The pressure a cooling system builds is critical to raising the boiling point of the coolant. If you have a leak in the system because it doesn't hold pressure then you need to find and fix that leak. This is an easy test and takes maybe 15 minutes to do.

First thing I'd do is a pressure check of the system did he do that? That's the only way his 'head gasket swears' are gonna hold any water if the head gasket is blown the system won't pressurize. The next thing that gets my attention is he seems to throw parts at the problem rather than troubleshoot. T-stats are very rarely, if ever, the cause of an over heating engine. If it is installed incorrectly, you could have bubbles trapped because of cavitation of the coolant pump.įirst thing, I'd be leery of a mechanic that would replace a thermostat.

It basically looks like a pull string on a light fixture, two links of it, that go through this hole on the thermostat. It now has been properly 'burped'.Īlso, when he installed the thermostats, did he use OEM? Subie thermostats have a 'jiggler valve' on the thermostat. Turn off the engine, replace the radiator cap. When that stops sucking the coolant up and it won't take any more, put the stopper in the funnel. Watch the coolant get sucked in - just refill the funnel so all it gets is coolant. Start the car, let it get up to temperature. Put this funnel tool in the radiator neck and pour some coolant in. Then quickly put it back onto the radiator and clamp it down. You pull off the top radiator hose and fill it with as much coolant as it needs. Park the car under a slight upslope by putting the front wheel on ramps or on the curb. Subarus (and actually Hondas) are notorious for having air bubbles in the system.Įdit: I had to search where I got this really Handy Funnel tool to help you burp it: While I don't want you to ignore that possibility of the bad HG, you could burp the engine. You don't want to let it go, if that HG is breached because it may get worse and totally ruin the engine.ĭoes it blow white smoke when you drive or start up? I hate to say it but that is a matter you need to be concerned with. Yours is between exhaust and coolant passages. The worst one is between the coolant and oil passages. If the color changes, it pretty much is definitive that you have a breach in one or both of the head gaskets. But the car is completely unreliable.Ĭlick to expand.Getting a block tester would have been my next suggestion. I don’t want to pull the trigger on a major repair like head gasket without a definitive symptom. There’s also a slight burning smell pretty much any time I drive a moderate distance, even without overheating. When the car overheats there’s a lot of bubbling in the reservoir and radiator and coolant is overflowing the reservoir. I added some of that Subaru coolant conditioner and he claims that it gummed up the works. Here’s what my “mechanic” has replaced radiator and cap, some hoses and clamps, thermostat (3 times!!!!). At times I’ve had to pull over as it hits red.

Especially when accelerating at low speeds. There’s no problem on the freeway during the drive or even as long as I’m coasting above 25, but as soon as I hit stop and go it will slowly creep up. So basically my Forester will start overheating if after a long drive (~100miles) i then start to find myself in stop and go traffic. I hope it’s not a repeater but I’ve searched the forum a bit and can’t find an answer.

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