just aquired a 93 rs subaru ej20tt sedan and it drives nicely and has been well looked after. all turbos sound nice and engine purrs along in town and on the open road. after driving for around 20 mins in town and then parking up, the radiator cap is so hot. too hot to touch, also the rest of the engine is very very warm. not using water or oil though. is this normal! my temp isnt over half in the normal dash gauge but does take 5 or so mins to even get there. normal!
forrest23,
Jan 7, 4:05am
please no baggin out subi,,, just want some help
NZTools,
Jan 7, 4:07am
the engine and top of the radiator will be between 80 and 100 degrees c which is normal. Anything over 65 degrees will burn your hand. If the temp gauge is showing normal, and there is no steam spurting out of the overflow bottle, it is fine.
unbeatabull,
Jan 7, 4:10am
Metal radiator cap! They do get hot. In fact in Subaru's I've worked in the past they have probably been the worst for both having a hot cap and chucking water out when opening under pressure
As long as levels are ok and isn't boiling, temp gauge reads fine should be ok. You could test the Temp Sensor or use a Thermometer to check the temps aren't too high for peace of mind. You will need the resistance readings for the temp sensor and a laser thermometer (I think they have another name but I can't think of it right now) to cross reference resistance readings and temperature.
forrest23,
Jan 7, 4:13am
so will getting some temp gauges be next purchase just for peace of mind! did notice a little coolant on the drive way the other day but heads are not gone. no steam. no steam outa exhaust. no water in the oil,, that and the fact that it runs supurbly
unbeatabull,
Jan 7, 4:34am
No. I would be checking the current sender/sensor is reading correctly first.
forrest23,
Jan 7, 4:36am
mechanic or auto elec!
unbeatabull,
Jan 7, 4:57am
Either should be able to, sparky would probably be best.
next-to-normal,
Jan 7, 6:24am
adding anti freeze will raise the boiling point of water by about 10%,these motors appear hot when running
techmen,
Jan 7, 9:50am
easy check for yourself,after a drive to normal temperature,leave it to idle,ensure gauge does not go over half.The radiator fans should cut in after 2-5 mins of idle and switch of after about 1-3 mins.they usually work in the range of 98deg c on to 90deg off.if they dont come on activate the air cond/+fan control,fans should come on.For peace of mind pop into a garage that has a temp gun to test with.happy motoring!
electro2000,
Jan 7, 10:15am
subs of that errorwill always give issues some time in there life ,I own 3 and have had a few more.
you know when it is to hot the engine fan will run continuouslythe fan should cycle fine. head gaskets on ej20t is not as common as none turbo-blown head gasket you don't get a coolant oil mix any way as it blows between the combustion firing ring and water jacketon open deck blocks anyways-Investigate the coolant on the drive asap possible water pump ,thermo housing of hose. check that the expansion bottle is not over filledthe upper level is way down most peps over fill so when it does expand it over flows. Keep the oil clean and coolant in good nick and they will run for yearsJust sold a leg with 267 km on the clock still going strong -I did do the hg's on it but other then that was still going well
loonee-dial-111,
Jan 7, 7:48pm
Not normal is when the temp guage gets over half way and the cap is not too hot to touch.
forrest23,
Jan 8, 12:27am
yeah. cant see any visable line for the overflow and i had topped it up and it spat out a day or so later and is sitting where it has always sat im guessing as the bottom 1/3 is of the bottle is slightly discoloured.im going to get the temp sensor checked and i will get my mech to check all of the above. thanks everyone for the advice
forrest23,
Jan 8, 12:28am
gets to half way and is too hot to touch. what i saw as a problem is that it takes 5km of driving in town to get to half way then its real hot and i have never had a car that takes that long
unbeatabull,
Jan 8, 2:07am
Thermostat could be stuck open causing it to take ages to warm up. Does the heater take a while to heat up as well!
electro2000,
Jan 8, 5:43am
3- 5 km is about right to warmjust check plenty of heat is coming from the heater- subs are a little different you will note the thermostat is found at the bottom of the enginethe control of thatis the coolant feed through the heater core and then piped down to the thermostat housing , a faulty core will cause the engine to over heatthere is a bypass modification you can do to avoid heater core blockage from over heating the engine. Forgot to look what model you have but you will have have theradiator cap on the engine! gets a little hotter then being on the rad
lookoutas,
Jan 8, 7:17am
Your'e not understanding what loonee sez. If it gets hot on the guage, but the cap isn't hot - means there's stuff-all water in it, (Not enough to touch the cap and heat it)
saki,
Jan 8, 7:50am
Get yourself a cheap infared thermometer they have a lot of uses
forrest23,
Jan 8, 8:47am
nah. i understood what he said.maily the thread was about the engine and cap being real hot when the gauge was only just hitting half way. i am definatly no mechanic but do have a slight understanding of how these things work in principal anyway. all this info is most appreciated and will be passed on to my mechanic or sparky. many times i have had a mechanical problem and the mechanic has it has taken a few trips back to get to the bottom of things. this thread has helped me pinpoint what possible problems there may be and i now know what to ask them as to what i want them to look out for. so thanks to all. i believe that it is better to pay now than pay lots when the problem snowballs.had two cars crack blocks with matainance so am extra paranoid. so thanks
poohbear011,
Aug 25, 5:18pm
subarus do run rather hot, after a normal drive in my other car (nissan) at normal temp i can touch the cap but in my subaru its way 2 hot, typical tho, ive had 4 and they all have been like that, check the bottom radiator hose see if thats hot also
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