Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Need help - 95 legacy hard to start, belching gas


Recommended Posts

Guest eleliz

THANKS EVERYONE. I'LL ORDER THE SENSOR FIRST THING MONDAY AND LET YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES.

 

((( I've learned that if I push the gas pedal to the floor before ever turning the key the engine turns over pretty well. A friend thought it might be a leaking fuel injector.)))

 

I have a 1995 legacy wagon that I bought about two years ago. It now has 174,000 miles. It started chugging a bit going up a hill one day; check engine light came on then went out. I took it to a repair shop and they put in a fuel filter. Next time I took it to a foreign car repair shop and they put in a knock sensor. It started happening more when going up hills, pulling out into traffic, and the idle seemed to go wild after starting on occasion. Took it to AutoZone - check engine light read misfire. A Subaru owner recommended using a gas additive to remove any water and a basic tuneup, plugs and wires, etc., which I did. Next, I took it to a new repair shop close to my home - they kept it for three days but couldn't find a problem. They said engine was in great shape. I decided I'd just drive the poor thing until it really got bad before taking it back. Well, the time has come. First thing in the morning it doesn't want to start at all. It keeps trying to turn over, like a dead battery acts. If I give it a bunch of gas it'll finally chug over and spit out a cloud of whitish, gassy-smelling smoke. It chugs a bit and idles a bit high the first few stops I make. After that it runs great. If I go to start it up again right after turning if off, it turns right over, no need to punch the gas, no smoke. I was hoping to get some ideas of things I could test or replace myself before putting it back in the shop. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Setright

Josh, how do you figure?

 

I think it sounds like coolant is leaking into one/more combustion chamber. Starting is a pain, because the coolant isn't exactly an aid to combustion. Once warm the coolant evaporates and the engine runs fine. Left standing for a long time, coolant seeps in again..

 

I hate to say those dreaded words, but it does sound like a leaking head gasket :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest 4wheeldrift

coolant would smell sweet. poster reports gassy smelling cloud of smoke....indicating flooded engine.... i agree with Josh sounds like coolant temp sensor.

 

headgasket problems are nearly unheard of for a 2.2L motor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest mattocs

But when the coolent temp. sensor goes bad it always thinks it is like 50 below outside, so it uses so much more gas, and you get the smell of gas in your exhaust fumes...or that is what happend to me when mine went bad...I got terrible gas mileage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...