Had enough of subarus.
 

After spending £500 on a timing belt, water pump, oil pump change etc last a week last Tuesday the piece of s###e is still not running properly. Tried bleeding the Cooling system everyday for a week and a half using every method mentioned on here and still no joy. Car is running fine, no smoke from exhaust, no water in oil or vice versa, had a block test done which it passed car idles and runs without misfire but drinks coolant like I drink jack Daniels and absolutely stinks of coolant when warmed up. Can't find any leaks anywhere. Bubbling sound coming from behind dash when first started and everytime I accelerate. Try to bleed system, but within about a minute of starting the engine from cold with header tank cap of it the coolant keeps rising and overflowing. Had enough now. Think its time to get rid.

See yah then.

My advice would be to take the car to a Subaru specialist and let them have a check around your car to diagnose the exact problem,they are great cars but need servicing and repairing by engineers that know exactly what they are doing,if you get my drift;).SJ.

13 posts, I don't know how Scoobynet will survive without your input :D

he is only blowing off abit of steam as he is pissed off no need for sarky comments mind.

Try and keep your chin up bud and carry on sure yu will get there in the end mate, heater matrix not leaking is it?

Makes me laugh

I wouldn't get rid mate just take it to a specialist near you it's probably summot really silly what area you from

chin up bud, phone the nearest specialist to you and see if they can help diagnose the problem. they are not a sympathetic bunch round here. good luck with it.

It will be something daft, but, as a plumber, I know just how frustrating water can be on occasions, so you have my sympathy.

It's worth double checking that everything is re-connected to the right place and to ensure there wasn't something blanked off during the water pump swap that has accidentally been left blocked.

If the pump is trying to circulate the water and can't, it will have to go somewhere, and that's possibly why it's coming back out of the filler cap.

It could be an air lock, but equally it could be a physical obstruction. Have you left the heater set to hot when trying to re-fill it?

Just remember what a good car it is when it's running well, and allow it its little foibles, and you'll soon get it sorted.

Hi fella, when you bleed it the coolant will overflow out the tank and keep overflowing until the thermostat opens and the fans kick in. Just let it overflow until the stat opens and leave until the stat open and the fans kick in 3 times then top the coolant up and put the cap back on. Make sure the heaters set to hot as well. It takes a while for the temp to get hot enough for the stat to open from cold when the cars idling so it will spill quite a bit. You may have a bad tank cap that not holding pressure and also when I was losing coolant it was the plastic on the side of the rad which had cracked now it didn't leak at all when upto temp but when the car was put on boost the pressure was enough to open the crack and let it release coolant. Check hoses and check your carpet inside just incase the heater matrix is leaking inside the car. Hope this helps a bit I now how frustrating car niggles can be like most of us that own them.:thumb:

Who done all the work mentioned? I would go with the above comments, check everything is back as it should be, all pipe connected correctly etc etc.
Is the water purely coming back out the filler cap or is it coming from somewhere else, if the water is circulating correctly then the air should eventually find it's way out if you leave the cap off long enough.
There are some helpful people on here, after all it is a car forum, and if you can't vent your spleen from time to time without getting shot down in flames then some members need to get from behind their keyboards a bit more.:pchit:

Keep at it mate. They reward patience and once you have sorted it you will have a very reliable motor. Weve all been there with cars at one point or another.

mate had a similar experience,small hole in rad could not find it as coolant went onto the engine and evaporated
took it to a local specialist one new rad job done happy days

If the car is using coolant, there has to be a leak...be it internal or external.

There are two methods to test this, a good garage will have the equipment to do both.

First is a pressure tester. Its just a pump and guage that fits to the header tank, it will show any pressure loss on the guage and at the same time will force water out of any external leaks. Small leaks may take a while...the car needs to be bone dry, the undertray needs to come off and park the car over some cardboard (obviously that doesn't check the heater matrix). Common leaks are from the plastic ends on the radiator...tiny hairline cracks form around the elbow fittings, which only leak when the system is under pressure.

Second test is testing for combustion gases in the coolant. This can be done througha number of methods - electronic gas analyser, test paper or a bottle and some test dye.

Combustion gasses in the coolant can be from a head gasket, cracked cylinder liner or cracked/warped cylinder head (the latter is rare). A failed head gasket does not usually usually cause oil+water mixing. Oil+water is only one way a gasket can fail and they can fail in many different ways. More common gasket failures actually show up as combustion gases leaking into the coolant and the system overpressurising (venting coolant out the overflow) when the car is driven hard.

Of course you could just have a faulty header tank cap. Not a regular problem, but not unheard of either.


Airlock would not cuase coolant loss....although it may appear like that, as the air is purged from the system the coolant level will fall. Or in the worst case the airlock has caused a head gasket to fail from localised overheating, (the temperature guage won't always show that the engine is overheating :( ), so now the coolant loss is from the head gasket, but originally caused by an airlock.

Hope that helps :)

Glad to someone wants to help out a fellow owner..

A bit harsh TT, you should get a job with the Samaritans lol.

If you're bleeding it everyday without progress, maybe it'd be best to take it to specialist and get the problem diagnosed?

Once it's sorted you'll soon enjoy it again, I always do after the f***ing thing breaks......until the next problem starts :)

I would look at thermostat and radiator next!

hi mate, isnt indigo GT close to you, they work on subarus mate, might be a good idea to take it there fo a few hours :)

have you tried heater matrix slightly blocked, try flushing it out, played havoc with me years ago on a carlton I had,, by passed it and no probs again just a thought, hope you get it sorted

good to see some members with some helpful comments, restores the faith a bit.:thumb:

:rolleyes:

the guy is having a rant, the original post i replied to has been edited somewhat.

no need to blame the car if you have no idea what you are doing and just guessing the fault.

..

I've just had similar problem with my bugeye ,
Turned out the pipe from coolant header tank to the expansion bottle was blocked solid , cleaned pipe out flushed system now no problems. Keep at it you'll get it sorted

have you tried by-passing the heater matrix?

Everybody who owns a Scoob at some point feels like you do at the mo mate. Just don't make any rash decision while your fired up or you may regret it.

Just take on some of the advice above & you'll get there bud.

I've been calling my car a fcuking cnut on a monthly basis for 8 years, mainly over trivial things, detonated 3rd gears and stuff.

Persevere with it.

I said I was getting rid back in 2010.








And here I am :thumb:

Micky you are always calling someone or something a **** lmao

Believe mate don't get rid of :-) I just sold my wr1 & do I regret it oh yes I do,, try a few thing suggested first