both the fuses under the
dash and under the hood, just pluck them out and peer through the side and
you'll see if they are good or not.
As a side note, I once purchased a car for well under what it was worth
because several of the electrical components "didn't work". I had it for
about a week when I got the crazy idea to check all the fuses - crazy since
most people would have checked them before selling the car for junk, right?
Unbelievably, nearly every nonessential fuse was blown - power mirrors and
seats, radio, A/C, you name it. Really only the lighting system worked. I
bought a fuse kit for $10 and basically doubled the value of the vehicle,
maybe more, just by dropping in a handful of 25 cent fuses.
Moral of the story? Before you start cussing at your car, check the fuses!
:)
-Matt, who wants his girlfriend to buy a Miata to complement HIS
cargo-hauler. :)
"Greer Reichow" <gr...@miatadriver.com> wrote in message
news:3b492bb3...@news.nova.org...
Greer Reichow
diff states) but I was suspecting the radiator myself. The prestone
flushed worked for me. Both fans work as I have tested that. And the
system does not have air in it as I bleed the system as I fill. I run
distlled water with my coolant in my car but whose to say what has
been in hers as she got it used. I work for www.performancebuyers.com
so I have access to radiators through one of my accounts but thanks
for the leak, I will probably end up doing that for her car here
pretty soon. It looks to be an easy enough swap. Any gotchas I should
be aware of?
Thanks,
Greer - back out to tuning my car (more fun than fixing a non runing
car)
On Tue, 10 Jul 2001 20:15:57 -0400, Bill Putney <bpu...@hovac.com>
wrote:
>Yes this newsgroup drops a *LOT* of posts - including your original - I got
>your e-mail addy from James' reply post.
>
>To answer your question: *YES* - absolutely - James is right - a clogged
>radiator is *very* common for that age Subaru. And your experience with
>unsuccessful flushing is also very typical. Save yourself a lot of time and
>trouble worrying about it and replace your radiator. I'd recommend a 2-row
>from www.radiator.com (I have no connection whatsoever with them, other than I
>bought one from them). About $150 including shipping.
>
>Don't waste too much time fixing the problem unless you want to drop a lot more
>$$ into a head/head gasket job.
>
>Also, once you get your new radiator, use only distilled water (not tap water)
>and phosphate-free antifreeze (Dexcool? or Prestone Extended Life?).
Greer Reichow
no leaks. After a fresh fill, runing it for awhile lowers the
resevoir but the regular coolant seems to stay the same (this from
memory so I could be wrong).
Thoughts?
-Greer
HVYFUJI
it may be leaking in the heater core, inside, do you have a sweet smell with
the heater or defrost on? Still make sure every time you fill the coolant, you
bleed the radiator.
Mr.Bill
Greer Reichow wrote in message <3b492bb3...@news.nova.org>...