The temp on my 1996 Legacy Outback climbed on me this weekend on the way back from the mountains. Pulled the car over, allowed it to cool down, then drove home. The temp gauge stayed under the "halfway mark" the entire ride home, though I did baby it and keep the car under 2500 RPMs.
Topped off the coolant when I got home (it had boiled out of the overflow reservoir) and took it to my usually subie shop yesterday. As requested, they flushed the radiator and changed the thermostat, but said the car was still heating up too much...so they knocked 50% off my bill. They want me to bring it back next week so they can take a better look at things (they squeezed me in on their schedule), but I'd rather take it to a shop or someone that specializes in cooling systems and knows what to look for...these guys were taking shots in the dark IMO to diagnose the problem as they gave me a list of "possible problems" even after working on my car for 2hrs.
Here's what I know:
- I ran the car at idle, and when the temp gets up above that 50% mark the fans kick on and bring the temp back down
- As far as I can tell, I don't have a coolant leak
- No signs of a blown head gasket, and my 2.2 engine is MUCH less likely to have that issue than the 2.5
- With the cap removed and the engine running, the coolant level never "moves" in the radiator...no drop, no turbulence...I suspect a blockage in the cooling system is the issue
- Water pump was changed 60k miles ago, should be fine
- Heat still blows hot air
Thoughts? I don't have the tools or garage space to DIY this job, so I need to find a local, reliable shop that can knock this out for me. I'd just like to go in there with some sort of idea of what the issue might be so I don't get taken.
If anybody has any input on whether I'm on the right track with suspecting a blockage somewhere in the cooling system (heater core would be my top pick), and where I might be able to bring the car to get this taken care of, it'd be much appreciated.
Topped off the coolant when I got home (it had boiled out of the overflow reservoir) and took it to my usually subie shop yesterday. As requested, they flushed the radiator and changed the thermostat, but said the car was still heating up too much...so they knocked 50% off my bill. They want me to bring it back next week so they can take a better look at things (they squeezed me in on their schedule), but I'd rather take it to a shop or someone that specializes in cooling systems and knows what to look for...these guys were taking shots in the dark IMO to diagnose the problem as they gave me a list of "possible problems" even after working on my car for 2hrs.
Here's what I know:
- I ran the car at idle, and when the temp gets up above that 50% mark the fans kick on and bring the temp back down
- As far as I can tell, I don't have a coolant leak
- No signs of a blown head gasket, and my 2.2 engine is MUCH less likely to have that issue than the 2.5
- With the cap removed and the engine running, the coolant level never "moves" in the radiator...no drop, no turbulence...I suspect a blockage in the cooling system is the issue
- Water pump was changed 60k miles ago, should be fine
- Heat still blows hot air
Thoughts? I don't have the tools or garage space to DIY this job, so I need to find a local, reliable shop that can knock this out for me. I'd just like to go in there with some sort of idea of what the issue might be so I don't get taken.
If anybody has any input on whether I'm on the right track with suspecting a blockage somewhere in the cooling system (heater core would be my top pick), and where I might be able to bring the car to get this taken care of, it'd be much appreciated.
