mikec03

Fuel pump failures on 90's subarus seem to be quite common. I've changed two on my own cars [2 our of 4 cars]. So I would just go and get a used assembly and swap them. Aside from the smell of gas, it's easy and and there are diy's . One tip, take the gas cap off before pulling the pump to avoid pressure in the tank.

Here is what I did. I bought a relay at Advanced Auto and installed it off one of the screws on the fire wall. Then I took the wire that energized the starter solenoid [this has a female spade], and used it to energize the solenoid. Then I ran a new heavy wire [12 gage?] from the battery through the contacts on the solenoid and to the starter solenoid. I also added a fuse on this wire for safety but probably not necessary. Now when i start the car, I first hear a nice "clunk" as the relay picks up. It completely eliminated the starting problem.

The OP should read my original post. Naru clearly explains why this is sometimes the problem. This condition is quite common on old subarus, at least from the late 90's.

Yes, I suppose that would account for it. I really cleaned it very well a year ago, but that doesn't mean it's not sticking. I replaced the timing belt and all pulleys 30K miles ago.

I have a 2002 Subaru with 105K miles, automatic. I have replaced plugs, ngk, and swapped in oem wires and coil. The car will occasionally hesitate from idle after warmed up. Normally a slight pressure on the peddle will rev the engine from idle to 1000+ rpm instantaneously. One in 10 times it hesitates for 1-2 sec. If the car had the MAF, I would suspect that. But it has the pressure sensor instead. Could the throttle position sensor be a problem? I have had a failure with a 90's TPS, but it set a code, and it wasn't during acceleration anyway. But I assume that the signal from the TPS starts the increased gas injection from idle so I suspect it. No helpful codes of course, except once, a misfire code on 3 cylinders.

I did check the struts by giving the car a bounce test. No problem. How would I check the mounts and for that matter, how would I check the bushings? Every bushing seems to be intact and prettly hard.

I'm getting some "klunks" when I hit little road bumps in a 2002 legacy with 108K miles. The struts seem Ok, they don't bounce. The stabilizer bar links look Ok. The bar bushings look OK too, but of course you can't see much of them. So how would I tell if the bushings or lings were bad? I don't see any cracks. Are they supposed to be soft?

With all of subaru's emphasis on the car being level and temp between 93-113 when adding fluid, I sure wouldn't run the car like that. It would probably be OK with the old 4EAT trans but not the cvt!

As already mentioned, it almost certainly must be either a problem with the starter or with the power to the starter [battery or wiring]. But I'm puzzled and interested because I own a 14. If the problem is so simple, why wasn't the dealership able to diagnose it. The only reason I can think of is maybe it wouldn't manifest itself at the dealership?

I have/had 6 subarus with 2.2 ej engines. I can't answer your questions since I either sold them or took them to the junk yard for other reasons, but they had no engine problems. I still have one with 260 k which I hope to make it to 300K, if I can keep it together with bondo and fiberglass.

The 16 flashes indicates a problem with the transmission. It may not be the problem that's causing your car to stall. Probably 99% of the time the 16 flashes just means that the trans duty C solinoid has failed. This would not cause your car to stall. You can search this and other forums and determine the method to read the cause of the fault.

The two quotes that I got by dealers for my 02 were $2500 and $3500. And this was before "extras" like the muffler falling apart etc. I didn't have it done by the dealers for reasons that GD posted. When I was told that they used wizz wheels and didn't take the engine out, I moved on to an Indy.

I do. Just go to a junk yard and get an used OEM one. This is not to endorse the idea that the MAF is responsible for the hesitation. But it's one way to eliminate that possibilty. I assume that you the hell out of the throttle plate andd IAC valve.

I was going to post that the replacement of the duty C solenoid cost me $600 at an indy shop. However, when I got to the part where the car was towed 60 miles on the back wheels, I would say forget about it. There's no point in replacing the duty C unless you know that the clutch disks are ok. So you should disconnect the rear drive shaft and just enjoy your front wheel drive vehicle.

I never had a 2.2 engine all of a sudden over rev but I sure had the MAF fail. Just change it ASAP. I don't know what a TSP is, but if it is a throttle position sensor, be aware that they are kind of tricky to calibrate. There are good DIY's to instruct you.

If all your problems started due to water pump causing a failure [of what?], then the problem is in your work with the timing belt. Maybe you inadvertently disconnected the cam or crank sensor as noted above. Or maybe your timing problem was caused by a bad tensioner, and you mistakenly thought it was the water pump. Having fuel pressure before the filter is probably good enough although you can always check by squirting starter fluid into the intake. It should start and run for 20 sec if fuel is a problem. Whats this about not being about to try and start the car "to avoid a violation?" We in the midwest do think the regulations in the coastal states are crazy, but not that crazy. Edit: thanks fairtax4me for the explaination. ps. Congratulations on getting to 295K miles!

I agree that it well could be an electrical connection. Of course that doesn't help much. One area that these old 2.2 subarus are vulnerable is the MAF. They fail erratically without a code and then they start working for a long period of time. They prevent starting for hours and then they magically don't. So if it were me, I would just go to a you-pull-it and put another one in for $20.

Congratulations on your son's purchase of a 1996 subaru with low milage. It's a great car. As noted, immediately replace the spark plugs, NKG only, and the wires, OEM only. Forget about the fuel filter and injectors for the time being. Don't speculate on the noise until you hear it. Hesitation is kind of annoying to fix since it doesn't normally set a code but people here will will have many suggestions if the new plugs and wires don't fix it..

You could also take off the intake, squirt a small amount of starter fluid into the throttle valve, then see if it runs for 10-20 sec. If it does, then you can pull or ff the fuel line after the fuel filter and check for flow as previously suggested. I extended the rubber tubing and tape on a coke bottle when I checked mine. I don't see the logic of buying parts until you have a clue about whats wrong. You definately have to check the timing. Mybe you should do it first although that takes a lot more work. However if the timing is off, you probably already bent some valves.

I think that it is almost always better to buy an new car and drive it until you drive it to the junkyard. I have bought a few used subarus, but these were with 2.2 engines, which I knew were good for the long term. I don't think that the value of late model used cars is good; in other words, they arn't discounted enough, taking everything into consideration. Of course, buying from a relative or known source would change the consideration. I buy at the end of the model year in the spring and I think that I get better deals. Since I plan to drive them until scrapped, the year doesn't matter.

Yes Dj, I agree-they usually are not worth it. I never bought an extended warranty before. However for $250/y, I think its a good insurance policy given that I have some oil consumption already and there have been some reported CVT failures. The warranty if from Subaru Corp so I don't think that there will be any problem collecting on it.

I just bought an extended warranty on my 2014 outback. For $500, I bought the Classic warranty to cover 7 years 70K miles with $100 deductible. This basically extends the power train warranty [5 yr 60K miles] for two years, so the net cost is $250/yr. I did get a second quote from another dealer which was about double. I'm posting this for the interest of people who might be thinking of and wondering about the cost of an extended warranty. I live in the midwest.

Please save your money. None of these products IMO work with an internal leak. The bars will work with an external coolant leak which you don't have. Dave T gave an excellent explaination for your problem.

This is most likely caused by air in the cooling system from a leaking HG. Your car, which we assume is a 2.5, has a head gasket that fails internally. So you won't see any puddles on the driveway, and the additive would not have done any good.

Yeh, anything in the 10 year old range. LOL aside, you can't pay much because the HG's have already leaked and been poorly repaired or they are going to leak! On the other hand, the HG repair will only cost $1500-2000 at an indy shop outside of the coasts. Price it with that in mind.