overheating

[balactm]

at what temperature should a car run normally and what temperature will it normally overheat at? I just put a new temp gauge into my 94 legacy and it's running at about 250-255ish. is that normal? or should it be lower? i wasn't worried at first because it has coolant which increases the boiling point of the water in the car, but i just want to make sure it won't melt another radiator on me.

[Dave]

That seems a little high to me, but may not be the case. Each engine has a different "normal" operating temperature so in all honesty, your best answer for this may be found in a service manual or calling the dealership and just asking them if they can look up the normal range for your car. Another option might be calling a specialty tuner shop that supports the car (not sure if thats an option on the legacy...)

[Andy]

Double check your coolant mix. I have a 95 legacy wagon and I think my factory manual says it should run in the 220s.

edit-I wait to say that the main cooling fan kicks on at 207 so 250 sounds really high.

Do you still have your factory gauge? Were you having cooling system issues prior to this? Give us more background.

[Evan]

definately high

and subarus love to pop headgaskets....

[BLINGMW]

Is there a metal thermostat or other metal housing that the coolant goes through as it leaves the engine? If so, I'd recommend a quick check of the gauge with a tire pyrometer or infrared pyrometer on said housing. I found that it was within a few degrees of reality, and it might indicate that your gauge is off if the pyrometer is reading lower..... :dunno:

If it is actually 250, something is wrong, I don't think any manufacturer uses a tstat that high.

[balactm]

funny thing...there is no thermostat in it right now...so, shouldn't it theoretically just be constantly flowing water through the engine?

[Maengelito]

Not sure about Subiess but sometimes not having a tstat in will cause cavitation around the water pump impellers which essentially will stop the flow of coolant and just swish the water around the impellers. Again, not sure if this is the case about Subies but if you're worried, you can always take your old thermostat, drill out the thermostat part so its just the ring sitting inside the housing and that should help.

[.RJ]

funny thing...there is no thermostat in it right now..

Well no shit. No wonder its overheating...

[Kaan]

funny thing...there is no thermostat in it right now..

Well no shit. No wonder its overheating...

+1

[NTIman]

+1 If you can't hold the water in the radiator for more than a split second, how does it cool down?

[balactm]

actually. turns out there was nothing wrong with it. the temp gauge i was using was the wrong resistance, so it was just reading higher than it actually was. had nothing to do with the thermostat. because it did the same thing with the thermostat in as it did without it.