98 Subaru Legacy Overheating and Not Starting

[sciphi]

Posting this for my mom to steer her correctly. She has a 98 Subaru Legacy with the EJ22 2.2l engine that's overheating on hills and is hard-starting of late. Car has 149k miles.

Overheating: She says it's fine on the flats, but steep hills at highway speeds cause it to overheat. I replaced the radiator cap last time I was home.

Hard starting: Apparently it takes 3 tries to get the car to start now. First try leaves the car dead, second try lets the engine turn weakly, third try the engine starts. Does not happen when the engine is warm.

I'm far away, otherwise I'd have a go at diagnosing it. What can go on these engines?

 

[brian12]

The not starting could be a bad battery. The Overheating could be caused by a low coolant level.

 

[flacoman]

Ask her to sniff the exhaust at start.
Sweetish smell =possibly head gasket issue.Known problem on subies of that age.
hth
jorge

 

[ThirdeYe]

Yep, probably a head gasket issue. Very common with Subarus.

 

[edhackett]

First thing to check is the coolant level in the radiator. I replaced the cap on my 1995 2.2 with one from NAPA as PM. About a year later the car showed overheating then returned to normal. I got home an checked the radiator. It was low. The new cap had not been allowing water to be drawn in from the overflow. A factory cap solved the problem.

Normal level in overflow + low radiator = new factory cap needed.

Ed

 

[sciphi]

Update: She said that it did make a big white cloud once on startup, but has not repeated that. I told her to schedule a pressure test, and start looking at a different car since she doesn't want to put a lot of work into an 11-year-old car with that mileage.

What are some good stop-leak products to use as a band-aid while she looks for a different car?

 

[mechtech2]

If the white cloud did not repeat, it may be too low on coolant.
Sounds like head gasket.

 

[sciphi]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Oh well. So much for it being an easy fix.

We'll see if the mechanics give it the kiss of death when they do the pressure test.

 

[sciphi]

Bump to this topic:

It's been a looooong time, and I finally got eyeballs on the car. The oil doesn't show milkshake, and there are no signs (that I saw a few minutes ago) of oil in the radiator. The overflow tank is empty, and the radiator is low, where I can't see coolant. Haven't started it yet. Right now I'm going to fill the rad and overflow tank with mixes-with-any coolant, and see what happens.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Yep, probably a head gasket issue. Very common with Subarus.
Very common on the 2.5L but pretty rare on his 2.2 but still possible.

 

[sciphi]

There's no white smoke on startup. I flogged it up and down some long hills nearby, and it barely warmed up (I think). The upper radiator hose was warm and uncomfortable after 3-4 seconds of wrapping my hand around it immediately after flogging uphill with my foot mashing the gas pedal to the floor for 4 minutes. Engine fans were running right then. When I got back home and shut the car off, the radiator was cool to the touch. It's also about 40*F here right now.

When I squeeze the upper radiator hose, I keep getting air bubbles out, and there's a squeaking sound coming from underneath the engine, near the lower radiator hose.

The exhaust smells like unburned hydrocarbons. Are there test strips available at parts stores, or are those commercial only?

Thanks for all the help so far, and please keep it coming!

 

[deeter16317]

The squeaking might be a failing water pump, which is driven by the timing belt IIRC. Its low and to the passenger side of the engine (under the timing belt cover).