Hi is the hose from the rad to the overflow tank suppose to be submerged in the Coolant. Previous owner installed samco hoses and it's seem to me to be too short.
Thanks.


Coolant is at full mark in photo.

 

Yes it is, being the expansion tank as the coolant warms up it expands slightly and pushes any excess into the tank. As it cools it sucks back the expelled coolant. If the pipe is not in the coolant then you may draw air in and cause an airlock which is not good for the engine as it will overheat and cause expensive repairs!!!


Can you post a picture of the top of the radiator showing the pipe running to the header tank.

 

Ah that's a bit worrying then. I fitted a Cambelt kit last weekend along with a new water pump. Before I drained all the system i can't remember if the hose was submerged but would of ment the previous owner would of had to of overfilled the reservoir tank at least 4-5 inches above the full mark.
Hopefully it hasn't done any damage to the headgasket. I've put a longer hose in now which sits just off the bottom of the tank.


Just found a previous picture I took a few months back and it shows the reservoir over filled so hopefully it was submerged I hope as I have owned the car for a year and a half now. So I've been driving for a week with the hose not submerged as I only filled the res to the full mark. It this of been why my radiator decided to cracking on the top plastic... fitted a new rad this weekend. What's the chances of the head gasket of blowing through over this past week?


You can see the coolant overfilled so the hoe must of been submerged prior to me changing the coolant last week

 

Not sure on chances of head gasket having gone. 12 years ago my bugeye put the temp needle in the red on a spirited drive. Dropped back down quickly, thought this could be bad but 12 years on and upped by 180bhp still going strong.
some are lucky some are not.

 

in theory it should have no effect , the car will start with a bit of air in the system as it gets hot the air will be pushed out and only coolant left , as the air should rise to the top , if you are getting no issues then that's good , lucky it's the 2 litre as more tolerant , and yes it should be under coolant in the expansion tank , i would change pipe or add an extension but not in the tank as the extension may come loose

 

That's alright then would make sense as I was getting water noises behind the dash on start up when you pipe was not submerged. And also when car was cold morning after I'd obviously have more coolant in the expansion tank where it wasn't able to be sucked back into the radiator.
Hopefully fingers crossed it will be OK.
Thanks for the reply mate

 

no problem , fingers crossed all will be ok , i would sort pipe asap and just keep an eye on it , if you have had no problem then great and well spotted before it became an issue

 

Yeah I did extend the pipe last night but like you said it could fall off into the tank so I'll either extend it on the outside of the tank or just get a new pipe.
Thanks again buddy. ☺

 

no problem , my fingers are still crossed for a good outcome

 

Did it actually overheat? I wouldn't worry about it. Remember, the temp sensor is not actually I'm the engine itself so if you stopped immediately after it reading high then you should be ok.

I've had an issue with our non turbo blob and on 2 separate occasions this has happened.....no issues at all. I haven't had a chance to trace the leak but it takes a long time before it shows its hand.

 

Nope it hasn't over heated. I seem to be losing coolant slowly from the reservoir tank. Also I can smell a faint coolant smell through the vents into the cabin but only when the coolant is up to temp and can only smell it when stopped and idling. Can't seem to find any leaks in the engine bay and I've replaced the header cap as the rubber was a bit perished but hasn't seemed to offer cured the smell from the vents. Any ideas guys? Thanks.

 

the cross over pipe to the oil cooler can be an issue , it gets rusty and then leaks , if you are not sure which one then pull off the undertray it's above where the front section of exhaust crosses over , what about a bit of bars stop leak , subaru recommend it , if you can not find it , some times leaks are minor and not easy to spot , could it be the heater matrix ? are carpets wet ? i don't know if you posted it what is the car age and mileage and any thing done to it recently

 

Carpets seem to be dry. Recently done the timing belt kit and water pump plus new coolant. Car is an 2003 sti. Where can I get some of the leak stop from mate? Also I'm not sure if this is normal well I've never heard it before but since the smell of coolant when I change the heating settings from demist to cabin to floor etc I can here it clunking as it changes over. It must be a small leak as I've had my head in the engine bay when fully up too temp revved car and can't spot any leak other steam anywhere. Never had the smell of coolant before only since I've don't the timing belt and coolant change.

 

eurocarparts for the bars stop leak , it's probably related to the job you did , i personally would add a bottle and see how you go if you can't find the leak , the most important part
is it's running ok a small leak annoying but not the end of the world just needs monitoring , based on the age have you checked the radiator they are common to go at that sort of age , the area where mine went was the plastic sides , if it is don't put a cheap rad on its a false economy i went to subaru in the end as the last one lasted ages , last bit check tightness of all the clips you un did

 

Okay cheers. Yeah my original rad split along the top of the rad just after I did the timing belt and coolant and managed to get a oem second hand one. Could also be leaking slightly. I'll keep an eye on the levels. And try some stop leak. Thanks

 

i'm always a bit weary on second hand rads that maybe your issue , possibly a small split in it or the core leaking ? if you did not smell any coolant before the job and noticed it after my first port of call is look at what was changed or moved first