The Subaru Outback is a sturdy, practical vehicle, and if you take care of your Outback, it will continue to run smoothly for many miles. Part of this means taking care of problems such as a corroded or damaged radiator. Here's how to replace the radiator in a 2000 to 2004 Subaru Outback.
Disconnect the negative battery cable before you proceed. Raise the front of the Subaru with jacks and support it safely on a jack stand. Loosen the drain plug on the bottom of the radiator and drain the engine coolant into a resealable container. If your Outback has an engine undercover, remove it now.
Unhook the electrical connectors on the cooling fan and disconnect the lower radiator hose and transmission cooler hoses. Lower the vehicle carefully from the jack stand.
Remove the air intake, overflow hose and reservoir tank and accessory drive belt covers. Disconnect the upper radiator hoses and if your Outback has a turbocharger, disconnect the coolant filler tank hose. Remove the mounting brackets holding the radiator and unhook the power steering hose from the radiator.
Raise the radiator slightly. Slide the radiator to the left and lift it out of the engine compartment. Attach mounting cushions to the lower radiator holes, if they aren't already in place.
Install the new radiator, fitting it securely into the mounting cushions. Reconnect the upper radiator hoses and the coolant filler tank hoses, if your Subaru has a turbocharger. Reinstall the reservoir tank, overflow hose and air intake assembly.
Raise the Subaru on the jack stand again, and if your Subaru has automatic transmission, connect the automatic transmission cooler hoses. Reconnect the radiator fan motor connectors, the lower radiator hose and the engine undercover, if applicable. Lower the vehicle and reconnect the negative battery cable.
Fill the radiator with a mixture of half distilled water and half engine coolant. Put the radiator cap on very loosely, start the motor and let it run several minutes to bleed the air out of the system. Turn the engine off, check the engine coolant level and top it off, if necessary. Put the cap on securely.
