The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

hey all, its been a long time since i posted here...

so ive got a 1999 subaru impreza rx, and yesterday it overheated into the red, this is the first problem ive ever had with my car, i was able to get the car home but were unsure exactly wat damage has been done.

my mechanic is coming tomorrow to have a look and see what exactly is wrong.. i think its either the thermostat or head gasket... im not looking forward to paying that money to fix it.. but it has to be done...

does anyone know a workshop around south brisbane side that can fix it for a good price??

thanks in advance

A couple of things to check first, one that should be done regularly - how was your coolant level prior to the over heating episode?

You can check the oil for water/coolant contamination easily. A compression check can tell you if one or neighbouring cylinders is down, clear sign of a head gasket with the over heating experience.

Check your fuses to make sure the fan relay fuse isn't blown - your AC won't work if it is.

Just because you've been in the red doesn't always mean you've done a HG. And what's the condition/age of the water pump and radiator. Could be worth getting a flush done on the system. Also check your rad hoses and fittings. The lib I'm currently driving was purchased by a mate (I'm his team mechanic :P) with a suspected blown HG. First start when warming up we found a pin hole in the top rad hose, thus we found where all the coolant was going. That was two years ago now

All the best with it, I'm hoping its something simple!

Cheers

Bennie

And another thing have you checked if you have any bubbles in the system sometimes it can send wrong signal - happened to me a few times thinking i cooked the engine but turns out to be air in the system.
Cheers
AP