Da Matser

I have owned my 2007 Hawkeye for nearly 6 years. Since the first service under my ownership (at about 42k)- which involved coolant replacement - I have experienced a gurgling sound behind the dash. All services have been carried out by a Subaru dealer and they have tried bleeding the system several times since.

I have also had the rad changed (last year) and therefore, flush & refill; but the gurgling is still there

I only really notice it during the first few minutes after startup. Perhaps any air gets purged during the journey? But then it returns on the next cold start.

I have read it could be a sign the head gasket is on the way out. Like I said, the rad popped last year and before that, the radiator top hose. Could these be a sign of over-pressure from head gasket issues?

Should I just ignore the gurgling or is there something I can try? Should I start saving for a rebuild?

Thanks.

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

Sounds like an airlock from incorrect filling procedure ; even good garages do it wrong. There are numerous threads here about it; see Alcazar's technique.

merlin24

iTrader: (1)

As above
Gurgling/water rushing sound behind the glovebox area is normally trapped air in the cooling system.

Is the end of the hose in the expansion bottle covered by the coolant level ? If not, it has been know to draw air into the system.

Check the sides of the radiator for signs of bowing out - classic sign of the cooling system being over pressurised by failing head gasket(s).

It may be worth replacing both the radiator cap and header tank cap with new OEM one's ( have cured a similar problem in the past by doing this ) and by checking that only the header tank cap has the vacuum valve fitted to it.

Failing that, it will be a sniff test to confirm or rule out head gasket failure.

My money would be on the pressure caps though.

Mick