So, after finally getting the hood open on this (borderline hoopty of a) van, I gave the coolant system a look-see. It’s kind of a problem when your coolant system is more air than coolant.
Of course, I resolved that problem with the correct amount of coolant, which was an entire jug. Now to keep my eye on it to see if it leaks. At least it blows hot air, enough to incinerate you should you keep it on full blast, unlike the Legacy where it just blew lukewarm and you were lucky if the defrosters did their job.
This problem came to a head last night when I went out to dinner for my birthday where I had to make a very fast stop to prevent it from going into the red zone (but thankfully there’s no damage). Speaking of which, yes, it was my birthday yesterday! Nothing really fantastic happened and I spent the better part of two hours earlier in the day snowblowing and the better part of an hour late at night remounting an ATV winch.
At least I caught the van cranking 280,000 miles.