Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

There is a little road noise which I think might be the tires or it could be a wheel bearing. Not unexpected. Brakes seem solid. Once warm, tranny shifts almost imperceptibly. Pretty good news all around.

One thing I noticed when driving in hilly country (in 3rd on the climbs!) was that the temperature gauge moved a little. When climbing a hill it went up to around where the little thermometer bulb would be on the gauge decal. That's about 40-45% up. When going down the hill in 4th it would drop a little to about where the wavy water part of the decal is. I would say that's about 35-40% up. It doesn't move much but you can notice it moved. Is this normal or is it a sign that something needs to be checked or replaced? The outside temp was mid-70s.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

First change to a new Subaru thermostat, t-gasket, Subaru radiator cap, and new coolant.
Second, start saving for a head gasket job.:(
Also make sure your radiator fans are working.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

If the problem is just a bad thermostat and the temperature is not getting high, why worry about the head gasket?

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Usually a fluctuating temp gauge indicates abnormal cooling system operation, and this paired with the fact that our cars are all about due for HG failures from age, and its a logical assumption.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

OK, I get that head gaskets can fail with age, and I should be aware of it, but this may not be related. I guess a good question for me would be to ask how I can look for symptoms of an actual head gasket failure or, better yet, the beginnings of a leak. I don't see how temp fluctuations from cool to normal would indicate a head gasket problem.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Just wait, it will get progressively worse. I have a 96 Lsi and had the same issues two years ago. Temp. gauge would spike all the way up and then settle down to normal, and coolant would spill out of the overflow tank. Drove the car like this for two weeks, and nothing got better. Svxfiles tried stopleak and same results. He finally gave me the cheapest Head Gasket job anywhere. Runs awesome now. Thanks again Tom K!:D

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Our SVX temperature gauges are a little misleading.
While still in the normal, almost level range the ACTUAL water temperature could be as high as, say 260°f!:eek: (as I rember)
The definative head gasket test on an SVX for me is to after replacing the rad cap, thermostat and gasket, pressure testing the system, checking the fans, to drive out to "HEADGASKET HILL".
And while driving up this seven mile, 7° incline observe the actual water temperatures with a Subaru Select Monitor.
If, on this drive the temperature spikes by the top of the hill/mountain, I know that the head gaskets are bad.
I have posted actual readings regaurding "Dan The Man's" SVX, but do not have time right now to look up the pojst.
Perhaps John can find them for us?:) John?

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Hi Dan,
just talkin about you.:)
Do you know where that thread is?:o

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

My '92 pearl had (a) blown HGs when I bought it-- temp gauge would yo-yo as you've described. If I recall correctly, the other symptoms I had were bubbling in the coolant overflow tank after I turned off the car, and a lot of black gunk in the coolant tank as well. The temp gauge would yo-yo gradually at first, and as the car got hotter, it would get more extreme, shooting up into the red before coming down when the fans kicked on (A/C relay would kick off as well.)
After I replaced the head gaskets, the temp needle was rock-solid about 45% of the way up, regardless of terrain.

I hope for your sake it's the rad cap or the thermostat.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

But I am not getting to level. I am actually at only about 40% full scale and that was after a long, steep climb. If I had a head gasket problem, wouldn't I keep consuming fluid? If I fill the overflow container, drive it, fill it again to make sure the system is full and then monitor it, shouldn't I see it drop relatively fast? I don't know, I kept hearing about HG problems in legacies as well and mine never had an issue after 14 years and 161K miles. Of course, I drove that car from day 1 and know it was never abused. I don't know about this car.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Go borrow a block tester kit from Autozone or other local auto parts shop. Its simply a vial you fill with special blue fluid, and set over your radiator filler neck. It detects exhaust gases and will turn yellow if they are present in your cooling system. Cheap, easy, and can save you a lot of hassle replacing little stuff here and there that arent necessary.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Assuming the leak is exhaust-into-coolant. Is that the most common type of leak for an SVX?

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

I do not know what is the most common type of failure for the headgasket. I can say that mine was both oil into coolant and coolant into oil, though.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

If it were causing an overheat, and since he didnt mention huge puddles of coolant underneath his car, id assume it would be..... as its also the most common type of HG leak anyways. Ive only seen about 50 test kits turn yellow on Subarus... which is why I recommended the stuff.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Maybe you pretty much already described it.

Keith:cool:

Husky maniac, is it the 4 legged animal Husky you are crazy about? The dog?

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

It is a basketball team, not the animal.

I know that a fluctuating temp gauge is a sign of headgasket issues but I would think the needle would go from normal to warmer not from cooler to normal.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

That is just how it starts. My car had identical symptoms. It progressively got worse until it became completely undrivable. We are not trying to give you our "opinion", just letting you know whats coming. You have about an 80% chance of a blown headgasket...sorry

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

From experience, I agree with OT, Dan, Cam,etc on this one. This is how the first engine on my Claret was behaving.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

I guess I am a little surprised at your certainty level. I know that water pumps, thermostats and even a bad radiator cap can cause similar symptoms. Plus, I thought it was the 2.5L engines that typically had head gasket issues and that it was less of an issue for the 6 cylinder engines.

I knew about the transmission, wheel bearing and warped rotor issues but head gaskets were not typically discussed as a known common issue.

OK, so let's say it is a head gasket. First, should I go to a dealer or is it easy enough that a decent local mechanic can replace them? Second, what is the typical cost in each case?

I guess what I thought was a good deal for a low mileage SVX might turn out to not be such a great deal.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Well then do the thermostat first, since its cheap and easy, and see what happens. ALL headgaskets fail sooner or later, either by design flaws or age, in our cases its age. I wouldnt trust any shop to do them, take it to a subaru specialist. Cost is high since the engine must be pulled, and you should really do a full engine reseal while its out.

BUT, again, GO BORROW/BUY A BLOCK TESTER KIT and test your car before worrying about it too much. They work, I have used them to diag headgaskets countless times on subaru engines.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Head Gaskets are not hard to replace yourself, if you have some confidence, patience, and a decent set of tools. Head Gaskets will set you back a couple hundred, and Labor...well, I am not sure what flat rate is on a HG job for our cars. Someone should be able to chime in on this.

Don't lose hope, still diagnose the problem with logic and the aforementioned steps by OT. You could be a lucky case, and have a bad water pump or radiator cap.

If it is the HG, then get an engine reaseal kit, and have everything resealed. It is not going to cost you but a couple hundred more total, and you get the head gaskets in the re-seal kit. Much better option, and cost almost exactly the same. The engine must be torn down the same amount either way, so this is what I would recommend.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Thanks for the information guys. I have some new data.

I haven't had the chance to pick up a head gasket tester yet but I did take note of the fluid cold and warm. Cold, it was just above the low mark on the overflow container. After a nice long drive it was right at the high mark. It is difficult to see the fluid through the container but I didn't see bubbling. Also, the top hose on the radiator was soft so I know there wasn't excess pressure in the line. It was 84 today and the needle never got above about the 40% mark on a 30 minute highway drive. The only time I have ever seen it even get to 45% was on a very steep climb at low speed.

On a related note, I am in shock when I look at the engine compartment. It looks like a brand new car. The previous owner really seemed to baby the car to some extent..

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Good luck, wish you the best possible outcome.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

We all have hope that it will turn out well,


It's just that we have seen this many times before.:(

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

The head gaskets CAN be replaced with the engine in the car, although only an idiot, or someone without an engine hoist (or both) would try it (I'll let you guess which category I fall into.) Oh yeah-- I did it at night, in January, in an unheated garage in Utah too. It wasn't that hard- just time consuming. Patience, care, and attention to detail is definitely required.

I'd recommend a full reseal kit too- I think it was less than $250 when I bought it (from the local dealer) a few years ago.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Definately pull the engine. You will actually save time just yarding it out and resealing it rather than trying it in the car. Oh yeah, be ready to possibly get new engine mount bushings (around $300).

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

The crazy thing can also keep going up and down, back and fourth...

Keith:cool:

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

I can affirm what others have said about gauge operation: In my years of SVX ownership, no matter the driving conditions or weather, I've never observed any fluctuation in temp gauge readings. Whether it's zero out or 100 (as it's supposed to be today), they simply go to near the midpoint and stay there.

That said, if one of my gauges started see-sawing from cool to normal and back (and never higher), I'd probably spring for a new sending unit before doing anything else. Good luck with it.

dcb

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

After its warm, hoses shouldnt be soft, they should be pretty firm with the cooling system pressure. And with the jumping temp needle, id check to see if there actually is a thermostat installed. Sometimes people will remove it to try and hide a HG problem by keeping the engine too cool. Hopefully the engine is so clean because he steamed cleaned it to make it look nice, not to hide something.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Yeah, that would suck. I have heard of such things being done. I'm hoping he wasn't that dishonest. The car only has 73K miles on it and was driven in TN and GA so I think it is just clean because it was rarely exposed to harsh elements.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Well, I am getting it checked out by my mechanic today. Here's hoping that the thermostat is in there and stuck open.

I have to say that the car transmits road noise. On rough pavement it can get loud. Those concrete highway sections are noisy. It makes it tough to distinguish between road/tire noise and bearing noise.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Have you checked to make sure all the tires are matching?

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

When I took my teal to the road for the first time I immediately thought, whoa... tire noise?! Nope.

I hope it's just that your tires have a very aggressive tread.

dcb

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

They are directional tires, which tend to be a little noisy. And the noise level varies greatly depending on road surface. But, hey, it is a minor issue relative to the potential head gasket problem.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

It's not just a river in Egypt...

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

You can be a funny, funny man!

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

You know, I think some of you are simply sadistic and want to see other people in pain. Nothing funny about that. If you want to be helpful, how about giving me an idea of what the cost should be IF I need a gasket replacement. Since so many of you have had them done, there should be plenty of data.

The mechanic said the car looked solid and ordered a new thermostat and radiator cap. The flush and thermostat change will happen tomorrow. Then I will know for sure if there is still a thermostat in there and if it was the issue.

Thanks to those who have given good advice and well wishes.

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Good on you for calling a spade a spade. I have been watching this thread with concern and am pleased that you have relied on common sense and have not become wrongly influenced.:)

There has been an ongoing tendency within the technical section, for the worst scenario to be given maximum space, when the logical approach is to first eliminate what could be simple inexpensive issues. It would appear that some are intent on only exploring the most complicated possibilities, on the basis of illustrating their alleged know how. As a result they achieve the opposite and more importantly the thread becomes detrimental to the member asking for genuine assistance. :(

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

Here's to hoping it's just the thermostat...:o

Re: Finally picked up my 96 SVX. Temp gauge moves around a little.
 

No one here is being sadistic.
We all share the pain of potential head gasket failure.
As far as the cost of a head gasket replacement, the Subaru gasket kit alone is about $250.00 now.
The machine shop cost of milling, pressure testing, and cleaning the heads could be about $200.00.
Depending on what your shop charges, you might have fifteen hours of labor.
I am sorry that you are having a problem.

Sarcasim is a vent for frustration.