Gary Lewis Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Some of y'all know of the issues we've been having with the Subaru's cooling system, but it may well be solved. So I wanted you to know what it appears to have been and what has been found. First, the symptoms were that if you drove it for a long distance it would push coolant out into the expansion tank and not pull it back. After a few cycles of that the expansion tank would overflow and coolant would be lost. And the radiator would be low. To me that was a classic radiator cap problem, so I replaced the cap with a brand new Stant. But it did it again on a 3 hour drive, and again on the return. So I took it to a professional, told him what the problem was and what I'd done. Here's what he did: Pressure test: Held 15 psi for 7 hours Idling: He idled it for 6 hours with the A/C on - no problem and it didn't exceed 198 degrees Products of combustion: Thinking it might be a head gasket, again, he tested the coolant and there were no products of combustion in it Hoses, etc: He checked every connection known to man and there were no leaks. Finally, at his wit's end, he checked the brand new radiator cap closely. And it is bad! In the pic on the left you can see that the bottom gasket is off to the side. And in the picture on the right there's a piece of brass showing under that gasket. So this thing won't hold pressure. So, he had the parts store get him a new Stant cap, and it came in a Gates box. So he had them get in three more - all Stants and all in Gates boxes. Did Gates buy Stant, or vice versa? So I think the moral of the story is don't trust new parts. I say "think" because we don't know for sure that it is fixed. But, as said, I felt all along that the symptoms are perfect for a bad radiator cap. And looking at that cap, it is bad - in several ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 I used to pull rebuilt alternators out of the box at Advance, only to have small parts fall out of the alternator. Also used to open BWD sensor boxes to find Duralast branding on the inside. It's all junk, it's just a gamble to find what wasn't actually poorly built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 I used to pull rebuilt alternators out of the box at Advance, only to have small parts fall out of the alternator. Also used to open BWD sensor boxes to find Duralast branding on the inside. It's all junk, it's just a gamble to find what wasn't actually poorly built. According to this, Gates bought Stant in 1997: https://ww2.gates.com/Dutch/brochure.cfm?brochure=11102&location_id=17265#:~:text=Gates%20acquired%20%22Uniroyal%20Power%20Transmission,the%20field%20of%20design%2C%20development. I wasn't aware of that, but I guess it explains the Stant cap in a Gates box. As for it all being junk, I'm believing you. It really is frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 According to this, Gates bought Stant in 1997: https://ww2.gates.com/Dutch/brochure.cfm?brochure=11102&location_id=17265#:~:text=Gates%20acquired%20%22Uniroyal%20Power%20Transmission,the%20field%20of%20design%2C%20development. I wasn't aware of that, but I guess it explains the Stant cap in a Gates box. As for it all being junk, I'm believing you. It really is frustrating. I said from the start 'Stant isn't what it once was', but I didn't realize it was Gates.... 😆 This is really a disappointing revelation, because I've always felt Gates was high quality. At least Stant weren't bought out by Mr. Gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 I said from the start 'Stant isn't what it once was', but I didn't realize it was Gates.... 😆 This is really a disappointing revelation, because I've always felt Gates was high quality. At least Stant weren't bought out by Mr. Gasket. Yes, I guess it could be worse. But the mechanic said he's had it happen before with Stant parts. I think I'm off Stant. And wondering about Gates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 Yes, I guess it could be worse. But the mechanic said he's had it happen before with Stant parts. I think I'm off Stant. And wondering about Gates. So who do you choose for coolant components? And don't start with some BS "fail safe" garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 So who do you choose for coolant components? And don't start with some BS "fail safe" garbage. Robert Shaw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 So who do you choose for coolant components? And don't start with some BS "fail safe" garbage. Don't know. My go-to guy just failed me and I find that he is part of a larger family that I thought was the gold standard. So now I'm lost. Suggestions are welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 Robert Shaw? That's probably a good suggestion. However, that won't work for 'stats for an M-Block as they quit making them. But Tim Meyer acquired the rights and is now having them made - in Australia if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 Robert Shaw? That's probably a good suggestion. However, that won't work for 'stats for an M-Block as they quit making them. But Tim Meyer acquired the rights and is now having them made - in Australia if I remember correctly. Fearing it is part of the Gates family I Googled Robertshaw and found this: "USA: Controls company Robertshaw Holdings has been acquired by a subsidiary of New-York-based private equity company One Rock Capital Partners." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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