Turbo Coolant Reservoir Mod...

[pdrpowerofWRX]

this is from scoobymods.com and im gonna post it here in case some of you don't know about that site or check it very often.

Originally posted by MisterX over on WRXFanatics.com in this thread

I learned about this problem on a post on NASIOC where I've seen pics of coolant systems clogged pretty badly with paint chips. This mod is a bit obscure but that doesn't mean it's not important. The facts of the matter are, Subaru painted the lid of coolant reservoir for the turbo on earlier models. On later models, the lid remains unpainted. The problem is, the paint on the underside of the lid of the coolant reservoir blisters, peels, and clogs your coolant system. Later models are unpainted. I guess Subaru decided there was a problem.

If your turbo coolant reservoir is painted black, you're going to have a problem. Here is a pic of me removing the coolant hoses from the top of the turbo coolant reservoir. Notice, it's painted black. As I said before, later models are unpainted.

Ensure engine is cooled down.
Remove Radiator Cap
Remove 3 coolant hoses and make sure to hold them upright so they don't leak alot of coolant
Remove the six 10mm bolts
Use paint thinner or remover to remove the paint on the underside of the lid. Or use a dremel on the lowest setting and grind it off (like i did)
Wash off with water
Reinstall everything
hope this helps people out who are anal about thier REX, like i am, plus, it only takes about 10-20 minutes to do.

[Prince Ali]

Originally posted by pdrpowerofWRX
this is from scoobymods.com and im gonna post it here in case some of you don't know about that site or check it very often.

Originally posted by MisterX over on WRXFanatics.com in this thread

I learned about this problem on a post on NASIOC where I've seen pics of coolant systems clogged pretty badly with paint chips. This mod is a bit obscure but that doesn't mean it's not important. The facts of the matter are, Subaru painted the lid of coolant reservoir for the turbo on earlier models. On later models, the lid remains unpainted. The problem is, the paint on the underside of the lid of the coolant reservoir blisters, peels, and clogs your coolant system. Later models are unpainted. I guess Subaru decided there was a problem.

If your turbo coolant reservoir is painted black, you're going to have a problem. Here is a pic of me removing the coolant hoses from the top of the turbo coolant reservoir. Notice, it's painted black. As I said before, later models are unpainted.

Ensure engine is cooled down.
Remove Radiator Cap
Remove 3 coolant hoses and make sure to hold them upright so they don't leak alot of coolant
Remove the six 10mm bolts
Use paint thinner or remover to remove the paint on the underside of the lid. Or use a dremel on the lowest setting and grind it off (like i did)
Wash off with water
Reinstall everything
hope this helps people out who are anal about thier REX, like i am, plus, it only takes about 10-20 minutes to do.

I can't believe how bad the paint was blistering. I removed the paint with lacquer thinner and removed the paint chips from the reservoir with a turkey baster.

[KurleeDaddeeWRX]

I had the same problem:

Radiator Filler Surface Rust

[Timdog1650]

There is a TSB for this problem, subaru will replace any of the painted covers free of charge on 02/03's

[KurleeDaddeeWRX]

Originally posted by Timdog1650
There is a TSB for this problem, subaru will replace any of the painted covers free of charge on 02/03's

Good info. I didn't know this. I would have gotten mine replaced when I had my car. There was all kinds of black paint chips floating around in the resevoir.

[pityr]

I just looked at the TSBs yesterday and didn't see anything about that.

did you see it on the NHTSA web site?

[Timdog1650]

This is what I was told by my mechanics at Precision Tuning, and also confirmed by NJWRB-Twrx (I think). I know you can make them replace it though for sure...

[dark_rex]

can someone help me find the TSB?

[darksaga]

My paint actually was all off of the underside of the coolant reservoir when I checked mine. My thermostat went out at 49,000 miles and I have a feeling it was due to the paint chips in the coolant. Luckily it was still covered under warranty.

[dark_rex]

any need to pinch the hoses or clamp them shut? will they leak a lot?

tia.

dR

[Timdog1650]

Mike, all the hoses on my resevoir are just pushed on, no clamps. It never hurts, but normal operation the coolant system doesn't break more than 1 bar of pressure on average, which isn't really enough to blow something off. Look at the hoses into your BOV, they see 1 bar regularly and don't have clamps on them....

[zoinks]

Not trying to hijack, but I just wanted to share what I found a few months ago and the remedy. An angle grinder with a wire brush gets if off in about a minute tops and just use a wire hand brush to get inside lid opening. So as you can see a lot of paint was gone so hopefully with a flush I'll be good

[pdrpowerofWRX]

can someone help me find the TSB?

this is probably waaaaay old, but yes, coolant will leak out. you can clamp them off or just prop them so they face up and no coolant will come out.
also, the above pix show alot of paint coming off... i did mine at 14k miles and i only had a little bit of paint, but it was starting to come off. glad i did mine before it ruined the thermo or looked like the above pix.

[EvilCerealBoX]

i recently finally got a change to look at mine... there was only a few chips left... i'm scared now... cause not too long ago the top of my radiator started leaking, like the whole top... will a full flush get it fixed or is it too far gone? the radiator seems to work fine since i haven't had any overheating problems... should i be worried anwyays?

[Integra96]

Just to confirm, this was only an '02/'03 issue, right?