Originally Posted by
deerkiller
Hi, folks. I'm new here - not an owner (I wrench Subarus) - but asking on behalf of an old friend who's being hassled by this thing.
The problem is that the engine temp won't come up. Seems like a simple enough bug (thermostat stuck open), but he had it into one of the big chain shops (not my preference) and they replaced it. A couple of months later, problem back - and it's been seriously cold here, so it's a nontrivial problem.
First, this is a "Vancouver Olympics Special Edition", in case that matters. Second, he claims that they claim that getting at the thermostat requires a major effort (i.e. unbolting a lot of in-the-way stuff from the engine, then lifting it), making this an expensive proposition in terms of shop time.
So is this a known problem? Is there anything weird about this engine that could make anything other than the thermostat cause it? Is there a preferred thermostat make? And how accessible is the thermostat housing, really?
Thanks much.