extace Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 I have a pair of subarus, a '92 legacy, EJ22 2.2 litre with the 4EAT auto, and a 1995 legacy wagon with the same EJ22 motor and the 5 speed manual box. The 92 has 109K miles and is meticulously maintained, The 92 engine is super responsive, revs like a sportbike (well almost) but is liquid smooth from idle at 700 rpm to redline (6500) and it gets about 28 mpg highway (I consider this decent for an automatic) The '95 was meticulously maintained by the prior owner as well as myself, it however is not nearly as responsive, and doesn't like to rev nearly as spirited as the '92, gas mileage is a lot worse too at only around 20-22. There's no check engine warnings and O2-sensors and cats are new withing the last 10k miles, and otherwise it runs well, power just feels a LOT wimpier than the '92 though. I donno if it's due to the weight differences (the 92 is a sedan, the 95 is a wagon) The engine responsiveness though has me wondering if there's a failed sensor, but from the threads the 95+ seem to require a dealer scan tool. (I DO have a 96+ OBDII scanner, but this seems to be the oddball year) I just pulled all the injectors on the '95 and backflushed them and it seemed to make the engine smoother at upper RPM's (over 4000), but it still revs slowly compared to the '92, power still feels low though. otherwise the motor is smooth at idle, (just not responsive like the '92, I'm considering trying the computer from the '92 in the 1995, but donno if they are interchangable due to the year differences and the tranny differences (92 is 4spd auto, 95 is 5 spd manual) Any ideas? Are the ECU's upgradeable by the factory to newer or older(i.e. better performing) revisions of their programming? (My '99 mercury cougar EEC-V ECU is dealer updateable for emissions but I donno if subi has a similar capability) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 Gear ratio difference can make this difference in feel and mileage. Im very surprised your ODBII wont plug into it, never ran into that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 The OBD II scanner should work on the 95. Subaru went to OBD II in 95 instead of the mandated 96. YOu may want to check out the knock sensor, and the MAF. Have you put a can of SeaFoam through it yet? Also check the fuel filter. Other than that, i can't think of anything without more info. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extace Posted May 11, 2005 Author Share Posted May 11, 2005 The OBD II scanner should work on the 95. Subaru went to OBD II in 95 instead of the mandated 96. YOu may want to check out the knock sensor, and the MAF. Have you put a can of SeaFoam through it yet? Also check the fuel filter. Other than that, i can't think of anything without more info. . . I'll try my OBDII scanner today and see what I find (I have a palm based Auterra scanner (auterraweb.com) Fuel filter is new, I think the MAF at least is partially working as unpluging it makes the car stall and it will start and run without it hooked up (but then it runs like crap). I donno about the knock sensor, we'll see what my scanner says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyKeith Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 Well, sorry to say but I don't think there is anything wrong with your engine. I have experienced everything you have, including the OBDII bit. My father had a 91 Legacy 2.2 5spd sedan, and last year I bought a 95 Legacy 2.2 5spd wagon. My gas mileage is around 23-25mpg where his was closer to 27-29, and my 95 wagon just feels slow compared to his 91 sedan. There is definitely a difference in gear and final drive ratios from the automatic to the 5spd, but from 91-92 to 95 I pretty sure there is a final drive change in the 5spd alone. Also, the second gen cars are a lot beefier and heavier in general, but also the wagon does add a few hundred pounds. Also, I'm not sure what the story is, but something isn't really there on the 95 OBD setup. I own ECUTek's delta dash software which works on any OBDII Subaru and looks at both the OBDII data and the high speed subaru specific data. It doesn't work on my 95 legacy, but it does on our 96 impreza. I believe 96 was the first year it was federally mandated, so in 95 it might have been different enough that a generic code reader can't read it. Good luck, Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevetone Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 Maybe this is way too obvious a question, but are both cars AWD? If the older one is not, that could explain a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyKeith Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 Maybe this is way too obvious a question, but are both cars AWD? If the older one is not, that could explain a lot. That's a good point as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extace Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 Maybe this is way too obvious a question, but are both cars AWD? If the older one is not, that could explain a lot. Both are AWD, and I looked today under the dash looking for the OBDII connector and could NOT find one. (did find a grey connector near the center console that the haynes books calls a "diagnostic connector" but that's for the subaru "Select Monitor" and doesn't use an OBDII compliant connector (my scanner won't plug into it) The main thing is just responsiveness of the motor. In neutral, the 92 revs liquid smooth and FAST, (it'll rock the car back and forth) the 95 (also revving in neutral) revs a lot slower and just feels "flat" It actually feels a lot like the timing on the 95 is retarded, though timing isn't adjustable on those due to the coilpack ignition system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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