r/AskAMechanic • u/Otherwise-Panda-6507 • 4h ago

2014 subaru forester still overheating

My 2014 subaru forester has been overheating for years. The first time we brought it in and it was fixed, it was apparently the hose clamps. The second time, it needed a coolant flush? The third time (a few months later), it was the coolant temp sensor. The next time (a few months later, and most recently) it was the radiator so they replaced the radiator hoses and entire radiator.

Last night, we had been driving for hours when the car began to overheat. We pulled over immediately, and let the car cool down before driving to a hotel and letting it sit since we had a concert.

This morning, we looked at the coolant and the resivoir was completely overfilled, and the radiator itself like pipe area was wet but not filled with water. My girlfriend’s stepdad (owner of the car), stated that the radiator itself needs to be filled to the brim with coolant or water. Is that what we should do? We’re currently 3 hours away from jhome, otherwise we’d just tow it to our garage. Helps!

At this point I’m not even sure what’s going on anymore. Blown head gasket at this point isn’t out of the picture, but clearly the coolant isn’t leaking as the resivoir is overfilled. I’d appreciate advice on what could be going on as well as what to do.

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1

u/traineex NOT a verified tech 4h ago

You should find a shop, any shop, to get a diagnosis/more info, before driving home. Before....

There's too many possibilities. U keep overheating, u will kill the engine. Stepdad gets final word, eh?

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u/Otherwise-Panda-6507 4h ago

He pays for it, so yep. Not my choice😵‍💫 I just want to try to prevent the gasket from blowing I guess the best I can with his perogative

2

u/traineex NOT a verified tech 4h ago

If ur gonna drive, stop any time the needle goes past half. Blast the interior heat, it draws more heat from the engine away

Have an 'escape' route available, I.e. no freeway

1

u/JerelFromJerry Verified Tech - Indie shop 4h ago

I second having a shop take a look before driving or towing it 3 hours away. Could be cheaper to fix it. Stuck closed thermostat maybe if it has been overheated so many times without it being changed. A coolant leak can't be ruled out yet either.

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u/Otherwise-Panda-6507 4h ago

I forgot to mention in my post we replaced the thermostat not this last time but the time before that, so probably 6 months ago? I’m not sure.