Subaru - Outback :: 1998 - Overheating When Going Above 60 Mph For More Than 10 - 15 Minutes
Mar 1, 2011
My 98 Subaru only overheats when going above 60 mph for more than 10-15 minutes. When it does and I pull over,the cap has blown off of the coolant tank. After letting it cool off and adding a bit of coolant - it doesn't occur again and I can drive for hours at high speeds. I drive the car every day, up and over mountain passes and up to the ski hill and never have a problem any other time. I know subarus have a tendency to blow head gaskets, but wouldn't there be other warning signs?
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I have a 2001 Subaru Outback Limited with 135K miles on it. In the last year, I had two complete head jobs (the second because the new water pump failed while on the highway). In addition, I have had multiple water pumps, lots of thermostats and a new radiator installed. The last thermostat is an OEM. The car had been running fine for about a month and now overheats after about 30-40 minutes of combined, but mostly highway driving. At first, the gauge would rise to about 3/4 and then drop after about ten seconds, but now it goes to almost red and drops to 3/4. If I blast the heat, it will drop pretty fast. My mechanic told me that while diagnosing an earlier overheat issue (just before the good period), he noticed that the gauge would rise, but the computer temp would remain stable. He tried a new sensor, but said it made no difference, so he returned it. What is left to replace?
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I had overheating problem on the highway. Towed car to Automotive Clinic - They said I needed new radiator and hoses, so I installed. Couple weeks later, overheats again, this time said I need new head gasket, so I go ahead. Soon as I get back, my car overheats AGAIN. Now back in the shop, and they told me the head gasket blew again...they have taken all apart, and now say they can't find out whats wrong. The coolant is leaking, but they don't know why...it failed hydrocarbon testing. What can it be?
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I own a 2002 Outback. It is overheating. We have replaced hoses, thermostat, water pump, the temp sensor, had the radiator tested. Nothing has changed our problem. My husband is at a loss and the mechanic who has is now has no clue as to what else it could be. The mechanic is referring to it as a ghost problem.
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My wife has a 2005 Subaru Outback XT w/auto trans, about 135k miles. We live in SoCal.The car runs great...well, most of the time. During the summer, or when driving up steep mountains with the AC running, the needle will climb steadily north towards overheating. Call me timid, but I've never been curious enough to find out what happens if I let the needle get into the red.To let the needle drop, I have to turn the AC off. This isn't the best option now since we've been experiencing over a week of temperatures higher than 103.I also noticed that the temp needle will drop to normal within a couple of minutes if I turn on the heater.
I did open the bonnet when we returned from a trip and with the car running, checked to make sure both fans were running.
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Our Air conditioner keeps on for about 5 minutes then cuts off. If we turn the car off and immediately back on it comes back on for another 5 minutes. we have taken it to the dealer twice at ca. 200 a pop and they say they have fixed it each time but they haven't.
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I have a 2000 Subaru Outback with a little over 162,000 miles. About 3 years ago I had the head gaskets replaced. This past March the car started over heating while on the highway driving back to Boston from New Jersey. It has been doing this intermittently since then, and I have had two mechanics look at it.
The first mechanic, who is my beloved mechanic in Maine (where I am originally from), checked the sensors and relays. He even replaced the relays for free, and it still overheated on the way back from Maine to Boston. Needless to say I did not give him enough time to really look at my car to figure out the problem.
I then went to my back up mechanic in Boston, who kept the car for about 4 days. He said there are no leaks and the car did not actually over heat while with him. He had one of his guys drive the car home at night and back to the shop in traffic in the AM, and had it run for hours while on a lift, and on the ground. Still no overheating. However, he did say that the car was eating up coolant, which indicated to him that there might be a head gasket problem.
I was a little upset by this diagnosis because I had them replaced already, and also because I am getting married this summer so this obviously is not the right time to be buying a new car. I should mention that both mechanics looked at my car at the end of August. I have still been driving and watching the coolant.
The car is still randomly overheating but i tend to notice it happen more while in stop and go traffic and when I accelerate. The needle will go all the way up to red, stay there for a few seconds and then slowly creep down. This happened this morning, and I had checked the coolant yesterday and it was full! I checked it again at lunch time to see if it had used all the coolant during rush hour and it was still full. This chain of events seems to keep happening and I constantly check the coolant. Since August I have only had to fill it once. I have also noticed that when I open the radiator cap the coolant is not sitting level like I've been told it should. I've put a decent amount of work into the car and everything else runs perfectly.
Is it possible that this is a pumping or air bubble problem, and not a head gasket?
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Subaru Outback 2003 4 cylinder runs ok first several minutes then starts to skip. Appears to be maybe EGR related? Plugs/wires/dist ignition are ok. The car was double filled with oil the started, smoked. Could that affect the ECR or PVC? Could this damage the fuel injectors?
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I have a 2008 Subaru Outback that is telling me that it is overheating, the gauge is showing me that the engine is as hot as it could possibly get. However, its not actually overheating. It happened after a 15 hour day of driving from Cali to Colorado on 2 lane highways. In the morning it took 6 tries to get started, just sounded like maybe there wasn't enough gas or something to get it going and if I fluttered the gas pedal the car threatened to quit on me. Since that moment the temperature gauge has been stuck on high, the check engine light is on, the cruise control is disabled and flashing on the dash, and the AC doesn't work. I have turned the car off several times since the incident and it starts up just fine so far but the gauge and lights are still on. ......
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my friends mechanic is telling him his 2000 outback (2.5 4 cyl) has a blown head gasket. there is NO water leaking/seeping out from anywhere outside the motor AND there is NO water in the crankcase motor oil. the thermostat has been replaced. the cooling fans work. I'm inclined to say it's a plugged radiator. he is considering replacing the head gasket (to the tune of $1500+) on advice of his mechanic. is it possible to have a blown head gasket and not be leaking coolant?
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My Subaru just had the thermostat replaced, and it seemed to work until the wife took it she said it over heats when not driving the fans are working, it's over flowing out the reserve tank the fluid looked good when changed the thermostat so I don't think it's the head gasket my next guess would be either the water pump... After I last changed the thermostat and test drove it I felt the upper radiator hose it was hot but the bottom one was cool/warm.
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Every once in a while in heavy traffic the engine overheats. I can't get out to check on the highway bit I suspect a an isn't on. I can drop the temp in the usual way of blasting the heat but I can also drop it precipitously by turning on the AC! It seems to stay down even if I turn the AC off - at least for a while. The radiator is new and it has plenty of fluid.
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I have a 2002 Subaru Outback that has started overheating only when I try to go up into the mountains. It starts within a few miles of starting up a steep grade and cools down the instant you start down the mountain. I have had no problems with regular driving conditions. The only pertinent info might be that it did have a coolant leak last summer and overheated then.
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Have a 2000 subaru outback 2.5l, automatic, with about 245k, I replaced the thermostat,water pump, the radiator and the car is still overheating. both fans are working. no leaking coolant. Maybe this is related- over heats mostly when driving on the highway. But if a shift the gear to neutral and coast for a minute the shift back to drive the temperature gauge goes down. Whats wrong, running out money fixing the car, but love it driving it in the snow.
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I brought my Outback to one mechanic due to overheating and a strange skipping feeling when accelerating. First mechanic said head gaskets needed to be replaced, I wasn't surprised since I have about 142k miles on it and it has been leaking oil, quoted between $1800 and $2000. I took it to another shop, recommended by a friend, and they agreed the gaskets needed to be replaced and there was also a misfire due to the spark plugs. This shop quoted me at $2200-2600 for the head gaskets, spark plugs, all wires and timing belt, all other engine gaskets, thermostat, engine oil and coolant. I still owe a good bit on this car (parents bought on the fly from a less than stellar used lot and now it is my problem), and my thinking is I do not want to bring on more debt by attempting to trade this one in and go for a new car. My question is, do I go with the second mechanic that wants to basically rebuild to top of my engine, or would I be ok limiting the repairs to the head gaskets and spark plugs?
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I had posted earlier about replacing the harness or at the very least the plug that broke off of the cam shaft sensor on our 98 Subaru Outback. Well, I replaced the plug, and the cam and crank shaft sensors as well and it is still cranking but not firing.
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I have a 1998 Subaru Outback with 140000 miles. When I begin to turn the car from a stopped position the vehicle shutters . I can not feel anything at speed. The transmission appears to shift smoothly. I only feel the shutter when I accelerate and turn from a stopped position. Can it be the differential?
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My wife's Subaru just died on us. 98 Outback Legacy with quite a bit of miles on it. It was running fine, she took it to the store and then it would not start. It would crank but not fire. Internet searches led me to believe that it was a cam or crankshaft sensor. I go to pull the plug off and the weather beaten wires just snapped....
Turns out my option is splicing a new plug on or replacing the wiring harness. Now, SHOULD we decide to just replace the wiring harness. Is that a rip off?
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The car in question is a 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback. Just had the heads resurfaced and new gaskets, and timing belt. Runs great. Acceleration is good, stays cool. However, it has developed an intermittent knock/tapping. it sounds like its coming from the top end of motor. I added Marvel Mystery and the noise left for about a week but came back. Is this the beginning of the end? Or could it be a small problem involving the lifters/followers/valves?
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I have a 98 Subaru Legacy Outback with 133K miles. It was leaking from the power steering pump and valve cover gaskets. My husband replaced the passenger-side valve cover gasket (which involved removing the air box) and the power steering pump (which required removing the alternator). When we put the car back together and reconnected the battery, it no longer starts! It "clicks" once but won't turn-over. The car does not have an alarm system (but it was an option on this model). We've tried jumping it. The battery is about 14 months old. The alternator is about 10 months old and the starter was replaced about 10 months ago too. We've double checked the wires that were disconnected and don't think we've missed anything.
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problem is the my 1998 Legacy (142K) overheated this past weekend. It shut off and I had it towed to a "new" mechanic around the corner from my house. He diagnosed the problem as being a faulty thermostat. He replaced the thermostat and returned the vehicle to me. Two days later my wife was driving home and the car had a major overheating incident with resulting serious mechanical failure. I did a little research and within about five minutes found that this problem is quite common for this car and is more commonly related to a head gasket issue. My question is should this mechanic be held responsible in any way for the misdiagnosed problem? If so, what would be the best course of action? The car was otherwise running fine and in fact I recently had the transmission rebuilt.
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