Subaru Forester Owners Forum banner

head gaskets or other..? need advice.

('01-'02) 
2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  subiee-roo 
#1 · (Edited)
02 auto. 187, miles. i did the head gaskets, timing belt kit, water pump about 4 months ago. the HG cheapo brand, no head work on this unknown engine when i did this work.
so-
1st problem- 4 months later after 30 mins commute highway driving- now temps outside at 10 - temp gauge goes up after 30 mins of driving. noticed fluid goes into the resv, siphon it back in/add some. no mixing in color pure coolant, i would not say its bubbling. but the res is full, and if i let it sit it will pull only some back in. -i replace the water pump thermo and rad and cap even though not needed.
but after 3o mins of driving it overheats again, this time it burst the upper rad hose while driving. now im assuming head gaskets or heater core clogged maybe(air).
so- after it overheated i replace the hose and let it run for over 30 mins at idle no overheat. heater core has heat, no external leaks, no smoking from exhaust no mixing of coolant. bottom hose always cool to touch. i understand idling isnt enough to actually test. heater core always pushed warm air until fluid ran out. no external leaks on either fix, sorta sounds like its fixed but cant be.
as a process of elimination question are--
4 months on cheapo gaskets? if internal does it have to mix? smoke? does it have to do one of these?
if only a small amount of air in the system would it burst? 2 stuck thermos i did boil test. if a clog somewhere would i still get interior heat, i did bleed system and bleed the heater core line. would warped heads show external leak? how about a small pin hole sucking in air into cooling system?
again, 4 months later, no external, no bubbling, bleed lines, replaced parts, 30 mins highway,
whats the next step? i know i need a new engine altogether because it probably warped something, but lets figure out the problem first.
i have read most of the threads over and over. im not seeing anything that sez yes it has to either bubble or smoke for an internal leak, and not seeing something not solved after doing these things, usually it gets solved.
it almost sound as if the water pump isnt spinning, then at highway speeds the engine gets too hot.
please ideas?
 
See less See more
#3 ·
the current state of the engine- pre a swap of another.
it is still installed, intake mani is off, and the coolant pipe on top is off.
ive really signed on to warping since it overheated 2 times, but figuring this out is most important.
i can easily install the pipe and intake to get this one going again.
but i am wanting to hear from the forum, pros, whoever- before committing.
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top