1997 Subaru Legacy Overheating

1997 SUBARU LEGACY
197,000 MILES • 4 CYL • AWD • MANUAL
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DAVIDLANCE
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
My car overheats when idling or when in slow traffic only when the air conditioner is on. When it does overheat, simply turning the air conditioner off resolves the problem within minutes. What is wrong with the cooling system or is it the air conditioning system or both?
May 6, 2010 at 11:05 AM
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MIKE H R
  • CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
  • 3,094 POSTS
with it overheating when only when air conditioning on and slow traffic. It may not ge getting good air circulation. When the Legacy gets hot can you hear the cooling fans come on? If not the fans or relays may be bad. The relays are under the hood on the drivers sideby the firewall. inside the cover it tells what relays and fuses are for what. There are two fuses and two relays and are in line. They are on the inboard side towards the engine. If the fans are working all right. Then I would check between the a/c condensor and the radiator. I have seen where leaves and pine needles have gotten stuck in between the two and cut down on air circulation. You can back wash anything out when then engine is cold and not running.
May 6, 2010 at 12:07 PM
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