GorgeSuby

Hi Guys, I have searched the archives & found quite a bit of useful info but still have a few lingering doubts... my 98 Outback EJ25 is having issues with starting after driving in the heat. First off there is no indication of overheating, & the car never stumbles while driving - hwy, stoplight - all fine. But after driving hard for 20min, shutting off & re starting, it will start then die & eventually fail to start. After cooling down for an hour or so it will start & run normal. I think I have isolated it to fuel pump or fuel pump relay &/or associated circuitry. So far, here is what I have done: 1) Listened for fuel pump on turning ignition switch. As expected the pump does not turn on when in "failure mode" but does as soon as it sits for an hour or so. 2) Listened/felt for fuel pump relay clicking on turning ignition switch. Relay does seem to click reliably when I turn ignition.(...& yes it is a massive PITA to get to!!!) 3) While the car was still warm & still failing to start, I swapped out the relay with another I found under passenger side near glove box which seemed to have the same configuration. Did not seem to make any difference... 4) Tested for power at fuel pump harness. Did not have voltmeter - just test light: 3 of 6 pins have current when ignition on regardless of "failure mode". So, I am thinking I have narrowed it down to Fuel pump but want to make sure as I replace it about a year ago - though with a NAPA part Any ideas?

Thanks for all your suggestions, after checking power to the injectors & spark, it was narrowed down to the fuel delivery. So it ended up being the fuel pump. Thanks again!

Thanks all, Have a friend with code reader, so will try that after work this evening. Will check out the ignition relay as well - had a Toyota with similar issues & it was the EFI relay.

Thanks for that, actually that happened to me on my old EA82 Loyale... similar symptoms too. Just thought the EJ25 might have different issues. SO where is it located on the EJ? I think it was under the disty on the Loyale but Ej has only a coil.

Hi Guys, My Outback is acting strange lately. Seems to be running fine & starts cold fine. But when I drive 30 miles down the Hwy to work & park it for a few hours then go to start it turns over fast but nothing. I tried jump starting just to give it a bit more power but still nothing. Got a ride home & then back to work the next morning & after sitting over night it started right up. I know it's either spark or fuel delivery but any preliminary guess where to start?

Thanks! Wasn't sure how much slip was built in - guess not like an AWD ..

Thanks Joe, I'll check it out .... what do you guys think about driving it in 4wd till I can get the parts?

Need a new Hub for my 92 4wd Loyal front right ... new is $$$! anyone have a decent used one near Portland? Also just did my Wheel bearing & noticed splines were worn but thought it would be ok so, when I put it in gear leaving work & heard the noise I was pretty sure what happened... so, since splines are stripped in the current hub & had to limp home in 4wd. Seemed to drive fine..... any harm in driving it this way?

Mine is a 91 Loyale & the line was one that goes along the Firewall from passenger side over to the solenoids. I think I unhooked accidentally when I was working on the starter. When you push the buttons on the dash for heat, defrost etc.you should hear the actuator & mine was just stuck blowing out the dash vents.... hope that is your issue - it was an easy fix!

Thanks guys, That's what I figured, I was pretty shocked too but difficult to tell her without making her feel bad . I have done allot of work on my beater Loyale, but haven't worked on the wifes Outback much - she always wants it done "professionally". It seems to still be running very well - no ticking or knocking & haven't seen any oil lights, but I know it ran a couple quarts low before I discovered the leak. In any case we won't be driving it until I figure out what to do. Will take a look & see if I can locate the source.....

Hi guys, My wife's 98 Outback is losing a lot of oil - seems to be from the front of the engine, smokes like crazy when at rest. She took it in to the mechanic today & he told her it needed a $2,500.00 re-seal & recommended a re-build. Now, I don't have $2,500 & the car is certainly not worth putting that much into it. Should I look into sealing it up myself, look for a junkyard engine, buy a rebuild? Other options? Just trying to get an idea what the best low budget solution...

Just a thought, but if it is push button & just not engaging - it could be the vacuum line & or solenoid.... does your heater work properly? I had a vac line loose on the Firewall which took out the 4wd & my heater would not switch to defrost etc....

This is more or less what I was suspecting - but will try the simple battery swap/terminal & ground check just in case.....

Hi Miles, I already replaced the CTS & seemed to have no effect so I am going to try some of these other suggestions.... Hope to hit it again today after work - keep the suggestions comin! Really appreciate it!

That will be an easy place to start - thanks!

Hi Guys, I have been over several of the threads here & applied some of the advice there but problem persists. Started having trouble with warm starts bout a month ago - it would start fine first thing in the morn & after work no problem. But, if I drove it hard for a bit & shut it off for more than a minute, it would not start. It would crank over pretty well for quite awhile(15-30min) & finally after seeming to cool down a bit it would sputter a few times finally catch & start up. So after perusing the forum for a bit for similar issues, I changed out the coolant temp sensor which seemed to have no effect, next swapped out coil for another, cleaned & checked most of the connections, & checked that I had a good fuel pressure on the downstream side of the fuel filter. Still has problem - also seems to steadily be getting worse & now it does not necessarily start cold either. One thing that has got me thinking: one time after having cranking it for 1/2 hr or so, the battery was finally getting low so I got a jump start from another vehicle - whamo! Instant start! ... no sputtering or anything just started right up! Did the same thing one other time... so I am thinking: the battery seems to have enough juice to crank it over fine but maybe the coil is not getting enough juice until I added power from the other vehicle? Or is there some relay not kicking until the extra juice hits it? Just a bad battery? Any ideas? Thanks!

Links broken on post #1?

oh good! That shouldn't be too bad ...

Hi Guys, My beater commuter rig is leaking quite a bit of Oil out of the passenger side of the engine - above near the CAT & axle. Like I said, this is a beater - I paid $500.00 for & don't want to put much time, but especially money into it! What is my best bet to get it reasonably patched up so I can keep beating it? I have already had the timing belts done - pretty recent, so not going there unless I have too.... Any ideas as to the most likely culprits & best fix before I tear into it blindly? Thanks!

...I bought my 92 Loyale 4wd 150k mi for $600.00 with slipping clutch so looks like you got a deal. I used the Sachs kit off Ebay & it has held up well so far .. I just di the clutch the normal way by dropping the tranny - no issues.

....well looks like I'll be into it soon ... hope the next one lasts longer.

I did exactly the same thing! Worked out well for me ... ended up buying one from Edmunds Auto E-bay store - brand was recommended here but can't remember which .... maybe post which one(s) you are considering to get more feedback.

These were "new" also about $85.00 w/no core at NAPA .... Hopefully they make good on the warranty.. main reason I chose them was they were in stock & convenient ... DOH:mad:

...was afraid of that ....this one started making some noise pretty early on too, then suddenly got really bad over the course of last week, finally gave out completely on my driveway(lucky!) ...Hopefully won't see the same problem with the driver side(same brand). Guess I'll try one more since it's a freeby, before upgrading.

...yeah I did Wheel bearings too, so ... that shouldn't be it?