1996 Subaru Legacy

I have a 1996 Subie. The temp gauge heats up after running for a few minutes. There is no steam pouring out of the car at all. I also see fluid leaking from what appears to be the middle of the engine.

I have not got into it yet and wanted to see what thoughts ppl have as to the issue? Thanks

I have a 1996 Subie. < Good, which model/engine?

The temp gauge heats up after running for a few minutes. < Good, this is normal

There is no steam pouring out of the car at all. < Very good, it's a car, not a steam iron!

I also see fluid leaking from what appears to be the middle of the engine. < Not good, needs further investigation; can/will you do it?

If yes, report your findings and Subaruins will chime in to help you more than I can

I have not got into it yet and wanted to see what thoughts ppl have as to the issue? Perhaps a mechanically inclined friend of yours ought have a look at it

Thanks < You're welcome

PS>Is the fluid anti freeze? Have you checked all the hoses?

Hi Bill/Chris , Welcome to the forum . It would help if you could be more specific about the problem . When you say the temp gauge heats up then literally that could mean you're on fire ! . Do you mean that the dial on the gauge is going into the red area ? . If so then that is a problem . Sorry to be pedantic but with problem diagnosis then careful analysis when describing helps . The fluid underneath . Is it water /oil ? . If water then could be something as simple as drain off condensation from the air conditioning . If it is coolant then another problem arises . Hope this helps .

The temp guage inside moves from middle to red. The fluid on the ground is coolant. The odd part is that there is no steam arising. I am wondering if maybe a temp sensor of some kind?

Thanks for your help and your further thoughts are appreciated

Losing coolant is obviously bad and will account for your overheating . You wont get steam either as there is probably no water in the radiator and hence you wont get steam when you take the rad cap off . You will need to get under the car to see where the leak is coming from . Could be as simple as a coolant hose or leaking water pump maybe . Whatever you do dont run it for long when it goes into the red zone or you'll warp the cylinder heads and blow the gaskets .

coolant on the ground, also known as ''LOSS OF COOLANT'' will cause any engine to over heat.

 

the trick here it to see if the car is overheating and forcing coolant out of the over flow bottle?

 

or

 

is the coolant leaking and causing it to over heat.

 

year, ('96) model, (legacy), engine, trans, miles?

 

the bad news is that the ej25, 2.5L, engine 96 - 99 has a tendency to have bad head gaskets.

which causes the exhaust / combustion gases to leak from the cylinders into the coolant.

this displaces coolant,

and eventually it will cause over heating.

 

the fix is to replace the head gaskets.

 

but you need to identify the cause of the over heating.

 

when the car is over heating and coolant is running on the ground,

look inside the over flow bottle, (not the rad) for bubbles.

also , when there is NO DANGER of being burn or scorched,

sniff the over flow bottle for an ''exhaust smell''.

 

the head gasket issue usually develops fairly slowly, and you can drive the car around town for a good while, days / weeks, if you keep the coolant topped off.

but hiway driving MAY cause it to over heat in 20 - 30 minutes.

 

check the source of the leak and get back.

 

when was the water pump replaced last?

where is the coolant coming from?

is it a 2.5L engine?

(the above over heating info does not apply to the 2.2L engines.)