1998 Subaru Outback Overheating

1998 SUBARU OUTBACK
120,000 MILES • 4 CYL • AWD • AUTOMATIC
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SDL
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I have a 98 Subaru Legacy Outback with a 2.5. It overheated about 3 or 4 times in the last 3 months. Then it would be fine. Two weeks ago it over heated and I had no heat from the heater. I replaced the thermostat and still overheating and no heat. The top radiator hose was hot and the bottom was cold. We thought it was the water pump. So we replaced it. Ran it for a half hour in the garage then drove it it was fine. Lots of heat and temp stayed normal. Drove it home the next day and it overheated but still had heat. We let it cool down and tried to drive it the rest of the way home. When we started driving we had not heat at first then we got heat and it was fine for a couple miles and over heated again. Should we flush the coolant system, check heads, head gaskets or what else could it be?
Dec 31, 2009 at 1:12 PM
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MERLIN2021
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Do a pressure test on the cooling system, also check the radiator cap. If it holds pressure, they sell a kit called a block test, this will detect hydrocarbons in the coolant, and would indicate a head gasket, cracked head, or cracked block. The pressure tester can also tell if the pressure builds in the system too fast, do you see any foaming or bubles in the radiator?
Mar 6, 2021 at 10:08 AM
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