Overheating problems ?

[lukemaugey]

hi people,

i have a 1996 impreza sti. does anyone have or have had overheating problems with this model ?

any help would be great thanks!

Luke

[06wrx4me]

Have you been keeping up on your maintenance? I think the book requires a coolant change every 30,000 miles.

[lukemaugey]

hi mate,

the fella who i bought the car off which was 2-3 weeks ago, had a recon engine put in, its only done 4000 miles ??

ive been told it could be rad, water pump (although a subaru specialist said he dont think its water pump) or could be air lock or blockage, because when i take the car over 3-4000 revs to temp gauge begins to drop ??

cheers
Luke

[zax]

Subaru maintenance for USDM WRX/STis suggest replacing the water pump at 100,000 mile maintenance. I am not sure about the foreign market, but how many miles does the current water pump have?

[06wrx4me]

hi mate,

the fella who i bought the car off which was 2-3 weeks ago, had a recon engine put in, its only done 4000 miles ??

Ive been told it could be rad, water pump (although a subaru specialist said he dont think its water pump) or could be air lock or blockage, because when i take the car over 3-4000 revs to temp gauge begins to drop ??

cheers
Luke

Sounds like either an air pocket, blocked radiator or a stuck thermostat.

Is the radiator original?

If the radiator is original and they put a new engine in, I'd change the radiator. Who knows what kinda crap could be stuck in there.

Did the old engine overheat is that why it needed to be replaced?

--If so and they didn't replace the radiator, effectively they cured the symptom and not the cold. Newer plastic radiators with plastic end caps cannot be boiled or cleaned out. So when they get a blockage they are junk. They are disposable.

Personally if it were my car and the rad is original, I'd replace the radiator, thermostat, and flush the coolant system.

[lukemaugey]

cheers guys!!

ZAX....well the shell has done 87,000 (est) miles, but the fella had a recon engine put in which he says only done 4,000 (est) miles, so i dont actually know how many miles the water pump has done, im guessing the same amount the shell has done, so that'll be 87,000 ish....

06WRX4ME....im also guessing the Radiator is the original, he didnt say that he changed it when it changed the engine, it certainly looks like the original (bit rusty at the bottom) also i forgot to mention that one side of the rad is WARM, the other is HOT...also the bloke who had it before me said he took out the thermostat ???
im going to flush out the system and rad tonight, bought some Holts Rad Flush, so i'll see if that works.

Its weird because the subaru specialist that i called said the water pumps never go ???

thanks Guys

Luke

[06wrx4me]

im also guessing the Radiator is the original, he didnt say that he changed it when it changed the engine, it certainly looks like the original (bit rusty at the bottom) also i forgot to mention that one side of the rad is WARM, the other is HOT...also the bloke who had it before me said he took out the thermostat ???

That's what I figured. I'll bet you a dollar to a doughnut, that the previous owner overheated it, blew it up, then didn't fix the problem. He just put in a new engine and sold it to you, probably in the winter time.

im going to flush out the system and rad tonight, bought some Holts Rad Flush, so i'll see if that works.

It won't.

Replace the radiator, thermostat, and flush the whole system. Oh the joy of buying used cars.

Its weird because the subaru specialist that i called said the water pumps never go ???

They don't, but people replace them when they do the timing belt as extra insurance, otherwise if they do go you have to open the whole front of the engine again and take of the timing belt.

[lukemaugey]

ok cool....

the thing is i've already bought a water pump, shall i changed that anyway ???

yeah thanks i'll see how much a new rad is then, also shall i get a thermostat for the car, coz the fella took it out.. ???

and he did admit blowing the old engine, but i didnt ask about a new rad, i dont really know much about engines ??

cheers mate !!

Luke

[zax]

ok cool....

the thing is i've already bought a water pump, shall i changed that anyway ???

yeah thanks i'll see how much a new rad is then, also shall i get a thermostat for the car, coz the fella took it out.. ???

and he did admit blowing the old engine, but i didnt ask about a new rad, i dont really know much about engines ??

cheers mate !!

Luke

WTF?? there's no thermostat in your coolant system? that means that your coolant is flowing constantly....

[lukemaugey]

yeah thats what the guy said.....

sorry to seem stupid, but is that a bad thing ???

Luke

[zax]

yeah thats what the guy said.....

sorry to seem stupid, but is that a bad thing ???

Luke

the car thermostat is a passive device used to control the motor temperatures to keep it constant. If the car does not have a thermostat, the coolant will flow constantly and the motor temperatures will never stabilize -- high load the engine will run hotter than low-load. This is very bad, and will cause undue wear and tear on the engine (as moving parts constantly expand and contract due to variations in part temperatures). It is likely that the previous owner may have replaced the standard thermostat with a low-temperature 160 degree thermostat... but to remove it completely? I imagine that is a bad move....

[lukemaugey]

cheers Zax,

think i better get a thermostat for the car then... i know they aint alot of money so might as well!!!

cheers
Luke

[06wrx4me]

ok cool....

the thing is i've already bought a water pump, shall i changed that anyway ???

yeah thanks i'll see how much a new rad is then, also shall i get a thermostat for the car, coz the fella took it out.. ???

and he did admit blowing the old engine, but i didnt ask about a new rad, i dont really know much about engines ??

cheers mate !!

Luke

To replace the water pump, you have to take the timing belt off, so buy a timing belt and do them both at the same time.

Yes you need a thermostat.

[lukemaugey]

To replace the water pump, you have to take the timing belt off, so buy a timing belt and do them both at the same time.

Yes you need a thermostat.

yeah i have bought a pump, im buying a timing belt soon. been told to do both....

ah cool cheers

Luke

[06wrx4me]

My money is still on the radiator. I'd replace it, and consequently to do the timing belt, its easier to take it out so you're half way there.