Coolant leak after fuel line recall?

[psychobooe]

Great info man, especially the part number. I'm pretty sure that mine is leaking from the tank itself, but I think I'll go ahead and order one of those hoses while I'm at it just in case. I would hate to pull the tank only to realize that hose was the culprit.

[EvoEatr]

I had my fuel line recall done about a month ago, haven't driven my 2003 WRX more than twice since then. I started driving it around to clean it up in preparation for selling it and experienced tons of gray/white smoke from under my hood..

Long story short, found that I had a cracked coolant line leading from the "engine coolant filler tank" (that's what it's called in the service manual) .. I believe I've seen it referred to as the surge tank or turbo coolant reservoir...

There are three hoses exiting from the top of the tank, but the hose that was leaking on mine was from the under/side of the tank and has a 90 degree bend .. I haven't yet been able to replace this hose, I'm not sure exactly what it's called and whether it's a standard part I'll be able to find ..

Tried buying a regular hose from AutoZone and bending it, that did not work out well -- bend crimped the hose too much for my taste..

Here's a pic of the hose in question



and here are a couple of reference pictures to show the coolant reservoir tank and where my cracked hose was removed from



I'm assuming the fuel line recall work probably caused this problem that got progressively worse. I rented a radiator pressure testing kit from O'Reilly Auto Parts and found my system wasn't holding any pressure at all, I could hear the hissing when I was pumping to try to increase pressure. Quite easy to see the problem after that audible clues..

I'm going to run up to the Subaru dealer here and see if they have this hose or can order me one

Glad you got it figured out man...The problem lies in where a lot of these "recalls" getting done are paid warranty time which pays the tech 2.3 hours which in my opinion is way to short. which leads a lot of techs to rush through it. I am always very cautious with any work I do on a customers car fore I know if you leave one thing loose you have the ability to hurt or even kill someone. Nonetheless these things that have been boosted for around 100k miles do develop weak parts... I have learned some tricks while doing these one in which you dont have to touch the AC compressor/ bracket to remove the intake manifold ...Anyways enough of my rambling...glad you got her fixed...

[JosephBlowinsky]

Glad you got it figured out man...The problem lies in where a lot of these "recalls" getting done are paid warranty time which pays the tech 2.3 hours which in my opinion is way to short. which leads a lot of techs to rush through it. I am always very cautious with any work I do on a customers car fore I know if you leave one thing loose you have the ability to hurt or even kill someone. Nonetheless these things that have been boosted for around 100k miles do develop weak parts... I have learned some tricks while doing these one in which you dont have to touch the AC compressor/ bracket to remove the intake manifold ...Anyways enough of my rambling...glad you got her fixed...

Thanks for the heads up on where the problem might lie!

I ended up detaching the turbo coolant reservoir from its mounts to make the installation of the hose I bought a cinch (trying to replace that hose with everything in place was impossible with my fat fingers)

After work I drained all the coolant from my WRX .. I only had about 3 quarts of fluid in the system!

After draining, I ran some water from my garden hose through the system to flush it a bit .. I also used the pressure tester to "force" out every last drop

I then added a 50/50 mix of coolant/distilled water to my system .. started by filling the turbo coolant reservoir, then filled up the overflow a bit, then filled at the main radiator cap .. I used a gallon of water & a gallon of coolant (8 quarts, my system was only 5 quarts short due to my leak)

I closed up the radiator caps, re-attached the air filter box I had removed (trying to get a good view where leak might be coming from), started the car up and it's no longer overheating or leaking .. drove it up to White Castle to reward myself with a chocolate shake!

The only bad news is that my check engine light is now lit, but I'm hoping that's just a consequence of all of the stuff I've had apart and not actually an indicator of a problem in my engine

[EvoEatr]

Thanks for the heads up on where the problem might lie!

I ended up detaching the turbo coolant reservoir from its mounts to make the installation of the hose I bought a cinch (trying to replace that hose with everything in place was impossible with my fat fingers)

After work I drained all the coolant from my WRX .. I only had about 3 quarts of fluid in the system!

After draining, I ran some water from my garden hose through the system to flush it a bit .. I also used the pressure tester to "force" out every last drop



I then added a 50/50 mix of coolant/distilled water to my system .. started by filling the turbo coolant reservoir, then filled up the overflow a bit, then filled at the main radiator cap .. I used a gallon of water & a gallon of coolant (8 quarts, my system was only 5 quarts short due to my leak)

I closed up the radiator caps, re-attached the air filter box I had removed (trying to get a good view where leak might be coming from), started the car up and it's no longer overheating or leaking .. drove it up to White Castle to reward myself with a chocolate shake!

The only bad news is that my check engine light is now lit, but I'm hoping that's just a consequence of all of the stuff I've had apart and not actually an indicator of a problem in my engine

Good to hear your good as far as the leak goes man..Hmm I'm assuming you had the car running when it was low on coolant? I have seen low coolant concerns throw the CEL on before usually for a failed ECT sensor...I would pop a scanner on there and see what the code is...

[stevenbirn]

I am having the fuel smell recall worked on this week. The dealer recommended replacing the turbo inlet boot and coolant lines at parts cost only, no labor, for around $220. Is this recommended? I have 171,000 miles on the car.

[psychobooe]

I'd recommend at least getting the turbo inlet replaced when they do the fuel line. I didn't get mine replaced when they did the recall, and I regret it. Also, I'd get a silicon inlet hose (Samco or similar).

[stevenbirn]

Thanks. I have 171,000 miles on the car. Is it worth bringing it in for the recall? I have reading about problems people are having after bringing it in to get fixed. Right now it is working fine except for the smell.