Possible problem with Subaru Coolant Conditioner
 

We have seen a rash of 00-02 Legacy's recently with overheating problems, esp. with the AC on. They all have two things in common:

1) They all have blocked radiators (some have temperature differences of up to 30 degrees from one side to the other)

2) They all rececently had the Subaru Cooling Conditioner WWP-99 Service Campaign performed.



For those that don't know: Subaru acknowledged a problem with the headgaskets on certain 99-02 MY 2.5L Phase II engines and decided to try to correct the problem by having us dealers add a "special" Coolant Conditioner (aka headgasket in a bottle) to correct it. So far, it seems to be working. The number of headgasket jobs we do each week has dropped to almost "0" for these engines. However, these recent events have us all wondering if the conditioner does more harm than good in the long run.

That being said, I should clarify that I AM NOT SAYING THAT THE CONDITIONER IS TO BLAME. At this point it looks like a bad coincidence. It could be that these Legacys got a bad batch of radiators. It could be that the owners of these cars added something to their cooling system on their own. We don't know yet and we have not heard anything from Subaru regarding other dealers reporting overheat conditions on cars affected by the campaign.

If you own a Subaru that has had this campaign completed, keep an eye on your temp gauge. Again, I am not saying that the conditioner is to blame, but it does seem suspicious. Please don't misuse this information to throw a fit at your local dealer. This is all speculation at this point.


Dave

Thanks for the heads up Dave. I just had it put in my 00 RS.A few weeks ago.
I will definetly keep a look out for any potential problems.

Yeah, thanks for the update. I got it for my wifes 03 but put it in my BRAT. That way they can't say that all it needs is conditioner when/ if the gasket goes while under warranty. From what I can tell it isn't any different then those snake oils that fix antifreeze leaks and stuff by clogging up stuff so I can believe it may be the cause of thes clogs. That's why you should use one of those rad stop leak bottles. It just seems that Subaru is trying to get away with not fixing problem gaskets since 90% of the population won't know there is a problem until the radiator is bone dry.

You're welcome:)



I talked to another dealership on Saturday and they also have several Legacy owners complaining of overheating after the conditioner was added:(


This doesn't look good. As soon as I heard about this Coolant Conditioner stuff I was upset that Subaru wasn't doing the right thing and just replacing the gaskets. They took the cheap way out and it just might come back to bite them is the ass.



Dave

I guess I'll be draing and flushing the Brat out.:(

The number of complaints continues to grow. I now have $4,000 worth of radiators on order from Subaru.






Dave

The Coolant Conditioner is Holts Radweld. It's a radiator stop-leak. It really shouldn't contribute to blocked radiators, but I guess anything's possible.

The whole coolant conditioner thing is kind of funny to me anyway... use a stop leak to try to retroactively fix poor block/head mating design. Too funny.

Well, like I mentioned before we aren't sure that the Conditioner is to blame. It just looks like it is at this moment. There is also talk of the Techs possibly not shaking the bottle good enough before they dump it in, or not letting the engine cool enough beforehand.



Dave

I'll keep an eye out for anything like that here, I'll let you all know if we experience the same difficulties. It's good information, at the very least.

So far today we have replaced 4 Legacy radiators. All of the cars had the Conditioner added rececently.



Dave

Just for reference, we have done the Coolant Conditioner recall on over 800 vehicles already, and have yet to have a radiator failure of this type.

I will keep my eyes open, but thus far this seems to be an isolated series of events. I will check with the other dealers in the area and get back to you.


Jason Porter
Performance Parts Manager
Subaru of Gwinnett-Atlanta

Want to hear another odd story? I had the WP99 added in a week after the notice came out. Guess what happens the VERY next day? My waterpump starts leaking. Dealer said the additive would have nothing to do with it so I just bit it and replaced the pump and t-belt while he was in there.

WP99
 

So,

Why wouldn't the conditioner seal the pump, especially something leaking the next day?