scooby_girlie

I'm having some bother with my scooby. I've got a 95 wrx jap import. It's got 55,000 miles on it. I've had the car 2 months and it's being going grand with no bother. Then today when I had it out I noticed that the temp gauge had gone right up to the max. I pulled over and had a look, one of the radiator fans wasn't working, so I checked the fuse and it was blown, I replaced it and the fan then worked fine. But when I took it back on the road the gauge still read at max. I stopped again and took a look, and the coolant was boiling up out of the tube than comes out of the water level reader (can't think of what else to call it lol, it's at the front right side of engine, with a yellow cap and a black tube coming out top). It was spitting everywhere. I took it home and waited for it to cool and took the oil reading and it was a wee bit low, so topped it up thinking that would be ok. I also topped up the coolant.

I took the car back out when the engine was totally cooled down. The temp gauge rose up to 'normal level', stopped there for a moment, and then rose up to max. It seems to rise when I put the foot down. But it's quite strange. It goes up and down a bit whilst driving. It moves between just above the 'normal' level and the max level. It doesn't just stay constant.

The car seems to be driving fine, the turbo's working, there's no funny sounds or smells. There's no engine warning lights or anything on, so it's totally puzzling me. I have no idea what it could be. The only thing I could think would be the radiator.

Anyone with any ideas how to check what it is? Or any help at all? Thanks.

hux309

Hmm sounds like your headgasket might be gone, compression gases entering the cooling system causing it to blow water out of the tank

Plus it would explain why it gets worse the more you put your foot down, either way id have it inspected by a garage asap

gavs scooby

could be head gasket gone, thermostat stuck. id get it checked out before you end up doin some propper damage

scooby_girlie

Head gasket??? Is there no other possibility? (I'm grasping at straws, lol)

skyline gtr v

Head Gasket same thing happend to mine

MY,k436suy

Hi ya, as previously mentioned it could be head gasket just starting to go,or the thermostat but dont let any old garage lead you down the path of a top end re build without a second opinion
Get a test done to see if coolant is in the oil, cant remember what its called (its a gas check)(i think)but i'm sure if you scribble down a few notes from here and take them with you that they wont take you for "not knowing what your talking about "
Good luck and dont forget its your money so you decide who does the work.

scooby_girlie

Thanks. Any idea how much it would cost to get it fixed?

MY,k436suy

Well, my first check would be to look at the oil filler cap to see if there's any "white gung" on it. That's a sure sign of head gasket failure, then test the thermostat in a pan of boiling water. Do you know anyone good in the trade who can maybe help you out?

John.

scooby_girlie

There isn't any white gunk on the oil filler cap. Will check the thermostat. No I don't know anyone in the trade.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

You may not get white gunk on the oil cap, depends on where the gasket has gone tbh.
But definately top of the list, normally cooks the gasket, warps the head in a bad case, cost? depends if you want it done right the first time, around the 600 quid mark with a head skim from someone who knows what they are doing (id look for a speciallist with a very good reputation ) and dont skimp on the skim unless you want to have another head gasket failure shortly afterwards

Tony

funkyspider

I agree, head gasket failure. Be careful if you have to drive it anywhere for fixing as the pressure in the coolant system could blow the heater matrix (which is a dashboard out job to replace), very high on labour costs. If possible get the pipes leading into/out of the heater matrix looped together to bypass it for now.

You may not get contaiminated oil, it depends if the water is being leaked into the oilways. To confirm head gasket failure for the symtomps you have you can do a coolant hydrocarbons test. This checks for exhaust gasses in the coolant, is simple to do and most smallish garages should have the kit and it should cost around 30 I should imagine. If exhaust gasses are in the coolant then they are leaking from the head gasket.

Engine out to fix, so about 600ish all in including skim and gasket set. I'd be wary of someone unknown who quotes a lot under that price. Its not a huge job and anyone who's worked on the subaru engine should have no problems. Replace the cambelt whilst being done and make sure you get the correct gaskets as I think there are several thicknesses.

Where abouts are you, someone may be able to recommend a specialist - or ask on your local subaru club, it's not an uncommon problem.

The rookie

iTrader: (1)

Get your car to a reputable place, they can put a CO2 tester on the outlet to see if the gasses are combustion, if so then its head gasket.

For air/gas to come out like that its either too hot and boiling or there is/was an air lock in the system, but from your description I'm afraid it sounds like the gasket.

Simon

scooby_girlie

Nightmare I don't think there are any scooby clubs here; I'm in Northern Ireland. At least, I haven't heard of any. I will def get the car into a garage. The cam belt was changed about 7000 miles ago, would it still be worth getting it replaced?

There's a garage here which I would love to take it to, but it's a hour drive away. Would that be too risky? They did all the mods on the car, and they're the best in NI for performance vehicles. I trust them and I know they'll do a good job - the car needs a full service at the same time. There are no decent garages around here anyway, the closest would be half an hour away.

Would it be safe to drive that far if I got the heating matrix looped? How/ where could I do that? I'm very sorry to bombard you with questions, but head gaskets are not my strong point, and I don't want to do any more damage to the car. I appreciate your help.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

If you have breakdown cover (or take some out) then use that to move the car to the garage or if the garage can collect, that would be better but might be expensive definately dont drive the car there

Tony

scooby_girlie

Tried to check the thermostat today. Anyway havent checked it because i'm missing a socket. lol. What i wanted to ask was when I went to drain the water from the radiator only about a litre drained from the tap. Then only a few hundred ml's drained from the bottom radiator hose. I thought the radiator had a capacity of about 8/9 litres. Am I wrong in saying this and if I am not why did only so little drain. I know its a bit off topic but could it be related to my car overheating.

Thanks

morphy41

Hi
When you said you let the car cool right down on the last post did you check the water level then and also refill it??.If so you could have a sticking thermostat as this will stop you filling the rad right up and if it is sticking sometimes this would move your temp gauge up and down like you said. so i would suggest that you remove the thermostat and see how you get on but the engine will run cooler so if it is the problem get a new one soon (does or did the heaters in the car blow out hot air when it was doing all this as this is a sign of sticking thermo it will only blow cold or look warm air????) also check the oil dip stick for and signs of water or white gunge and fill the rad up start the car with the rad cap off to see if there is pressure blow back (It will spray the water out of the rad?? If so your head gasket is away,But first things first try the thermo and let us know how u get on
All the best
Ian

funkyspider

I agree with removing the thermostat first.
Do a search on here for coolant refill method for when you have removed the thermostat. You have to fill quite slowly or you can get an airlock which will give similar symptoms anyway so not helpful.

Fingers crossed it's only an airlock, quite possible if you only had a litre left in there when you drained it.

Unfortunately it does sound exactly like when my head gasket failed, but a coolant hydrocarbon test will be the best way to diagnose that.

Good luck
Martin.

scooby_girlie

Hi, started the car there with the radiator cap off and there was no blow back. Also the car wont blow out any hot air. Only cold, not even luke warm. Drove it a bit to see if any hot air would come out. The car heated up very quickly and no hot air. So what do you guys think?

andyseston

sorry but its your head gasket gone but now your have to find out which side has gone. but you should get both replaced

funkyspider

As far as I know there is no way of telling which side has gone, and to be honest I don't think it's worth it. Engine has to come out anyway and once engine is out and one head is off it's far less work to remove the other head and replace gasket than it is to take the whole bloody thing out and apart again.

I still wouldnt be 100% sure until I'd done a test on the coolant - it's a lot of work and a big bill to find it was just an airlock (which can cause overheating and cold air from heater)

morphy41

I too agree Get a coolant test carried out .You never know might be lucky and all it is ,is a thermo or air lock.At the end of the day its not going to cost too much (Pennies) to do this.But one bit of advise try not to keep running the car till it is roasting as this will cause head warp???? and never ever!!! put cold water in if the car is hot as this will warp the heads and possibly crack some parts of your engine
Good luck
Ian

scooby_girlie

Just thought I'd add that when I refilled the coolant after totally draining it (only 1 litre came out when it was drained), it would only let me put a litre back in before it read full. Does this not mean there could be an airlock? Does that not give the same symptoms?

funkyspider

From what you say it sounds like you have refilled it using the header tank (white plastic bottle next to the rad right at the front) rather than the reservoir which is a metal top container alongside the alternator.

Also when draining it how did you do it, if using the drain plug then it can take ages (10mins +). Most people remove the bottom radiator hose after running the car till it is warm and the thermostat has opened (or do it cold - much safer for your hands ! and remove the thermostat).

For filling I'll refer you to another post to save my fingers.
btw: it should take 7liters ish, bearing in mind there will always be some in the block and the heater matrix so maybe 5 or so.

Slow and steady are the watchwords here.

https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...-question.html

or if you are a proper mechanicy type
https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...ml#post6646122


Edit : Forgot it would replace the URL with the post title. Retard is not directed towards you lol !

scooby_girlie

I just drained the coolant gain using all the instructions you gave me, and again only 1 litre drained, even though the reservoir was full when I started to empty it.. I started to refill it and did everything I was supposed to. I squeezed the hoses, poured it in slowly and filled it through the reservoir. It still will only accept 1 litre before it overflows. It definately won't take anymore. Is this a blockage? Would a blown head gasket cause a blockage?

scooby_girlie

It's fixed I called the RAC and they couldn't come so they sent a local mechanic round. There was a massive airlock in the system and the thermostat was sticking. He had to flush the system out with a high pressure jet of water. It's working perfectly now. I'm just so glad it wasn't the head gasket! Thanks for all your help guys, I really appreciate it

scooby_girlie

exvaux

iTrader: (1)

i sometimes wonder about these cars,any time something goes wrong we always think the worst and start talking about big £££ glad you got it sorted for little £ tho

scooby_girlie

Got it sorted free thanks to RAC

morphy41

Glad you got it sorted i thought by the way you were talking it was the thermostat sticking I was not convinced your head gasket was away??
Hope i have the same luck as you cos my car has to go to scooby doctor with a serious misfire