over heating problem, here's the story

my brother has a 97 legacy outback. he moved to reno and it used to be when he came home his car would run fine but soon as he got into roseville and he'd stop at a light his car would start to over heat. and every once in a while he'd be driving on the freeway and his car would start to over heat but that hardly ever happened. then he calls me last wed. and tells me his car over heats right when he starts driving up the road. so i go up there and i replaced the lower radiator hose and the trany coolant hoses. and it still over heated. so i called my buddy that was the head mechanic and shingle springs honda and he told me it was the thermostat. so i replaced it and it still over heated so i called him again and he said unless the water pump was completely F'd it was the head gasket. so i just replaced the water pump and timing belt but it was still over heating. so i checked the thermostat again and when i was under it i hit my arm against the lower radiator hose and i was about to say "ow" cuz i figured it'd be hot as hell but it wasn't, it was cold as could be, which means the water is not circulating. so i called my buddy back again and told him and he said there is a block somewhere.

now that' you've heard my story here are my questions.
have any of you encountered anything like this before?
if you have what was the problem?
or does anybody have any suggestions?

thank you

 

Still sounds like a headgasket, man. Honest opinion, call Paul and have him check it out and run some tests. Cheaper in the long run than throwing parts at it.

 

Could be blockage.... try flushing the system with a hose

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Aaron is kind of the local expert on this subject.

 

blockage sounds like a major possibilty because it slowly got worse

 

QFT... how many motor's/trans/bits and parts on his 97 outback? ....hmmmmmm
:RockOn - not mine:

 

Head gaskets do that too.

 

Yes, that. His symptoms are pretty typical, HG's can be tested pretty easily.

 

can't he look at the underside of the oil cap for white residue? or is the fill neck too high up on a boxer?

 

You can check 710 cap for white residue, you can check rad neck for black ****, you can check overflow tank for black ****, etc etc.

 

 

I have been through this and judging from a 97 legacy it is most likely a head gaskets. It very common for those legacy's and 98-01 RS'es.

if your brother keeps on driving like that, symptoms can lead to more frequent overheating. Exploding coolant from the coolant res. and as well as bubbling inside the coolant res. warp-age may occur.

Check to see if you are leaking coolant, oil and coolant mixture in the oil dipstick. Black residue in coolant? maple smell occasionally and when the fans turn on? Overheating everytime the fans turn on? hmm cant think of any more at the top of my head.

more info can be found http://www.rs25.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40373

 

you can do a combustion leak tester, fairly simple and that should let you know if its a HG or not.

After going through them, they are not fairly hard to replace..... only if you have time. Cheaper if done by yourself, but way too expensive at a dealer and some mom and pop shops.

Took me about <$1000 but that not only included HGs, but I also replace many other gaskets (header, spark plug gaskets, valve cover gaskets, etc..), belts, tensioner, covers, sensors.