Alright.
We got a 2003 Subaru forester, manual transmission back in June. It had some routine maintenance done right before we got it and now has around 175,000 miles on it. We recently drove it across the country from California (where we bought it) to Washington state (where we are moving) and then to Chicago to visit family. Stick with me as this is all relevant. The winter temps here in Chicago are currently between -8F and 3F, so I feel this may be a contributing factor to our current issue, as the car has never experienced these types of conditions before to our knowledge.
A few weeks ago as we were driving, the heat never came on and the engine appeared to be overheating (according to the gauge inside the car). We pulled over and smelled hot coolant (sweet syrup smell) then continued on our way once the car cooled down. Over the past few weeks we have done EVERYTHING we can possibly think of after much research and communication with the previous owner. Things we've done this far:
1. Installed new water pump
2. New timing belt
3. New pulleys
4. New thermostat
5. Tensioner
Car seemed to be working fine again after that, then a day later it was leaking coolant so we:
1. Flushed the system.
2. Added coolant
3. Burped the system
Again, car seemed fine for a day, then back to no heat and overheating. So we bought a new radiator as it appeared to have coolant leaking from it and that was yesterday. We drove the car around and it was working perfect again. This morning we ran it for about 20 mins in the driveway before leaving to get new tires, and being that it is a whopping 2 degrees outside, we figured the heat would take a while to warm up. Well we started driving it and it was overheating and had no heat again. Tire appointment cancelled and us beyond pissed, turned back and are now waiting for the car to cool down again so we can take on this beast of a problem once more.
After searching this forum and others high and low, we are going to drain the system and check to see of the thermostat is working properly. Read somewhere that new thermostats sometimes don't work as they should so boil a pot of water and stick it in there to test it. That is our next step but if it isn't that, we are lost. Read several posts about head gasket issues and none of the symptoms mentioned thus far have me convinced. No oil in the coolant, no milkiness in the oil, no more leaking, no bubbles when the engine is running..
Today when we pulled over after the engine overheated we heard an unusual sloshing sound coming from the top hose, which was hot. The one underneath the car was cold.
Any ideas?? Could seriously use some at this point. We'd like to get home to WA but this car issue is very much preventing that from happening.
Thanks
We got a 2003 Subaru forester, manual transmission back in June. It had some routine maintenance done right before we got it and now has around 175,000 miles on it. We recently drove it across the country from California (where we bought it) to Washington state (where we are moving) and then to Chicago to visit family. Stick with me as this is all relevant. The winter temps here in Chicago are currently between -8F and 3F, so I feel this may be a contributing factor to our current issue, as the car has never experienced these types of conditions before to our knowledge.
A few weeks ago as we were driving, the heat never came on and the engine appeared to be overheating (according to the gauge inside the car). We pulled over and smelled hot coolant (sweet syrup smell) then continued on our way once the car cooled down. Over the past few weeks we have done EVERYTHING we can possibly think of after much research and communication with the previous owner. Things we've done this far:
1. Installed new water pump
2. New timing belt
3. New pulleys
4. New thermostat
5. Tensioner
Car seemed to be working fine again after that, then a day later it was leaking coolant so we:
1. Flushed the system.
2. Added coolant
3. Burped the system
Again, car seemed fine for a day, then back to no heat and overheating. So we bought a new radiator as it appeared to have coolant leaking from it and that was yesterday. We drove the car around and it was working perfect again. This morning we ran it for about 20 mins in the driveway before leaving to get new tires, and being that it is a whopping 2 degrees outside, we figured the heat would take a while to warm up. Well we started driving it and it was overheating and had no heat again. Tire appointment cancelled and us beyond pissed, turned back and are now waiting for the car to cool down again so we can take on this beast of a problem once more.
After searching this forum and others high and low, we are going to drain the system and check to see of the thermostat is working properly. Read somewhere that new thermostats sometimes don't work as they should so boil a pot of water and stick it in there to test it. That is our next step but if it isn't that, we are lost. Read several posts about head gasket issues and none of the symptoms mentioned thus far have me convinced. No oil in the coolant, no milkiness in the oil, no more leaking, no bubbles when the engine is running..
Today when we pulled over after the engine overheated we heard an unusual sloshing sound coming from the top hose, which was hot. The one underneath the car was cold.
Any ideas?? Could seriously use some at this point. We'd like to get home to WA but this car issue is very much preventing that from happening.
Thanks