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no heat problem + car overheats?

26K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  Brockton 
#1 ·
Hey my 02 wrx has something wrong with the heat. It usually takes about a 20 minutes for the heat to work and it only works a very little amount. And, sometimes the car will overheat( well it will rise up a few nothces on the temp gauge). Even then the heat is only commin out a small amount. Im not to sure what it can be, maybe the thermostat? AC still works fine.
 
#2 ·
dumb question, is the level low? or do you have any leaks? there also may be an air bubble in the system, take the cap off the coolant tank by the turbo, if its low fill it. Start the car and turn the heat on, let it idle,wait and see if the level drops at all, or if it gurgles a little. i usally let it run until the fans turn on, checking the temp guage often.if that checks out ok, then drain the coolant and change the thermostat, I would also check the condition of the hoses, because that would be a good time to change those as well.
 
#9 ·
obvious fuirst, check for low coolant. if its low be sure to open the bleeder on the top of the radiator to fill it.

the thermostat wont open if there is no coolant flowing over it!

start the car from a cold start and add coolant till it tops off the radiator. rev the car up to about 3,000 rpms and add more as necessarty. once the thermostat opens it will suck it down so you can add more.

this is where topping off the coolant in subarus fail, is not letting the thermostat open first!

no heat in the core is an obvious sign of low coolant. if the core was clogged the car wouldnt over heat if the coolant was fine

once its full be sure to check it again before the next cold start.

chack for bubbles rising out of the radiaotor as this may be a sign of a bad head gasket. it owuld blow combustion gases into the radiator and pushout coolant out the overflow. the car would run fine otherwise until enough coolant was pushed out.

ny 88 gl sedan had the bubbles problem, i would run the heat and when the heat got cold it was time to add coolant!
 
#4 ·
considering ther heat takes a while to come on your heater core may be clogged....
although that 98% would not cause the car to over heat... check fluid level and leaks...
may also have a water pumo issue or even a warped head.... wich would casue it to ver heat... if your htermostat ws broken it would run cooler longer..
 
#5 ·
I wouldn't drive the car untill you get the problem sorted out or you might end up with a blown head gasket.I am betting on the thermostat as well.Buy either the Crucial Racing or Gimik Motorsports thermostat and you won't have this problem ever again.They fail in the open position so coolant can still circulate.The OEM one fails in the closed position.
 
#6 ·
I had problems with my heater in my 02 wagon... It wasnt like this. Mine smelled like gasoline when it got super cold out and I had it on recirculate. Not a very comforting smell. I took it to the dealership and they could find anything wrong. Maybe not related, but I am just saying the heating was fouled in mine too. It might just show a trend.
 
#7 ·
I had problems with my heater in my 02 wagon... It wasnt like this. Mine smelled like gasoline when it got super cold out and I had it on recirculate. Not a very comforting smell. I took it to the dealership and they could find anything wrong.
There is a TSB for the smell.It's just for the 02's.Fuel leak under the intake manifold where the fuel hardlines change to soft hose.Unfortunally most car enthusiasts no more than most dealeship tech's for some reason.
 
#10 ·
this may be a dumb question but im lost please help. heres what happened. my 04 wrx had a hole in the upper hose from the radiator and i had to replace it because it was sizzling out coolants. after i replaced the hose, refilled coolants to full level marked and my heat doesnt work. i messed around with the heat and ac button after it was on for at least 15 minutes then it worked. turned off the engine and 30 minutes later the heat doesnt work again when i turn on the car and has been running for about 15 minutes already. please help.
 
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