05 LGT overheating!

I just picked up my 2005 legacy gt this past week and driving to work the first day the car almost overheated! about 20 min into the drive the temp gauge spiked up to just under the red line. it stayed there until just before I pulled into the work 10 min later where it dropped back down to normal.

 

I had the dealership change out the timing belt before I bought the car as it had 100,000 miles and would need it in 5000 anyway. I figured they werent careful when they put the radiator back and left a bubble in the coolant. I brought the car back to the dealership and sure enough there was a bubble in the rad.

 

Tonight ( a few days later) i was driving home and the car did the same thing! now I'm getting worried that its something much more serious. Could it be the timing belt is not installed correctly or needs to be broken in? Could another bubble have formed? Im really hoping its not a head gasket issue, as I just got rid of my 2000 outback because of head gasket failure.

 

Any info or insight to the problem would be greatly appreciated, I have searched the forums and havnt found anything too helpful.

 

Thanks alot

Kyle

Water Pump could be bad? Since the dealership did the timing belt I'm guessing they did the pump to. HeadGaskets?

take it back again !

definitely taking the car back to the dealer. when they did the timing belt they did not change out anything else so I'm thinking it could be a bad stat or pump. coolant level in the overflow tank is high but not overflowing. whats the likely hood of a clog or a bubble coming back in the radiator?

They should know to jack up the right front corner of the car, remove the cap from the tank over the turbo and burp the air out of the system.

 

That's common knowledge for most of us.

Have seen overheating problems with cat in down pipe breaking down and clogging.

It's best to replace the water pump, pulleys, idlers, tensionser and thermostat when doing the timing belt.

My car was doing the same thing. My coolant looked like crap. I tried to flush it out but had to replace the radiator.

Does it overheat in regular low rpm driving or when your giving it the beans?

it was under normal driving, nothing above 4k. it was fairly sparadic though. sometimes it would take a 20 min drive to overheat, sometimes just a few min. And on the drive to the dealership it stayed at the normal temp the whole time. Getting worked on now, should have an outcome soon

Fans not working properly maybe? Radiator could also be clogged

Let me add another factor: no one ever mentions changing out the radiator/tank caps. In my car they would be 8 years old....lack of pressure in the system due to failed seals or springs?

I would definitely start with changing the thermostat. I had a car a while back that was acting like this and it turned out to be just the thermostat.

When the dealer took it out for a drive today, it only overheated when pushing hard up a hill. they want to swap out the thermostat and the radiator tomorrow and see where that puts us. Before taking it to the dealer I checked all coolant system caps and all look like new.

 

Thanks again for all the helpful insight everyone

Have you considered going aftermarket on the radiator? Just a thought, I went with a Mishimoto and their warranty is awesome. Lifetime Replacement if it's ever busted during collision.

hmm thats a thought. since we just bought the car, ( literally, I picked it up last thursday) were trying to get the dealer to pay for as much of this as possible. But I wouldn't spending a little extra if it will save hassles down the road

Do you have a MT? If so the install is much easier. With a 5EAT you will need an external ATF Cooler. Pic 1 is with Mishimoto. Pic 2 is OEM. The Mishimoto is almost 2x thicker.

 

Pic 1

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u450/Fidelamaya26/DSC00110.jpg

 

Pic 2

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u450/Fidelamaya26/IMG_20120203_114211.jpg

Seriously, check flow thru down pipe if other stuff doesn't work. Had exactly same symptoms and that's what it was. Wasted cat.

Unfortunately I could only find the 5eat in the short time I had to pick up another car. But the 5eat wont be too bad, at least itll keep me from driving as fast... kinda . I will definitely look into the cats. I'm putting together a list of other things for the dealer to check out tomorrow morning.

Good luck keep us posted. Congrats, so far I love my 5EAT! If you are looking for mods in the future def get ValveBody HexMod. I will one day get it just haven't had the $$$.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/valve-body-mods-giant-leaps-forward-160101.html

Quick update for those keeping score at home. Radiator came back this morning 100% clean and functioning as expected. Car still overheats. Block test came up just slightly positive. feint coolant/alcohol smell after car overheats. I had them check the up and down pipes for clogging and that checked out ok. No signs of issues with the transmission or water pumped, and a new thermostat was put in with the radiator. This pretty much narrows it down to a very small head gasket leak since we just bought the car the dealer is splitting the cost of the head repair and not charging for all the diagnostic work. Should have a final solution after this weekend.

Bummer, but good the dealer is keeping their word. One less thing to worry about in the future

Ouch. Glad your ride is getting fixed. Im happy my buddy is a mechanic. Did gates racing belt kit on my car for under $300. No labor ftw. Took us 2 hrs

Still waiting to get the car back from the dealer. It should not be taking this long to get a head gasket/head fixed right? luckily they gave me a fancy 2010 outback as a loaner which doesn't replace the GT but soothes the pain a little.

 

For anyone else who's had dealers to head gasket repairs, how long did it take?