>car sometimes overheats on idle >overheats when AC is

>Subaru

oh boy what model? Cause if it's 2nd gen Outback, understand that many of us have dealt with the same head gasket leak while mean you'll be slowly leaking oil and gradually emptying your system of coolant. What i did with mine was to top-off the coolant every 7 weeks to keep up[ with the leak.

>>15760430
>what model?
Doesn't matter. Replacing head gasket is scheduled maintenance.

>>15760461
>Replacing head gasket is scheduled maintenance.

It really shouldn't be in any modern well-designed car. Not until the far side of 200K miles anyway.

>>15760407
>b8

>>15760430
That's exactly what it is m8. Shit's leaking everything. Doesn't help that it has 250k miles on it.

>>15760834
Holy fuck you are lucky it lasted that long before it became an issue. Change the head gaskets. You might be able to get it up to 300k if you do.

>>15760863
This. The gasket change might cost at least $900 though.

>>15760863
>>15760885
Previous owners had the gaskets changed at like 150k miles so they might go soon too, but I'll probably get rid of the turd before then.

>>15760945
Sad tbhfam. Because other than that shortsighted head gasket design, the 2nd gen legacy & outback are great cars.

ITT: Op has never touched a wrench in his life and no-wrench anons are replying with advice

>>15760961
what's a wrench f a m

>>15760407
never worked on a Subaru before so heres a couple of stupid questions

does it have a belt driven fan or an electric one?
if belt driven, is it a viscous link fan or straight mounted?
if electric, have you checked the thermostat?
if viscous, have you check its actually working?
are there any puddles under the car 15 to 20 minutes after you've had a long run and switched the engine off?
does it have a radiator cap?
have you tried running it with the cap on but not fully tightened down?
when it overheats is there hot air or cold coming from the vents when you turn the heating on fully blast ?

>>15761124
-electric fan
-changed thermostat
-there is a puddle but I'm not sure if it's leaking because the other day it just exploded out all over the engine and it could be from that
-it obviously has a radiator cap and I have suspected that it could be that but I didn't test it
-no hot air coming from vents but it's not very cold either

>>15761124
oh and it's a straight mounted fan and the fans do seem to be spinning, but they might not be spinning fast enough, can't really tell

>>15761160
ok that rules out thermostat
where was the puddle, can you recall? was it near the front i.e. could it be the radiator is holed?
some cars have expansion tanks with screw on lids, by cap i meant the type that turn halfway then you push down to completely cloe it
no hot air means you are way low on water/coolant, theres none getting to the heater matrix.

are the carpets damp down in the footwell?

>>15761176
The puddle was dripping off to the side near the right wheel so it's hard to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, but it wasn't near the radiator. This is why I'm having so much trouble diagnosing this - that and it runs at normal temp like 75-80% of the time, only overheating when I turn on or off the ac and occasionally when it's just left to idle. I've taken it to a couple mechanics to get a more professional opinion and each one said something different.

I filled the radiator and reservoir tank to the top with coolant so it shouldn't be low on coolant.

Carpet isn't damp either.

>>15761210
ok so the coolant system is full but no heat from vents, matrix it is then.

first place to look is inlet and outlet pipes for the matrix and pray one of them is perished, failing that the matrix itself could be blocked with a build up of shit, you can unblock it by blowing air from an airline down the inlet pipe, make sure the outlet pipe is disconnected, and it at all possible do this from a low psi compressor, less than 20psi or you might blow the matrix apart.

chances are the puddle at the wheel was condensation from the a/c cause the a/c pressure sensor is just above and behind the right front wheel.

heater matrix's (matrii, matrium , fuck latin) are notoriously hard to get at, its the first thing in the car then everything else is built around it.

>>15761281
Alright that makes sense because I was running the ac before taking a look under the car for puddles. I'll take your advice, thanks for the help

>>15760407
Could be a leaky hose

>>15760461
In what world is a head gasket going to be scheduled maintenance?

>>15763018
This

>>15763018
the amazing make believe world of the eternal busrider

>>15760407
Way to do routine maintenance, fucktard

>>15763018
in the world where subaru went full retard on their head gasket design from ~1995-2003

>>15763699
>in the world where subaru went full retard on their head gasket design from ~1995-2003
When I search for subaru head gasket I get "2006-2009 Subaru Legacy or Outback 2006-2010 Forester, 2006-2012 Impreza 2.5l SOHC Head Gasket Kit".

Was the Forester not fixed until 2011, or did Subaru change to improved gaskets in 2004?

I'm considering buying a used Forester because I like the headroom, the more upright seating, and the hatch space for carrying two bicycles. I keep my vehicles for a long time. Assuming normal maintenance, will the Subaru's cost of ownership be much higher than a Honda Element or Subaru RAV4 ?

File: DSCF2115.jpg (518KB, 1200x901px) Image search: [Google]

518KB, 1200x901px

>>15763771
afik they changed the head gaskets with the start of the second gen forester in 2004, from then and up they have a similar failure rate to "normal" cars. The biggest problem with the first gen's and the other subaru's of that era with the SHOC 2.5 is that the point and direction of failure is somewhat of a dice roll. Most went bad around 100-150k miles, you just had to hope coolant started leaking out of the block rather than into it.

As far as getting a forester, I would highly recommend it. Second gen would likely be your best bet if you want to avoid head gasket problems, also because gen 3+ got ugly and fat. If you want something faster the XT's are awsome and avoid all the head gasket problems (the turbo blocks are designed different).

File: IMG_20160905_150840.jpg (3MB, 3006x4215px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 3006x4215px

>>15763976
Pic related is the engine on the left

>Tfw I lucked out and got ~290k it off it before it was too bad to keep driving

>>15763976
>you just had to hope coolant started leaking out of the block rather than into it.

This is where i was lucky as fuck. Mine was leaking directly into the outside, and so slowly that I could safely drive the car without minding it. As long it refilled the coolant every month, i was good.