lineofbirds Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 '88 gl wagon, SPEFI, bump the key & she fires right up, will idle all day, doesn't quite purr, but idles pretty nice none the less. Seems to run just fine until I get on it. As I put my foot into the pedal, there is a certain point when she just falls flat, almost sounds like she's gonna die on me, but if I ease up just a bit, -it takes a second or two- then she'll clear up and continue to accelerate. Sometimes, if I'm not into it too heavy, she'll bog down, and then clear up on her own, at least in first or second gear. I have to baby her to get up to speed, driving like a grandma (and I'm not one yet!!!). I've tried replacing the fuel filter, swapping out the injector, (there seemed to be plenty of fuel pressure when I pulled the lines, I sprayed gas all over myself and the car!) double checked the ignition timing, (less than a thousand miles on a recent engine swap), and plan next to check the exhaust system for any obstructions. Do any of you have any thoughts on this? Has anyone run across these symptoms before? Any input or advice would be appreciated! By the way I've missed it here! Glad to be back! LOB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 mine has alittle , i call a dead spot , not sure either, but i had a bad plug wire and it seemed to help + my timing was set alittle high , 88 dl d/r 191,000mi spfi wagon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urabus-84HBDR Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Lineofbirds, youre crazy or just dont care. Use carb cleaner when spraying it down, if theres a vacuum leak it'll suck in the carb cleaner and make it run diffferent wether it may be smoother or not, tough to say. Gas is a bad idea. My buddies 88 wagon w/ 5s/d/r does the same, really hesitant or misses on acceleration. Idles good besides it sounds like a vacuum leak. I changed the carb, a local mechanic said the old 1 was bad. It helped, but didnt fix the prob. I think it is a bad vacuum leak somewhere or got one backwards? Subarus if it aint one thing its another!!! Keep me posted as I will do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineofbirds Posted October 25, 2005 Author Share Posted October 25, 2005 Lineofbirds, youre crazy or just dont care. Use carb cleaner when spraying it down, if theres a vacuum leak it'll suck in the carb cleaner and make it run diffferent wether it may be smoother or not, tough to say. Gas is a bad idea. My buddies 88 wagon w/ 5s/d/r does the same, really hesitant or misses on acceleration. Idles good besides it sounds like a vacuum leak. I changed the carb, a local mechanic said the old 1 was bad. It helped, but didnt fix the prob. I think it is a bad vacuum leak somewhere or got one backwards? Subarus if it aint one thing its another!!! Keep me posted as I will do the same. LOL, Spraying with gas was an accident! Pulled the fuel lines to swap out the injector, and the fuel delivery system had plenty of pressure. Hadn't thought to check for a vacuum leak yet. but will do. thanks for the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineofbirds Posted October 25, 2005 Author Share Posted October 25, 2005 mine has alittle , i call a dead spot , not sure either, but i had a bad plug wire and it seemed to help + my timing was set alittle high , 88 dl d/r 191,000mi spfi wagon This goes way beyond being a dead spot, from about 3/4 in - to floored on the accelerator, this one DOES NOT run. It will die if I don't ease up. I haven't been able to floor the accelerator since the engine was swapped out, although in every other way she runs fine. I had a "dead spot" in my other wagon for a while before she croaked, that was tolerable, and I still drove it, until she spun a rod bearing. There was a plug wire loose from the coil, fixing that helped smooth out the idle quite a bit, and on the second check of her timing, we made sure to plug in the check connector -(thanks to Snowman!), but even so, she was only off about 1/2 a degree, so that didn't make any difference in the acceleration problem either. This one is so bad I won't drive her until this is fixed. I am afraid I'll end up being rear-ended, or cause an accident, cause I just can't rely on her to get up to speed fast enough to be safe. Thanks for the comment! LOB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratetrucker Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 This goes way beyond being a dead spot, from about 3/4 in - to floored on the accelerator, this one DOES NOT run. It will die if I don't ease up. I haven't been able to floor the accelerator since the engine was swapped out, although in every other way she runs fine. I had a "dead spot" in my other wagon for a while before she croaked, that was tolerable, and I still drove it, until she spun a rod bearing. There was a plug wire loose from the coil, fixing that helped smooth out the idle quite a bit, and on the second check of her timing, we made sure to plug in the check connector -(thanks to Snowman!), but even so, she was only off about 1/2 a degree, so that didn't make any difference in the acceleration problem either. This one is so bad I won't drive her until this is fixed. I am afraid I'll end up being rear-ended, or cause an accident, cause I just can't rely on her to get up to speed fast enough to be safe. Thanks for the comment! LOB It sounds to me like a fuel filter problem. Gets enough to run at certain speeds, but when you ask for more, it starves out. I had a Toyota truck that did the exact same thing. Replacing the fuel filter fixed it right up. Good luck, Derrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineofbirds Posted October 26, 2005 Author Share Posted October 26, 2005 It sounds to me like a fuel filter problem. Gets enough to run at certain speeds, but when you ask for more, it starves out. I had a Toyota truck that did the exact same thing. Replacing the fuel filter fixed it right up. Good luck, Derrick First thing I did was replace the fuel filter. No change in performance whatsoever.:-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Check engine light on? codes coming from the ecu? sounds like a TPS or the injector could be bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratetrucker Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Duhh... I guess if I would read better, it would help. Sometimes I type faster than I read It still sounds like fuel starvation though. Could be the pump is going bad. You can't really tell how much pressure you have without testing it. An easy way is to run the fuel supply hose into a tank of know capacity and time it. That will tell you how many gallons per hour you are moving at least, if not pressure. Also, I like the idea of checking the exhaust. Maybe it's pinched? Clogged cat? Good luck, Derrick First thing I did was replace the fuel filter. No change in performance whatsoever.:-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineofbirds Posted October 26, 2005 Author Share Posted October 26, 2005 Check engine light on? codes coming from the ecu? sounds like a TPS or the injector could be bad. Yep check engine light is on. Don't have a clue about codes. What's a TPS? ... and I've already changed the injector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineofbirds Posted October 26, 2005 Author Share Posted October 26, 2005 Duhh... I guess if I would read better, it would help. Sometimes I type faster than I read It still sounds like fuel starvation though. Could be the pump is going bad. You can't really tell how much pressure you have without testing it. An easy way is to run the fuel supply hose into a tank of know capacity and time it. That will tell you how many gallons per hour you are moving at least, if not pressure. Also, I like the idea of checking the exhaust. Maybe it's pinched? Clogged cat? Good luck, Derrick My next guess would be a clogged cat, yeah. It's not pinched anywhere. The vacuum leak theory makes sense too I think. Wish I knew what the heck Torxxx was talkin' about! Hope he comes back on before I head out to work on her tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azsubaru Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Since the CEL is on, you need to look at the ECU (the computer that runs things) to see what it thinks is wrong. It's up under the dash, and if you pry down on the lower dash section just under the steering wheel and peer through the space you made, you should see the little LED flashing. It'll flash a certain number of long flashes, and then a number of shorter ones. This gives you the code. For instance, 3 longs followed by 4 shorts is a code 34. There are several threads here that tell you how to interpret all of the possible codes. I had a similar problem, fixed it with both a new TPS and an EGR solenoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subi81 Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 I am having a similar problem. Almost feels like someone pulls the rug right out from under the subi, right? Try an get the codes, it is really easy. Go here for a tutorial: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/USRM2/mick-usrm/electrical/ecucodes.html Does the problem occure out of gear? Say if you stab the throttle while parked? I would say TPS also because the problem is a function of the amount of throttle you give. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineofbirds Posted October 26, 2005 Author Share Posted October 26, 2005 Since the CEL is on, you need to look at the ECU (the computer that runs things) to see what it thinks is wrong. It's up under the dash, and if you pry down on the lower dash section just under the steering wheel and peer through the space you made, you should see the little LED flashing. It'll flash a certain number of long flashes, and then a number of shorter ones. This gives you the code. For instance, 3 longs followed by 4 shorts is a code 34. There are several threads here that tell you how to interpret all of the possible codes. I had a similar problem, fixed it with both a new TPS and an EGR solenoid. COOL, this gives me somewhere to start as far as codes! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineofbirds Posted October 26, 2005 Author Share Posted October 26, 2005 I am having a similar problem. Almost feels like someone pulls the rug right out from under the subi, right? Try an get the codes, it is really easy. Go here for a tutorial: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/USRM2/mick-usrm/electrical/ecucodes.html Does the problem occure out of gear? Say if you stab the throttle while parked? I would say TPS also because the problem is a function of the amount of throttle you give. Keep us posted. Yeah that kinda describes the way it feels. I guess the best way to explain it, (which is why I replaced the fuel filter and the injector right away) is it's like she suddenly runs out of gas. No, if it's out of gear, she does fine, you'd never know she had a problem. DUH! It just occurred to me that a TPS is the throttle positioning sensor... now I feel dumb. At least no one had to tell me. Thanks for the link, that should help as well. -LOB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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