I don't know what's wrong and don't know who to take my car to for diagnosis. I really want to abstain from taking my car to Albany, and Marin Subaru .. or, really any dealership in the area since they all have bad reputations, from what I've read.

In any case, my mods are minimal (2004 WRX):

straight-pipe CBE, and gutted UP.

I had an atmospheric BOV on it for a while before i got my gutted UP, so I went through the whole headache of the CEL P1314 (I think that's the beloved code?) And, after removing the BOV, I would still throw a CEL for high exaust gas tempatures because of the catalytic converter being twisted into a a nasty blob because of the BOV. Whenever I would drive on long highway drives, my car would begin to overheat after an hour or a couple. But, this problem disappeared after I replaced my UP for a gutted UP.

And, now the recent event: I was driving up to Truckee for a day of boarding, and when I reached higher altitudes (don't know if that matters), or was in about two hours of driving, my car begun overheating whenever I reached an incline, and would drop a bit towards normal whenever I declined. I ultimately pulled over and found all my coolant overflowing in the reservoir. After allowing the coolant to fall back into the system with the car off, I was able to drive the remainder of my trip up the mountain.

Basically now: I can drive long spans of highway at regular speeds and my engine temp only raises a little but is within the middle third. As soon as I come to a stop, or slow down, however, my engine temps begin to spike.

Is this an ECU issue? I thought radiator, at first--but, the cooling cycles .. just not in a regular fashion, it seems. Something else that I'm missing completely?

Also: where in the Bay Area can I take my car? I live in East Bay. So, some place closer to there would be incredible. Thanks for any help anyone has to offer!

 

Sounds like the cooling fans aren't doing their job. Since your biggest issues have only recently cropped-up, but your mods have been the same for awhile, I think it has very little to do with your mods. The only exception would be is if the catalyst substrate broke up into chunks and started blocking the exhaust system.

Are you experiencing a loss of power?

 

No, there hasn't been any power loss. No driveability issues other than the psychological discomfort of watching that engine temperature rising =\

 

That pretty much eliminates exhaust blockage issuses.

Sounds like the airflow at freeway speeds is enough to keep it cool, but if you make the engine work harder (incline+boost=heat), or you are cruising slowly, the engine loses it's cool.

I suggest turning the vent controls to 'defrost', as this will keep the fans on when the ignition switch is on to activate the A/C compressor (in A/C-equipped cars, the compressor is on in the 'defrost' mode to de-humidify the air blowing on the windsheild).

Sorry, but I can't help you with reapir shop info. The nearest dealer to me in the East Bay was Subaru of Fairfield, and they went belly-up recently. Post-up in the Barnes&Noble/T.A.F.B. meet thread, and maybe some of those people might have suggestions, since I haven't lived in NorCal for very long.

Good luck!

 

Thanks a million for the help! I'll do some research on potential shops I'll be taking my car to.

 

by any chance, are you one of those peoples that cruises everywhere with the A/C on?

 

No, actually I haven't been using my A/C at all, given the weather. And, my defroster is usually used only for short time spans. Even during the summer, I preferred sweating it out as opposed to letting my A/C rob me of my driving experience =P Though, I had my days where my A/C was put to good use (hot days and formal attire don't mix).

 

so "east bay" is a big area, where specifically are you? If you can go down as far as Hayward, there's GST motorsports, Speed Element, and GB motorsports any of which could help you out.

 

Take it to Kevin at AutoHeadquarter in Redwood City. He's pretty well known, used to work at Carlsen subaru dealership and is a certified master mechanic for subarus.