Our 2001 Subaru Outback: can a faulty water pump cause the cabin heating system to run irregularly? There is little rhyme or reason to when it is blows warm air versus cool air. We smell gasoline odor within the cabin on extremely cold days. The odor is so strong, I will open the windows in sub zero temperatures. Apparently, while the engine is still cold, in sub- zero temperatures [such as 10 degrees] there is oil & antifreeze dripping onto the exhaust from the water pump. I assume this might be creating a low pressure condition within the water pump, which makes it difficult to heat the cabin air?
There was a recall for faulty fuel lines on a later model of Subaru, but not for this one.
Also, we have an engine temperature gauge which ranges from medium temperature to the highest reading possible. Then later… it will be back to a normal reading. Driving it fast does not seem to necessarily make this gauge go up. I cannot find much rhyme or reason for this symptom either.