So i recently noticed that my engine goes through coolant very quickly. I refill either the radiator or reservoir tank with more coolant every couple of days. They both will get drained sometimes. It also seems to heat up after a while of using my a/c.
When i start it up in the morning it almost sounds like a subaru. When it warms up it calms down a bit but still sounds the same.
I just recently replaced a few hoses that were leaking so i know its not that.
Could it be a head gasket problem? The motor is a d16y8 with about 180k miles.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated......

 

i say headgasket. do a compression and/or leak down tast to confirm. does the reservoir blow bubbles after running the car?

 

White smoke should be coming out of the exhaust if the coolant was entering the combustion chamber.

 

Hey,

I remember having the same problem when I got my car for the first time. Long ago. Everyone told me it was head gasket but I refused to believe it due to no oil in coolant and no white smoke.

It turned out it was just the bubble in cooling system. I had to burp it out. But because I had bubbles in cooling system and I kept filling up, drive, overheat, fill up, drive, overheat, my reservoir gave out. Also I had to replace the radiator cap. After that, everything became smooth. No more Subaru noise either.

So, get new radiator and reservoir cap, burp the radiator and try again. Also make sure to check any other leaks that shows up on the ground.

To burp,
- fill up the radiator
- turn the engine on and put the heater on max.
- Keep filing up to the top everytime coolant goes down
- keep the engine on until the fan comes on
- When the fan comes on, coolant will go down fast. Don't let it go all the way down or you'll get another bubble.
- after fan is off and coolant is top off, close the radiator cap (the new one).
- press and hold the gas paddle at 3000 rpm for 5 seconds.
- fill up the reservoir tank to max position.

Done.

 

Yeah I'd definitely try what he said ^^
I burped my cooling system and it helped out.

 

I believe that is what the bleeder valve on the water inlet from the radiator to the head is for. I had a similar problem on my civic except no subaru and thats what it turned out to be, air in the system.

 

not always, in my car it did not. but compression might still be returning to the radiator and reservoir

 

very true! sorry i kinda skipped that . in my case i tried to burp the system but it didnt work, new gasket was the solution. also, he missed one crucial step! after topping off the radiator and turning on the car, turn on the heater. besides that... perfect step by step

 

Hey. Thanks. I totally forgot the most important part. Doh! Edited.

 

happens to the best of us

 

Simple rule of thumb. If you're not leaking it, you're burning it. And no, it doesn't have to mix with oil or show up as white smoke at the tailpipe. You could get all the air out of the system but that doesn't explain the loss of coolant.

Could have done the compression/leakdown tests by now.

 

Oh also jack up the front end or get it on a slope or something. That will help as well.

 

also true! sorry i didnt mention that since in florida most of our homes driveways are on a small incline

 

Thanks for all the advice i will try and burp the system asap. I also plan on getting the compression and leak down test done this week just to b sure.
There are no bubbles in my reservoir tank but i will keep an eye on it.
I havent seen any white smoke yet but il keep checking.
I will post the results from the tests soon as i get them done.

 

Finally got my problem resolved after a while. It was my head gasket that was completely shot! It explained the chocolatey water look in my radiator and everything.
Thanks a lot for all the input and sorry it took so long to post the results.