I finally got my car started today. I noticed the upper radiator hose was completely sucked together. I popped the radiator cap off and the cars idle got really bad. Kinda strange? Anyone ever had a problem like this before? Brand new head gaskets on a 2.2L hybrid. Thanks in advance!

 

yeah you got an air bubble in there, you gotta pop the top cap on the resivoir too and run the engine for a bit

 

when you say you just got it started, is it a new build? Has the radiator been disconnected? Only thing i can see collapsing the hose is air pressure/vacuum/ etc. Hows the temp gauge looking once the car heats up and you drive for a bit? I would make sure that cooling system is burped really well. Best method of doing this in my experience is to:
place a funnel with a large resevoir into the coolant fill spout
turn on the car and let it warm up with the heater on full hot.
when the fans kick on and the thermo opens, squeeze the top hose repeatedly until there are no more air bubbles in it. Do this for a few cycles. Youll know when you are squeezing air vs fluid as the hose will feel full as coolant fills it.

As the system burps, coolant will come out of the fill spout and into the funnel. When the air is out of the system, the coolant will drain from the funnel back into the spout.

In very rare occasions you can have issues with air being stuck in the lower hose also. You can repeat the burping steps squeezing the lower hose first, then the upper hose once the air has moved further along in the system.

Once you are done and the car is cooling down, let it sit with the coolant res. cap loose in case any more bubbles want to burp out. DONT FORGET to tighten it again before driving.

 

so ive had problems with coolent getting into my short block. i thought it was a bad gasket on the top of the throtle body. i replaced that, cleanded the motor, and replaced head gaskets. went to start the motor and it seemed as if i still had coolent getting into the short block. i let the car sit for a few days with no coolent in the radiator and today was the first time i could get the car started.

i just filled up the radiator and not the motor will not turn over.. like will not turn at all.. fml

 

That sucks.

 

pull out the dipstick, it should be easy to tell if theres water in the block

 

makes me so mad i just want a car again!

ya? how?

 

your oil will look like a cappuccino

aka head gasket is garbage





also, is your thermostat installed correctly? it's common for people to put them in backwards.
coolant can get in via the IACV, but not that much.

 

did you get the heads machined when you replaced the headgasket? wondering if you have warped heads. and yea as someone else mentioned oil dipstick should look like it was dipped in milkshake if you have a leaking head gasket.

 

99% sure the thermostat is in correct. The head gaskets are brand new. Maybe my head isnt flat? It's a lot of coolent getting into the block.

 

Would a warped head let in that much coolent?

 

Air good, Oil bad.

 

If the engine won't crank or is hard to crank, pull your plugs and check for water, at which point I'd be wary of just throwing gaskets on or having head work done without having your shortblock checked out because of the possibility of bending a rod. That's worst case scenario but is a possibility nonetheless. Have you checked with anyone else that has done the same build? I've done quite a bit of work on Subarus as far as maintenance, bolt-ons, modding and haven't gotten into shortblock builds, especially hybrid setups but is it possible there's an issue with ports matching up between the heads and the motor or the head gasket being used?

 

Thats not good at all. Empty radiator with no external leakage, suction instead of pressure while running (would take a big leak to cause this), and cant turn due to hydrolock = Warped head (block is unlikely unless its damaged) or incorrectly installed/damaged head gasket.

If you want to be sure you can do a compression or leak down test of each cylinder to see which bank is causing the issue.

 

Shm, I had a feeling... I'm in love with this car, But i am also so so sick of it. Like a hot girlfriend with ***** tendencies. IT'S TIME TO GO! Look for her in the classifieds tomorrow.