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1996 Subaru Legacy Outback overheating

41 messages,  Last post on Aug 30, 2010 at 10:04 AM

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What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 4 of 5

#27 of 41 1996 Subaru Legacy Wagon by madrona1

Mar 28, 2010 (7:27 pm)

My 1996 Subaru Legacy Wagon (119000mi) overheated for the first time. I took it in and they said it needed a new water pump... They put one in, along with a new timing belt.
 
It ran fine for two days and this morning it didn't want to start the first time (not uncommon in cool weather), started the second time and then there was a loud pop and the car was running really rough and sounded awful.
 
Drove it to the garage that did the work (3 blocks) and when I turned it off and got out the car kept running. Looked like some white smoke coming out of the exhaust, never saw that before.
 
The car wouldn't turn off until they disconnected the negative battery terminal. They had installed the new battery for me 4 months ago, it had quite a bit of white powdery corrosion on the neg. terminal and I noticed that the front clamp that holds the battery was completely disconnected so the battery was moving around. They said they hadn't disconnected the battery for the timing belt/water pump procedure.
 
They say they think it's an unrelated electrical problem and will get back to me. Could this be related to the timing belt/water pump fix? I never had white smoke before that and didn't have oil in the coolant either (didn't look at that when I left it at the garage today).
 
Any advice is greatly appreciated!

#28 of 41 Re: 1996 Subaru Legacy Wagon [madrona1] by xwesx

Mar 29, 2010 (11:54 am)

Replying to: madrona1 (Mar 28, 2010 7:27 pm)
White smoke, loud pop, rough idle.... I'd say the car either blew a head gasket, threw a rod, or something similar. White smoke means there is significant coolant getting into the cylinder(s), so that is a real problem. I think I would label this one as a catastrophic failure.
 
It could be related to the fix, but it is really hard to say. More likely is that you had a head gasket issue (that caused the overheating) and it was misdiagnosed as the water pump. If so then that work essentially did nothing to address the root problem.

#29 of 41 Re: 1996 Subaru Legacy Wagon [xwesx] by madrona1

Mar 29, 2010 (5:25 pm)

Replying to: xwesx (Mar 29, 2010 11:54 am)
Thanks, turns out it was the starter... it went out with a bang!

#30 of 41 Re: 1996 Subaru Legacy Wagon [madrona1] by xwesx

Mar 30, 2010 (9:14 am)

Replying to: madrona1 (Mar 29, 2010 5:25 pm)
Really.... well, that is a first!

#31 of 41 HELP by twinpeekz

Apr 24, 2010 (7:36 am)

now that the weather is getting warmer my car overheated last week. replaced the thremostat yesterday and it ran fine. went to the store today and it overheated again. dont know what is wrong. please help.

#32 of 41 OEM Thermostat is a MUST by bigdadi118

Apr 24, 2010 (2:37 pm)

Subaru's thermostat is unique and aftermarket TStat won't meet Subaru's spec on Open / Close ... be sure to buy the factory TStat.
 
Radiator cap is cheap, replaced with a new one also.
 
Coolant goe through heater core. If there is H.C. problem then it'll block the flow of coolant, thus overheat. I think there is a by-pass short-cut the coolant to flow back without get into cabin heat sys to pinpoint this rpoblem. Use hand to feel warm and cold of hoses might tell also.

#33 of 41 96 subaru legacy outback by doc54

Jul 21, 2010 (3:38 pm)

so, what a nightmare, three different foriegn garages and one dealership and still over-heats!!!!!!!!!
 
New radiator, waterpump, thermostat, head gasket and all the other stuff that a dealership does when replacing gaskets. Cost at dealership in S. Carolina $2o22.47 and still overheats-Great hey?
 
Overheated leaving the dealerhip about 25 miles away after being on the highway, got off the expressway and temp guage went sky high, called dealership and they recommended getting a new thermostat. Still overheats.
 
Anyway, do not want to put much more money into it with almost 200.000 miles. Good enough to run wife to work about two miles each way. Still feel like i was burnt.
 
Auto Zone worker felt it might be a hairline crack in the head or block and when it gets hot the crack opens up, dispells the fluid and sucks air and gets hot. When cold crack closes and i end up adding anti-freeze. Damn and i love the handling but probably won't get another one...

#34 of 41 Re: 96 subaru legacy outback [doc54] by xwesx

Jul 21, 2010 (4:33 pm)

Replying to: doc54 (Jul 21, 2010 3:38 pm)
The dealership did the head gasket work , it still overheats, and they will not warrant the repair? That sounds suspicious to me and I would contact Subaru of America about it.

#35 of 41 Re: 1996 Subaru Legacy Outback overheating [xwesx] by kidali

Aug 03, 2010 (11:10 am)

Replying to: xwesx (May 22, 2009 2:47 pm)
Out of curiosity, how much did it cost to have the head gaskets replaced?
Mine seems fine at the moment, but at 206,000 km, I'm a little worried (97)

#36 of 41 Re: 1996 Subaru Legacy Outback overheating [kidali] by xwesx

Aug 03, 2010 (11:51 am)

Replying to: kidali (Aug 03, 2010 11:10 am)
I replaced the head gaskets myself; the total cost was about $550, which included a new timing belt and pulleys (the lion's share of the expense). I think I estimated, at the time, that the work for me was about 18 labor hours. Commercially, I think full (both) head gasket replacements tend to run $1600 to $2000.

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