Ian

[edmondo]

Many thanks for your help on the way home.............we made it as far as the edge of Swindon before the the temp guage went up again.

Darren and Dean stayed with us - it was noticed that one side of the radiator was hot and the other was cold.

Also there is wetness in the passenger footwell

can you advise or help

Cheers

[craigy]

wetness inside could be heater matrix, or sp being clumbsy with the bottled water

hope all is well buddy

[Big 'D']

  craigy said:

wetness inside could be heater matrix, or sp being clumbsy with the bottled water

hope all is well buddy

Looks like it is the water pump mate sorry

Glad you made it home ok though

Cheers Iain

[edmondo]

  craigy said:

wetness inside could be heater matrix, or sp being clumbsy with the bottled water

hope all is well buddy

nope to s.p and bottle of water - mind you she does a good inpression of a traffic cop! 1st time we had to stop, she kept the traffic moving

[edmondo]

thermostat?

[Big 'D']

  Edmondo said:

thermostat?

Did you have hot air through the blowers on the way home, if so it could be the thermostat but the temp of air I felt yesterday was not as hot as it should be if the water is circulating correctly, which is why I said the water pump not the thermostat.

Cheers Iain

[edmondo]

cant keep them on cos of that Gasket....................think I will get both to be on the safe side

[james04]

also a big thank you to the lady at 574 oxford rd for the lend of the kettle.

and hhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooo to the cracking blonde watching from the window next door.

[edmondo]

and to you and Darren for helping a "damsel" in distress

[the_1]

very very rare for a water pump to fail on a subaru, wetness in the footwell could be the matrix they have been known to go which is a dash out job but easily done in a mornings work.

this would also cause the temp gauge to rise and the blowers to start blowing cold air as the water level drops. the other thing that causes no heater and high engine temps is head gasket failure which if it has pressurised the system enough could have popped a seam on the matrix. a big give away for head gasket on a subaru is bubbles in the expansion tank

to prove it just link the 2 heater pipes together and go for a drive obviously top the water level up first but if the gauge reads ok then it's just the heater matrix if it still goes up then either head gasket or a stuck thermostat but if you have bubbles as well it's headgaskets

[Big 'D']

  the_1 said:

very very rare for a water pump to fail on a subaru, wetness in the footwell could be the matrix they have been known to go which is a dash out job but easily done in a mornings work.

this would also cause the temp gauge to rise and the blowers to start blowing cold air as the water level drops. the other thing that causes no heater and high engine temps is head gasket failure which if it has pressurised the system enough could have popped a seam on the matrix. a big give away for head gasket on a subaru is bubbles in the expansion tank

to prove it just link the 2 heater pipes together and go for a drive obviously top the water level up first but if the gauge reads ok then it's just the heater matrix if it still goes up then either head gasket or a stuck thermostat but if you have bubbles as well it's headgaskets

Given that I was at the car when it overheated, refilled and bled the water system (carefully as was still hot) then sat with the car with it running for at least 5-10 minutes, constantly checking the engine temp gauge, the rad pipe temps (top was red hot bottom was cold to warm but never hot)and the in car blower that no heat to it. My final suggestion would be that there is no water circulation the car overheated the extra pressure in the system perhaps ruptured the matrix causing a leak.

With the water system replenished and bled there was no hot air in the car through the blower (would blow warm at first then get cold) would suggest no water circulation.

The high temp on the top hose on the rad and cold temp on the bottom hose on the rad could suggest a thermostat failure but combined with the fact that there was little temp through the blower I would suggest invest into the pump.

As rare as water pump failures are on the scoob they do happen and given the age of the car it would be a high possability.

There were no visible/bubbling signs of a head gasket failure.

Cheers Iain

[the_1]

it won't be the water pump they go noisy they leak but they don't stop spinning, it's an all metal construction no plastic impellor to shear off or break,

could be the rad is partially blocked if your still looking for lack of circulation, i take it the fans are connected what were they doing?

[Big 'D']

  the_1 said:

it won't be the water pump they go noisy they leak but they don't stop spinning, it's an all metal construction no plastic impellor to shear off or break,

could be the rad is partially blocked if your still looking for lack of circulation, i take it the fans are connected what were they doing?

The water is not flowing through the rad or the matrix what else can it be, are they both blocked?

As I understand it the Matrix will get hot before the rad does anyway as the thermostat does not open until around 75-80 deg C allowing the water/engine to get up to temp quicker. Even with a failed thermostat the matrix would still get red hot, as this water flow bypasses the thermostat.

The fans were on constantly once the engine got upto temp approx 95 Deg C. this would also suggest that the water is just sitting in the engine and not circulating, the top hose was red hot and the bottom hose was cold, the heater is blowing warm at first then cold as you leave it on when it should be hot constantly as the water flows round it, there is no sign of a massive leak or loss of water (minor leak from the matrix), just the fact that the engine gets hot, the rad stays cold and the matrix has no hot flow through it.

Cheers Iain

Edited May 7, 2009 by Big 'D'

[Big 'D']

  the_1 said:

it won't be the water pump they go noisy they leak but they don't stop spinning, it's an all metal construction no plastic impellor to shear off or break,

If it spins and has a bearing it can seize or break I have heard of both happening, rare as it is, it is possible.

Anything that has moving parts has the ability to fail. Even the indestructable Subaru water pump.

Cheers Iain

[the_1]

what you have described is classic head gasket symptoms, for some reason the flat 4 layout develops an airlock preventing flow in the circuit, you get red hot top hose, cool rad and with a select monitor plugged in you can see the temp rise even with the fans going.

[Big 'D']

  the_1 said:

what you have described is classic head gasket symptoms, for some reason the flat 4 layout develops an airlock preventing flow in the circuit, you get red hot top hose, cool rad and with a select monitor plugged in you can see the temp rise even with the fans going.

We will just have to wait and see wont we

I love being second guessed on everything I say, its great .

A bust water pump would give the exact same symptoms that I have described, just without the bubbles, rapid temp rise and water loss that you get with a head gasket failure.

Cheers Iain

[the_1]

i some how feel that if it is the head gaskets it'll still be a broken water pump

[the_1]

an easy check for the pump would be to remove the rad cap and see if you can see the water circulating, it normally comes in from the rubber pipe from rad to tank. if it's circulating it churns the water around in the tank and the pump is working if it's not being churned around and quite still then the pump has gone.

[craigy]

Iain in all my time on forums (and there has been many) i have never seen someone get thread stalked! (new phrase)

i have noticed you cant really seem to do much on here without someone hunting your posts down and trying to make your suggestions & facts seem wrong!

im sure most people on the forum here no otherwises so keep it up mate

craigy

[the_1]

could say the same about some other people on here,

[stum450n]

  craigy said:

Iain in all my time on forums (and there has been many) i have never seen someone get thread stalked! (new phrase)

i have noticed you cant really seem to do much on here without someone hunting your posts down and trying to make your suggestions & facts seem wrong!

im sure most people on the forum here no otherwises so keep it up mate

craigy

Well said mate! Not sure why but 'someone' seems very keen to cast doubt... Must be trying to compensate for something?

[the_1]

lol no mate i don't need to i don't drive a sport!

[stum450n]

  the_1 said:

lol no mate i don't need to i don't drive a sport!

This is fun, it's like being back in primary school!

Back on topic please.

[craigy]

says it al really with a reply like that, what diffrence does it make what type scoob they have, i sold my scoob and now drive a mondeo(lining the next pathetic insult up)

pettyness, people being judgmental, and people questioning others posts constantly is frowned apon and quite frankly cant see why its done anyway???

[the_1]

you lot started it i've now been accused of thread stalking and having to compensate for something, i don't remember having a go at you lot before you all started it.

i'm sure ian is big enough to fight his own battles he doesn't need his appreciation squad sticking up for him we were having quite a good debate before you lot stuck your oars in.

this is a public forum people are allowed to have a different opinion of a problem, just because ian says it could be this doesn't mean it is, i've been working on subarus since before you lot left school and without having the car in front of me to have a good look at and based on what has been posted about the faults and my own experience i don't believe it's the water pump. now if i'm wrong fair enough but at least i'm contributing to the thread and not using my first post to have a go at someone.

so grow up stop throwing mud at people and post about the problem, if you don't have anything to contribute then don't.