Overheating... need help from the subi experts

[wrx03blue]

Let me first say that I am new to this site BUT I did try and do some searching before posting and have had no luck...

I recently got rid of my Acura RSX-S and picked up a 2003 WRX which I love. Car has 85,000 Miles on it. Pretty low for an '03. But I'm running into an overheating problem now...

So car runs great untill at normal operating temp and will have no issues when at 2k RPM and up. As soon as I get to a traffic light or stop sign and have to idle for a minute or so the Temp Guage will rise significantly... I give the car a few revs / or hold the throttle to 2 - 3k rpm and the Temp cools back down. Problem goes away as soon as I continue to drive. Stop again... and temp spikes up. I have been told many different reasons for why this happens... Bad water pump, Blown Head Gaskets, Bad thermostat, etc... I'm a student and on a tight budget so obviously not gonna pay a fortune to get head gaskets changed if thats not it at all.. No white smoke seen at all.

When I pull my car in at the end of the day it does sound like some **** is boiling...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks

[Anub1s]

Checked your fluid levels at all?

[MainFrame]

Check you coolant, burp the system.. since you said it only happens in traffic, are your fans kicking on? You can plug the test connectors together and see if the fans seem to be operating properly.


People seem to have trouble burping the coolant system in these cars.. you can't simply add coolant, you need to get all of the air out of the system and top if off when you do.

[wrx03blue]

ok I will try and burp the system tomorrow. Yes fans do kick on. thanks for the help so far fellas

[oguitar]

Make sure both fans are turning on and the radiator caps are good. Also make sure that the higher cap is the lower pressure one.

[Rambo]

Following along with what others have stated, any sign of coolant leakage? Radiator failure is not uncommon in bugeyes. Thankfully, quality aftermarket replacements are widely available, if you find out your stock one is leaking.

[wrx03blue]

Checked all fluid levels... looks good. Caps all tight and no leaks.

[wrx03blue]

When I drove today after about 10 minutes and the car was good and warm. Pulled up to a traffic light after driving at about 40mph for a few minutes. Car started to over heat. As soon as I gave the car a few revs to about 2k - 3k. Temp guage drops. 30 seconds later heats back up. Another quick rev or two and it drops again. Would this be a sign of water pump crapping out??

[STI*NG]

I am by no means an expert on these cars but on others that could be a sign of a sticking thermostat...

[wrx03blue]

Thanks for the advice. I guess i'll try testing or just replacing the thermostat.

[STI*NG]

It's definitely one of the cheaper things to check/replace. Good luck.

[06wrx4me]

I am by no means an expert on these cars but on others that could be a sign of a sticking thermostat...

This is my vote.

I recently bought one of these "Fail Safe" thermostats at the recommendation of Donkey on here.

http://www.motoradusa.com/catalog.ph...+DESG%3A+EJ205

I got it and a gasket off of Amazon for like $15 shipped.

[zax]

In the wise words of Sprios: "Burp the system. Then, when you think you're finished, burp the system some more."

[06wrx4me]

In the wise words of Sprios: "Burp the system. Then, when you think you're finished, burp the system some more."

On an EJ205 out of an 02 WRX I worked on, in order the fully "burp" the system, I needed about a 2 foot length of hose to reach an air bubble/block from the top coolant tank down the top radiator hose. Never had a problem on my EJ255, changed the coolant 3 times now.

FWIW when there was a bubble stuck in the ej205 the temp didn't go down at all. It just got hot and stayed there.

By contrast when I have had a thermostat fail, it has done exactly as the OP describes; a little throttle and it cools down.

[wrx03blue]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I will look into a "Fail-Safe" thermostat as you described. After working on my RSX-s for 7+ years I felt comefortable with just about any work needed on it... Now being brand new to the Subaru's I feel completely lost. Such a different setup.