daeron

maybe 10-15K on the cap, wires, and rotor, more like 30K on the plugs, I forget when I changed the fuel filter but somewhere in the last 20K miles.. And I did use permatorque headgaskets. I know about the crud in the fuel tank, I have been trying to find a way around that.... However, if I blow it out, and have a decent amount of fuel in there, it SHOULD at least improve for a little while, indicating im on the right track.

Well, my thought was more along the lines of, was there maybe a drop or two of water in that oil for two years.. or something like that. I more or less assumed he put fresh oil in it to run the car.

thats odd... I wonder if mayber the oil that sat in it for 2 years was somehow contaminated?

Have you taken the tie rod ends off of the steering knuckles and checked to see if the binding is, in fact, in the rack itself? It may be something at one of the wheels, or even something in the steering column causing your problem. Sometimes the U-joints in the steering column can go bad, and it causes it to have very hard spots to move through..

dont forget that changing tire sizes changes the mileage as recorded on the odometer, which is only accurate for stock tire size. If your mileage change has happened since you changed tire size, there is a serious correlation there that needs to be ruled out before you go saying you only get 21 mpg... I cant think of anything else to tell you for advice, but I thought I would mention that.. I hope it helps.

First off, my simple question: how hard is it to access a fuel line that can be blown into with hig pressure air in order to blow out the fuel tank pickup? Do i just disconnect the line from the pump to the tank and blow? (obviously taking precautions not to get a face full of fuel.. :-p) Okay, if you want you can skip the explanation of my background problem.. My car still doesn't run quite right. I haven't gotten to do much diagnosis of it, but it has an odd issue that seems almost like fuel starvation, or a fouled MAF, or bad TPS. I haven't tested the TPS yet, the MAF has been cleaned, swapped with another, and then replaced with original due to no difference. Last time I checked codes my most significant issue was an O2 sensor code in d-check only. (i think a VSS and a neutral position switch, too, something like that anyhow) So anyway, once in a while it starts acting like it has no fuel supply at low RPM, throttle response can seem poor; Really, the intermittent "issue" I am tracing is very odd in its manifestation.. but I am going to check fuel pressure. One thing that is beginning to suggest itself to me is either bad fuel pump, or more likely a clogged pickup in the fuel tank. This makes sense because I know how to use every last useable ounce of fuel in my tank, and I do so ALOT. TOO often, honestly.. I also put a little seafoam in the tank not *too* long ago, and I realized the other day that my "issue" more or less began then. Now, my "issue" was severely compounded by my blown headgasket; the car barely ran because the compression finally reached a critical point of difference (185 vs 150) between the two sides. So my car runs MUCH better since doing the HGs.. but sometimes I hit the gas and it just seems to miss half its fire.. it just goes chug-chug-chug.... The timing is set dead on, per FSM procedure. I am utterly confident in that, the symptoms are exactly as they were before I did the HG job. Just less severe, and less acute. Anyhow, I want to maybe blast it out and see if it makes any difference. Before I bother doing so, I will get a fuel pressure gauge spliced into it somehow.. I may even be able to find a way to install one into the car (semi?) permanently to make sure I can watch it while the running issue occurs. Anyone else have any thoughts?

To calibrate the TPS properly, you need to get a set of feeler gauges.. I bought mine at a local auto parts store with a decent selection of tools.. about 10 bucks... you need to set one size in between the throttle drum (the bit that the cable attaches to) and the throttle stop screw to indicate a 1* opening of the throttle, and then use another to force something like a 2.5* opening of the throttle. The page gloyale mentions outlines it in detail; if you have difficulty finding it i can email you a one page pdf that goes over it all.

MY landlord and I cut into the metal of the hatch on his old station wagon (POS pontiac) with an angle grinder and a masonry wheel for the same reason.. exposed the latch mechanism and got it open. Thank you Milwaukee!

yah, exposure is your only enemy..... When we still had emissions testing, we always run as close to 100% denatured alcohol as practical for the test. Since most of our failures were on the fullsize van with 2 gas tanks, it was easy to run one tank almost dry and run almost straight alcohol.. Just fill your tank with real petrol immediately afterwards. Run THAT tankful most of the way dry, and fill up again. That methodology should get virtually every drop of booze out of your system within two tankfuls

unscrewing... huh??? my TPS doesnt have any screws other than the ones taht hold it on, and they have nothing to do with any of the measurements of the system.. the only way anything should ever change with the TPS is if the throttle shaft moves.. IE, if you have one off the car, you should have to stick a screwdriver into the hole on the metal side of it and turn the "volume knob" as i like to call it... it should have continuity while closed whether the thing is screwed tightly down or not... if tightening it down changes anything, then youve got a problem there.. when you change the TPS there is a procedure to calibrate it properly based on the resistance reading at certain throttle positions.. you use feeler gauges and all sorts of other lovely crap like that, but I can point you to the FSM section to read how to do that when it comes up. In the meantime, we need to understand what screw this is that changes your idle switch.... Also, cheap multimeters cannot always be considered the most accurate for resistance readings.. BUT the fact that both TPS units tested about the same does suggest a certain degree of consistency, and it may be that your cheap multimeter isn't that great.. I know I went and borrowed my Dad's Fluke (expensive) specifically to calibrate the TPS I replaced.... Also, don't forget that sitting with the TPS in your hand you can exceed expected ranges; with the throttle shaft stuck into it, and both the mounting screws threaded, you are only given so much range of motion, and that limits the range of resistance you can get. IF you can't spin the sensor one way or the other enough to achieve desired readings, then the TPS needs replacing. That is an odd way for them to fail, though. Usually they just get bad spots on the pot, "crackly areas on the volume knob" as it were..

that is a pretty good question.. All i can do is give you a place to start looking: the fusible link block, behind the battery on the drivers side strut tower.

as far as I know, the purpose of rubber mounts at any point in the driveline, from motor mounts to strut mounts, is simply to reduce body flex and vibration transfer from the drivetrain into the chassis.

Don't sell yourself too short, 90% of being able to do it is having the guts to jump in. However, half of the remaining 10% IS having experience, and the other half is having people around to help you... if you are fifteen, and have no family into cars at all, then the fact that you've made it this far is impressive enough. Don't forget that wou can obtain all of your parts, and then spend 20 minutes a day slowly and carefully putting your wiring harness in the right shape, if you want. GD made that write up with the idea of making the entire project low-impact...

How universal to the different subaru models is that?! For that matter, is it only that applicable to subarus? (I'm thinking it probably is) If that isnt model specific, then that needs to be put in the USRM. A way to check the calibration of your temperature gauge is a VERY helpful thing....

about a year into my subaru ownership, I took the time to puzzle out what each of the idiot lights were... brake fluid, check engine, tail gate, door lock, etc.... when I got to door lock I was puzzled, but ignored it. Mine has never worked. I couldn't be happier.

The full setup, complete with the workshop chair made from the seat out of a GL-10!!! (GOD I love those seats!) A man after my own heart. are the diodes inside the alternator with an externally regulated alternator? somewhere along the line during my education I got the idea that the diodes were a part of the voltage regulator, but now that I think on it that doesn't seem right.. but I don't know, so now I have gotten confused. Another very real possibility lies in the wiring of the vehicle; if the charging wire on your alternator is in poor condition, then the resistance kills off your current at low RPMs.. Do a search on alternator swaps to learn more about how to replace your charging wire. It usually gets done when someone swaps to a higher amperage alternator (like out of an XT6, or a maxima at 90 aps compared to the ea82s 60.. ea81s may have had even less...) Personally, I wonder how much improvement people see from the alternator swap, and how much improvement people see from replacing the wires... Not that higher amperage alternators aren't needed for lots of lights, etc... Its just that no one ever thinks to do something like this before changing to a new alt. BTW, Skip.. those ventilated hitachi alternators up onthe left side of your shelf there.. are those the XT6 units?

*smacking*myself*in*the*forehead* Yah, yah, you are right!! to make my idea work it would take a LOOONG and skinny master cylinder.... not necessarily alot of travel in the pedal, because you can alter your fulcrum point.. but at least I finally see that I am trying to engineer around something that I cant engineer around, and why. Thanks, man, I am glad I bothered posting that after all...

I have an excellent recipe for fuel line sautéed in coolant, but its not the cheapest meal in the world.. To make it RIGHT, you really have to use the high pressure FI line (it just lacks consistency with the low pressure stuff) and pure ethylene glycol. Rusty water DOESNT cut the mustard for this one. Posts like this make me glad for my uncle's trailer. it may weigh a ton, and it may be a stiff, dual axle affair that pushes the little nissan pickup truck (often) towing it ALL OVER the road... but its fairly low, and easy to put a lowered car on (its his racecar trailer) AND it has a winch. It has its shortcomings, but it is alot nicer than a dolly for my two bits. I guess a long distance trip makes fuel economy become a factor... but I don't ever think about the vehicle ON the trailer when that thing is behind me. I just think of the trailer and the car on it as one massive load, because the car never budges.

you should be testing resistance between terminal A and ground, as in.. terminal A and terminal B. not as in, terminal A and your thermostat housing/strut tower/negative battery cable. When you unplug the TPS it isnt connected to the ground wire, so it isnt grounded out. The TPS basically connects terminals A and B as soon as the throttle is open, and the ECU is looking for a grounded wire there as a sign that your foot is not on the gas..... That make sense? if so, re explain it to me. Otherwise I can go on at more length to try to help you, but my brains are still mushy from Sebring so I may just be more confusing than helpful If you want, I could go on, but I'm cutting this post short.

so how is it going here? (thanks Gloyale, BTW.. I was helping him before I went to Sebring, BUT you have ALOT more experience under your belt than I do, and your assistance has probably been much more help to him than mine :-p) I was also in a complete FUNK until I got to the race, so my communication skills were somewhat lacking.. anyhow, Cracker, do you think you are getting things figured out now?

Wow, i couldn't help but notice (and of course, comment on it like a buffoon:banana:) you had been a member since 2004, yet this was your first post..

FSM chapter 2, section 7, page 32 is the ECU pinout. Don't be alarmed that is only shows two pins for the TPS, one of the pins on the sensor is your idle switch, and the other feeds the idle switch. I am looking for where I first read about the limp mode, anyone who wants to chime in with more than the vague info I have given in the thread here, feel free Page 62 might come in handy, too.. and I can't seem to find much info in the FSM about limp mode, try searching the term...

2wd 3at here, i used to get 25mpg no matter how I drove. lately things have been bad, i was driving with a blown headgasket for eight months, and I havent filled up my tank in almost six.... so im unsure of my mileage right now, but i think its poorer, but thats neither here nor there. 25mpg, highway or city.. with my FOOT IN THE ACCELERATOR ALL THE TIME........ I think you are on the right track with your TPS wiring, I cannot say mine is "folded" in any way, even though it does bend back a ways... but I can't help you any more with the pinout, Id'a thunkt it was in the FSM :-\

I doubt that any difference in the booster would cause any issue beyond a different feel to the pedal. Once you get in it and drive around, you will know how hard you need to press the pedal to stop; if you have to apply too much pressure, then you know you need a larger booster (you wussy, just stand on 'em!) Personally, I have always wondered if one could just install a hugeass master cylinder (thinking like, 2 1/2 inches) and forego the whole power brake thing entirely.. I havent really talked about it to anyone with a BETTER knowledge than mine in the field of fluid dynamics, though.. and I only know just enough to start getting me into trouble. I am unsure if a larger bore cylinder would actually solve the problem. It might also take a cylinder with a longer stroke, and THAT may be impractical.. which would explain why auto engineers just use a vacuum booster, rather than these other ideas that I have that seem like such better solutions... any thoughts on THAT?

wow, i totally failed to get to reading the thread until I had already sent you two PMs, heh.. Okay, so youve got a throttle position sensor or circuit code.... The way that the CEL is coming and going, and the way your car runs fine when the CEL is off, almost seems like the ECU might be going into limp mode.. but I DO NOT recall if the CEL goes off while in "limp mode" What kind of driveline do you have, and what kind of mileage do you get? that might give us an indication, as from what I understand your mileage should be crappy driving around in limp mode all the time.. Anyhow, a bad spot in your TPS would only ever come and go like that, that frankly, if the ECU was ignoring its input as faulty (ie, beyond expected range give other input ranges...) I just wanted to say these things, in addition to what I've already said via PM.. so bear what I've said here in mind, when you are thinking on the PM, please.. I wrote that unsure of the code check status, and you answered that question here