scottrobo23 Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 So my Impreza is being awkward again. It’s been sat for a few weeks and today I’ve taken it out, only got 4 miles down the road and it overheated again. (As a few people know I’ve had overheating issues before which a performance thermostat seemed to fix...) anyway, I took the header cap off and began refilling with water, and I could hear it leaking out the bottom of the Rad as I was filling. Got towed home and now deciding what to do about it. How hard is it to take off and replace the Radiator? I have a huge list of things to do next year to the hawkeye. Low mount inter cooler and bigger turbo included. What would you guys recommend .? Not sure what’s causing my overheating issues. Probs the dreaded head gaskets 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linx Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Sounds like a hole in the radiator to me. You have to remove the front bumper. Otherwise not to bad. I got a new rad from EuroCarParts last year for £70.Sent from my HTC Desire 530 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 is an easy job as long as you can manage the hose and clips without drama, you do not need remove bumper . If you had long term over heat issues randomly is a high chance it HG as inevitable on the 2.5, very hard prove via hydrocarbon check on these . Standard crimped rads are not best but over heat issues will help finish them off . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottrobo23 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 Yeh was thinking HG is probably the cause of the issues. I had a hydrocarbon sniff test done a while back and it was fine. I had a performance thermostat fitted which seemed to solve the problem but when I took it out for a long run in the dales, overheated again. This radiator is only 2 years old. Cheap one from eurocar parts, maybe £140 ish.? but I’m thinking I need something better than that. Car is about 300bhp but looking to get low mount intercooler and another turbo in the new year. Is there anything anyone would recommend radiator wise .? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottrobo23 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 By the way, usually when my car overheats the expansion tank fills up. Id been for a drive somewhere, got home, and putthe car away under its cover. ...2 weeks later I get the car back out. I lift the bonnet to check the coolant before starting the engine, and I notice the expansion tank it already full. (Like it’s overheated) does this prove that it has headgasket failure.? As the coolant is not allowing to get back into the system once the car is cool, due to exhaust gases thatve taken it’s place .? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 People would be best avoiding euro car parts or at least cherry picking parts they get as ecp really sell low quality and not always that cheap . an alloy one on eBay made in china would be better than what ecp stock . ones ecp stock can be found for £70, cheap alloy is about £130 (use a eBay coupon on it and they great budget value buys) I fitted couple customers supplied and quality/fit was fine, invoice sku started with UKZZ . Sounds very much like HG is going be issue, getting diagnostic proof can be hard but as it gets worse gas sniffer or chemical test on coolant will register it . Look at the bottom off head to block seams and see if look damp and oily . HG need sorting quick as left too long and turns into a full rebuild . suspecting left too long already . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenmamba Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 What shape is the header tank cap? Original? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottrobo23 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 Yeah all original, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenmamba Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 OK. When the overflow doesn't get drawn back to the radiator during cool-down it could be due to a faulty rad cap. Also, if the rad cap spring is weak or the rad cap is wrong pressure, it could allow too much coolant into the overflow in the first place. What pressure is the rad cap? May be stamped on the top, generally 1.1 bar or higher. Other thought - when the car overheats, do you get heat in the car from the heater/aircon etc or is it cold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 If your rad leaking/system not sealed it will not draw coolant from overflow tank very well or at all . Get gas sniffer on it, 8 out of 10 overheating/cooling issues we see on the 2.5 all end up at HG and unfortunately in early stages it hard diagnose 100% clear cut with test results . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottrobo23 Posted December 25, 2018 Author Share Posted December 25, 2018 22 hours ago, Greenmamba said: OK. When the overflow doesn't get drawn back to the radiator during cool-down it could be due to a faulty rad cap. Also, if the rad cap spring is weak or the rad cap is wrong pressure, it could allow too much coolant into the overflow in the first place. What pressure is the rad cap? May be stamped on the top, generally 1.1 bar or higher. Other thought - when the car overheats, do you get heat in the car from the heater/aircon etc or is it cold? From memory I think it’s 0.9 bar..?? the heater usually blows cold when it overheats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottrobo23 Posted December 25, 2018 Author Share Posted December 25, 2018 21 hours ago, Mr B said: If your rad leaking/system not sealed it will not draw coolant from overflow tank very well or at all . Get gas sniffer on it, 8 out of 10 overheating/cooling issues we see on the 2.5 all end up at HG and unfortunately in early stages it hard diagnose 100% clear cut with test results . I’ll get a test done again. I had one a couple years back and got the all clear but I know it sometimes doesn’t pick it up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottrobo23 Posted December 30, 2018 Author Share Posted December 30, 2018 Big Leakage 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.