1998 Subaru Outback Temperature Gauge Fluctuation

[quote:60c0b6f036="mroland4"]Other Category problem
1998 Subaru Outback 4 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic 90000 miles Hi mate, i sent you an email a couple of weeks ago as i was experiencing the excact same symtoms in a 1997 subaru liberty which has the same motor as yours. This was after i had done the head gaskets, water pump, thermostat and radiater like you had. In the process of of trying to solve the problem i pulled the dash board out and had the guage checked by an auto electrician, replaced the temperature sensor and tried a different brand thermostat, but to no avail the problem was still there. Speaking to a subaru specialist mechanic he told me to check to see if a had a free flow of water through the heater core, i did this and found it was blocked or at least partially blocked with sediment most of which i removed by sticking a garden hose up both heater hoses and flushing it out. When bleeding the cooling system up i left the clamps loose on the heater hoses so i could slide them back a bit to let any trapped air out, along with also letting air out of the bleeder hole and the radiater cap hole in the radiater. I think later model subarus have bleeder valves in the heater hoses to make bleeding up easier. Also fact that the heater core was partially blocked i think made it difficult for water to circulate thus get the air out. So i help this story helps you and others with this problem.
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I recently bought a 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback with the 2.5L engine. The car recently overheated and when I took it back to the dealer I bought it from they replaced both head gaskets, water pump, t-stat, timing belt, crank seal, and cam seals. During this process the cooling system was flushed. When I picked up the car I noticed that the temperature gauge fluctuates between the normal operating temperature (i.e. slightly below half on the gauge) and 2/3 of the way to the H on the gauge. The dealer told me that it was probably air trapped in the system and that it would slowly bleed and purge itself out. After a couple of days I took it to another garage and a mechanic showed me how to bleed the system with the bleeding valve located on the passengers side of the radiator. I have been bleeding the system for the past couple days and the problem seems to be getting better but the temperature gauge still rises a bit when the car is in drive and stopped. I am concerned because it is winter here in NY and the gauge never flucutated at all before this problem. I am worried that I will have a more serious problem when it is summer here. My technique for bleeding the system is to open up the bleeder and the radiator cap when the system is cold. I then fill up the coolant through both of these holes. I start the engine and wait for it to warm up. I subsequently continue to fill the coolant once the t-stat opens up. I have done this three to four times and everytime I open up both of these holes the coolant in the radiator is down. Shouldn't it be full from vacuuming in from the coolant reservoir as the engine cools down? Any help with this problem would be appreciated. Feel free to ask any questions you may have as I am pretty familiar with cars.[/quote:60c0b6f036]