Coolant leak

[-=Lobstah=-]

Well there, I'm gonna be number 1 topic creator in Tech Questions, if my cars dont get used to me

Went to Evergreen on Monday (Thanks Joel), to out the car up on the lift and check out that sexay Subi bottom

And we noticed a small coolant leak on the drivers side of the engine. After we dropped her, the coolant in the overflow was a little while on the surface.

Went to start the car this morning and as soon as she warmed up, started smelling like antifreeze pretty bad, by the time i got to work, my front driver side tire had tracks on it from the coolant leaking ( :

) Before i went home, i checked the radiator and the fluid level was fine, but overflow was almost gone. (PS: when i got to work, the stuff in the overflow was just white foam). The coolant in radiator looks clean (no signs of oil), and the car is not overheating (Yet).

Any ideas on what it could be? Ive read about the Suby recall on Stage II 2.5L (1999+), that they had an external coolant leak, and to fix that Subaru recommended using Subaru Cooling System Conditioner, is it really that important to add that?

If its a head gasket, i;m not sure if its an internal leak, since the coolant in the radiator is quite clean.

Anyway any suggestions?

I assume it's not safe to drive her right now, unless i'm loaded with money (What's money?

)

96' Impreza brakes, CV shaft, registration + 01' RS head gasket = .......Anyone got a gun i can borrow? :-[

 

[redlinerally]

Sell them both and get something niiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

 

[-=Lobstah=-]

Baaad, very bad timing, financially...

 

[Rightseat]

sure sounds like head gasket woes. look for white crusty deposits aroround the heads...sure sign of earlier leakage. tends to happen slowly, not necessarily all at once.

the evergreen techs will know what to look for.

this is a case of "fix it now, before it gets worse" if you wait and keep driving it, you get mixing of coolant and oil, which means you need to do the engine bearings or else they will go a few hundred miles after you pay for head gasket job. I lost a motor that way. contaminated oil lets bearings heat up = bad juju

condolences.

 

[rallyXcramps]

sounds like head gaskets to me too. Usually drips all over your steering rack.

If its your RS and under 100,000 miles its covered. If its your Brighton bend over. Dont forget to check the head for warpage while its off.

 

[-=Lobstah=-]

It's the RS, and she's at 150,000 right now

and you're right the steering rack is covered

 

[rallyXcramps]

Do you have, or the car have, any service history at Evergreen or Patriot?

That car is still worth a lot of bucks, fix 'er up and she'll be good for long time sailor.

Patriot specializes in head gaskets. Now is the best time when the business is somewhat slower than normal.

 

[Evan]

look into using the sti metal headgasket too. its the same thickness as either the phase 1 or the phase 2 motors, although i'm not sure which one. i used it in a phase 1 block/phase 2 frankenstein motor build. if its the right one for your phase 2 motor, then the advantage would be all metal contruction (vs. layered organic), yet the same shape and price.

 

[Shorty]

I measured the headgaskets. Uncrushed, the STI headgasket was actually .002 thinner. It is a three layer steel unit, much like you'd see on a dirt bike engine. They are a perfect replacement for the stock one. We've done it here. They cost like $2 more than stock.

I looked at his car and the headgaskets were not leaking externally. The coolant was all over the lh lower corner of the radiator. More probable cause is the seam between the radiator core and tank. Jmailhot had the same issue. Subaru Cooling system conditioer or Bar's Leaks from NAPA. The scooby stuff is $1.39. Worth a try...

 

[Evan]

ooooor, a koyo radiator ;D

 

[Rightseat]

The coolant was all over the lh lower corner of the radiator. More probable cause is the seam between the radiator core and tank. Jmailhot had the same issue. Subaru Cooling system conditioer or Bar's Leaks from NAPA. The scooby stuff is $1.39. Worth a try...

that would be nice...I think poor Lobstah needs a break on Scooby entropy 8)

 

[-=Lobstah=-]

went outside to check the car. it does seem like it's leaking between the rad and overflow. Couldn;t stay out for more than 10 mins though

Hopefully i'll get brave enough to go out and take the overflow off and check the seal

 

[Rightseat]

there's no "seal" beetween overflow and rad, that tank is fed by rubber lines from top of rad.

leak area Shorty is talking about is between the metal grille part of rad and the lower plastic tank part of rad.

remove overflow with a couple 10mm bolts, move it out of the way, USE A GOOD LIGHT and see whass hapn;'n down there.

if you're lucky, it's the overflow that's pooched, tho that's unlikely.

sealer solution would be sweet if that's all it takes to fix

 

[-=Lobstah=-]

Looks like coolant coming from the rad itself, i think the only way to check it would be to yank it out and test it, correct?

 

[Shorty]

With the overflow outa the way, you should be able to run the car and watch for the leak when the car heats up/pressure builds. The correct way is doing it on the car with a Radiator pressure tester. You hook it on where the radiator cap goes and pump it up. When the pressure gets high enough, pffffffffft, the leak shows up.

Or, you could put cooling system dye in it, run the car and use a UV light to find it.

 

[Rightseat]

you know where it's leaking, and that it IS leaking. either try sealant or replace the rad.

no drama, simple options

it's called maintenance.

 

[-=Lobstah=-]

Shorty, false alarm, she's still leaking...

Saw a small trail of yellow (yes, yellow; for some reason green coolant + snow = yellow) snow behind the veHicle

Dammit. Gonna try to take her to a rad shop and have them do a comp test or something

Adios

 

[redlinerally]

Are you 100% positive that your car isn't just "taking a leak" on ya? When you gotta go, you gotta go, you know?

 

[Shorty]

Swing into Lincoln St Radiator on Lisbon St (long story) across from Tire Warehouse. Those guys are great and have a radiator for that for about $150. that's about as cheap as you'll find.