Engine overheats after a long drive or when stuck at a traffic jam?

My sister bought a used subaru and it is running hot. It doesnt have water in the oil. The radiator cao has been replaced by a mechanic and the coolant system was flushed. It doesnt have white smoke when starting up and running. Im at a loss, I dont know what else to check on this car. She is a single woman with a son and on a fixed income and needs this car very bad. Im tired ofseeingherbeing taken advantage of. She bought the car from a guy that said the heads had been replaced but this thing runs hot to the pint of her having to pull over to let it cool down. She is going by the tempguage and the electric fan works on the vehicle. Please help me resolve this issue. Thanks for your response.

In the last week I have had my coolant overheat. I can turn up my inside heat and it will blow cold air. However, if I turn off my car, let it sit for a few minutes, I can see the temp go down then it cools fine and I can drive with it in the appropriate cool zone. It sometimes hits the "red zone" on the idiot gauge but never blows a hose and I can smell the coolant once I get out, but I don't see any leaks. I know it's got a TON of mileage on it, at 277786 miles but with this economy, I'd like to make it last until spring if possible, or am I throwing good money after bad. I keep this car WELL maintained and I take care of any issues immediately. What can I tell my mechanic to check to make sure I catch this, or am I dreaming?
Thanks
Ginnydog

My subaru has been a great car - no repairs for 4 years! But finally I have started to have a problem with it overheating. It started on a hot day a few weeks ago using the A/C. Next it got hot going over a mountain pass but was fine coming down on the other side. Now it's getting hot driving in 90+ weather on the flat ground. I took it to a mechanic and he felt it was the radiator possibly. What about the thermostat? I got a radiator flush which did nothing to solve the problem. I turn on the heater before I let it get too hot but man, I'm starting to melt!

AKMT, did you resolve the overheating issue with your car? I have the same thing going on with my 2001 Forester (164000 mi.)

Thanks,
jfk63

Hey JFK63. Yes, after some trial and error I replaced the radiator and it instantly solved my problem. You might have your radiator tested to see if it's clogged. Good luck!

Engine Cooling problem
2000 Subaru Forester 4 cyl All Wheel Drive 165000 miles

I have a 2000 Subaru Forester that has been overheating. I replaced the headgasket, themostat, radiator cap, water pump. All hoses have been checked. The car is still overheating. The bottom radiator hose feels cool? If I remove the thermostat the car runs fine. I also replaced the fuses for the fans.

My engine overheats when I run the A/C for about 20 min.
There are no smells, visible leaks, smoke or any other things I can see.

Goes back to normal when I turn off A/C

What's up with that

Have u checked if the fans are working properly, both fans should start working a few mins after normal temp is reached; check fan relays too. Also, have u ever changed thermostat? At that millage u should have at least twice. If not, it might not be working properly. Have u ever flushed the radiator, if not it could be clogged. Oil level and viscosity also play an important part. If u live on the desert or in moderately high temp area oil viscosity is very important to avoid "thinning" which can cause excessive wear and over heating. There are other things that can cause overheating, like bad engine timing, worn or stretched timing belt, and piston-to-cylinder clearance. In some cases the problem might also be as simple as checking the temperature sensor, if bad it might not be sending the signal to make the fans work. This last check is optional, but extremely important; check for low engine compression on the cylinders and check if the coolant level has dropped, but with no visible leaks (except in some severe cases where coolant is puked out the tank; the most noticeable), as these are signs of a blown out Head Gasket. This issue is also noticeable by checking the oil for whitish fluid; these happens when oil and water/coolant mix at engine running temperature, which by the way can cause severe wear or damage to all engine components. Foresters from the series 1997 -2002 tend to have this problem at high millage, but its still an great car, I just finished overhauling mine (full engine repair $800 doing it myself, had to change pistons, cut cam heads, and bore cylinders). Hopefully all of this will be helpful to you :D

Thanks for the info.
This will help me when I go to a mechanic, as I always feel that if I know a little bit about what might be wrong, then perhaps I might not get the runaround. When you are a woman you can see the snide looks, when you are a woman with white hair sometimes the guys actually look like they are laughing out loud.

I do love my little car. Runs like a champ on all these back dirt roads.

Let me know if u need some shop manual help ;)

Over heats. Head gaskets leak. Externally. How to fix the problem. I am a mechanic. Any ideas and thoughts would be alot of help. Thank you.

I have a 98 subaru forester that pushes coolant from the radiator to the overflow. It does this in just a few miles. I keep it from overheating by putting the coolant back in the radiator from the overflow. I've tried bleeding the system many times, with bleeder on the radiator. I also put on a new radiator cap. Nothing helps. I'm going to replace the thermastat next but I don't think that will fix it. HELP HELP! If you have any ideas I'd really appreciate it. Thanks, Brian.

Take the radiator to a radiator shop to have it rodded, the problem with suburu radiators is the flow tubes are so thin that they can get clogged very easily just a little caked up dirt will do it