Over Heating

So my girlfriend was driving her 05 Leggy home today and just shuts off, with the dash lighting up like a christmas tree. I come to the rescue and see she has no coolent and the manifold is extra warm. Does subaru have some temp gauge that shuts off the motor and wont let the motor start back up until the temp goes down to a certian temp for overheating? I think it would be cool if subaru did have this as an engine saver like this, but of course my local subaru tech knows nothing and could not give me an answer. He asked if the car had gas in it. I proceeded to hang up. Anyone know if this is something subaru really has or is her car F'ed in the B?

Unfortunately, there isnt a switch that does that. If there is no coolant in the engine and the engine just stops running, that is a big problem. The engine gets so hot, the pistons expand and wedge themselves in the cylinder walls. after the engine cools off it may start again but most likley the damage is done.

Did she not notice the temp needle buried in the red?

 

If the engine seized from overheating, you're probably screwed.

i threw coolent in there, and let it cool down for 2 hours, gave it some gas when starting it up and it ran. I'm sure there is damage done, but just the way it shut down, it was like some electronic cut off, and it cut all gas from going into the motor too. It was weird. I hope she didnt mess up her motor otherwise it will cost her a pretty penny to get a new one. insurance doesnt cover that stuff.

The excess heat could have caused a vapor lock situation in the fuel lines.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_lock

You can't vapor lock a return fuel system like ours unless the car is off.... and then it should clear itself when the fuel pump turns on.