92 temp guage almost to the red

[dragoontwo]

There are a few exceptions.... Take my '98 Frontier for example. I run with no radiator fan. Nothing. Year round, from TN to IA and back in the summer with A/C on. Towed a 280ZX from Los Angeles to TN through the mountains. I've been fan free on it for over 5 years with no trouble. That truck has to be at idle for well over 15 mins once warm to even start to heat up past the center of the gauge.

[peace-frog]

took her for longer drive after i thought my issue was fixed. the whole way out to the dealership the temp stayed at normal. on the way home around 30 mph the temp shot right back up. gave her full throttle and the temp went back to normal. it did this about 3 times and then stayed normal the remainder of the trip. when i give it full throttle and the temp goes to normal it goes there fast about 2 seconds. talked to my mechanic and he said he is thinking its the thermostat sticking. so this weekend should be putting the new one in. about how long does it take to do the thermostat?

[Cam]

Originally Posted by peace-frog

took her for longer drive after i thought my issue was fixed. the whole way out to the dealership the temp stayed at normal. on the way home around 30 mph the temp shot right back up. gave her full throttle and the temp went back to normal. it did this about 3 times and then stayed normal the remainder of the trip. when i give it full throttle and the temp goes to normal it goes there fast about 2 seconds. talked to my mechanic and he said he is thinking its the thermostat sticking. so this weekend should be putting the new one in. about how long does it take to do the thermostat?

not long. 15 minutes....maybe. jack the car up, drain lower radiator hose, remove thermostat housing, replace thermostat and put everything back. Then refill your coolant.

[Freeman]

Originally Posted by Cam

not long. 15 minutes....maybe. jack the car up, drain lower radiator hose, remove thermostat housing, replace thermostat and put everything back. Then refill your coolant.

Yeah it's really easy. Hell, I didn't even jack the car up. I just parked it on a tall curb.

[Cam]

Originally Posted by peace-frog

when i give it full throttle and the temp goes to normal it goes there fast about 2 seconds. talked to my mechanic and he said he is thinking its the thermostat sticking.

You said you replaced the water pump, correct? If so, did you use an OEM part? It would make sense that the thermostat could be sticking, or that the pump is not capable of moving an ample amount of fluid. It could be headgaskets, but if it goes away when at a stop and increasing RPM's, I would think it to be pretty unlikely.

I think you are on the right track replacing the thermostat. If that does not work, then I would suspect the water pump. If it was an OEM one, then that could be pretty unlikely as well. But, you never know, weird things happen sometimes.

My .02 cents is replace the thermostat, and report back. Be sure to use the proper gasket that goes around the thermostat, or you will leak from the housing. Should just be 2 10mm bolts holding it to the bottom of the water pump. Located right at the end of the lower radiator hose.

[peace-frog]

changing the thermostat in a hour or so just wondering what type of coolant i should get what do all of you guys use?

[icingdeath88]

I would just go with the regular auto parts store coolant, since it's too late to try and get your hands on the subaru coolant, which is supposed to be very good stuff.

[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by peace-frog

changing the thermostat in a hour or so just wondering what type of coolant i should get what do all of you guys use?

I had a hard time following the sequence of events. Did you get your fans to turn on when you put the A/C on? At low speed I would make sure those fans are coming on. If they do consistently then you are indeed on the right track.

[peace-frog]

i could not get the fans to turn on with just turning on the ac. but i did notice that they do work when the car is running. got under the car today and found a coolant leak by the water pump. even though it was replaced last October, the shop used either aftermarket or remand water pump. so i am going to order the correct parts and have everything installed thursday afternoon. what gaskets and such will i need besides the water pump, water pump gasket, thermostat and thermostat gasket?

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by peace-frog

i could not get the fans to turn on with just turning on the ac. but i did notice that they do work when the car is running. got under the car today and found a coolant leak by the water pump. even though it was replaced last October, the shop used either aftermarket or remand water pump. so i am going to order the correct parts and have everything installed thursday afternoon. what gaskets and such will i need besides the water pump, water pump gasket, thermostat and thermostat gasket?

Look in the how-to docs under maintenance. Also if you're doing the water pump you might as well do the timing belt too.

[peace-frog]

ok thanks timing belt was done in october and that was fine only 3000 miles on it since it was done

looked in the how to doc and it says water pump seal but not the gasket i know i need the gasket but do i really need the seal? thats the only part not in stock at subaruparts and wont come by the time im getting the pump and such put it

[icingdeath88]

Then I'd forget it unless you find something wrong with it when you look at it. Were the idler pulleys checked out/changed then too?

[peace-frog]

from the receipts i have from the po no but i basically want to make it drivable for around 6 months until i get a different daily then i will go though everything and start replacing lots of parts

[icingdeath88]

Have you been losing coolant through the leak? Spin the idler pulleys and see if they make noise. At least that way you'll know if they're getting bad or not, even if you're not going to change them now.

[peace-frog]

yes i have lost a very small amount of coolant and ill test them tomorrow