Tank

It's ALIVE! Thank you, thank you, to all. And what was the problem? It ran fine on carb cleaner. I'd spray some into the throttle body, and keep it running for 15 seconds or so, and then the injector would "wake up" and take over, but not for long. It wouldn't taper off, it would just quit. I headed back to the junkyard where (last week) I'd found a NICE '88 sedan w/ only 89,000 miles on it. Popped in the new injector and we're back in business. Just in time for the snow to clear up.

I'll test it again when it's not so friggin cold out, and I get another gauge. Mine was a hand-me-down from my grandpa, and was used in WWII. It COULD be a bit inaccurate. LOL

UPDATE: The Tank is still dead. --Fuel pressure is +/- 30. --Engine Codes: 35, Ever-present 14, Something about irregular injector output? This is a new one. I got a ride to Denver (closest Pull-&-Pay) on Friday, but only had time to go to one yard. Best ignitor I found was on a car w/ 188K miles and a brand new alternator. :-\ Hoping they didn't have the same issue I had, I brought it home and put it in. The car started and ran for 10 seconds before dying. Started again and ran for 5 seconds before dying. Went BACK down over the weekend and got TWO more coil/ignitor combos. One from a CLEAN '88 sedan w/ 84,000 miles. GOD I wish they would sell me that car! (I did grab the fuel pump too.) Came back Monday and installed the low-mileage ignitor & coil. Started and ran for 5 seconds, then died. I'm not sure what I'll do next. Maybe replace the injector? It's -7 degrees (-15 w/ the windchill), roads are icy, and I miss my rusted-out, spray-painted, P.O.S Subaru! I'm going through withdrawal.

I've gotten a lot of suggestions to check the igniter/ignitor (apparently it's spelled both ways). I've taken it out of the car, but can't find a NEW replacement. I won't be at the junkyard again for a week or two, so I was checking around for a brand new one. Even the local Subaru dealership didn't know what it was. Nice. They said if I order a new coil from them, it may come with the ignitor, but they didn't know for sure, and they couldn't get one in until Thursday, and wouldn't order it unless I paid for it up front. I didn't have an extra $110 to spend. (Another LONG story....) BUT (and GD, you may remember this..) I just replaced the alternator last week. The internal regulator had taken a dive, and the dash meter was PEGGED way over 18. I had the brightest dash lights and clock, and the FASTEST rear-wiper you've ever seen. I've been thinking that certainly could have had an impact on the ignitor. Anyway, back to the task at hand....anyone know where to get a replacement ignitor BESIDES a junkyard? Thanks again gang... Jason

No, it's a fairly hilly drive. I-25 runs along the front range of the Rocky Mountains here in Colorado. Also, the "local" Pull-And-Pay is about 70 miles away. I'm there frequently (was there the day before the damn car died), but won't be again until either next weekend or the weekend after. The Tank has become my daily driver, so I was trying to get it worked out before then. I have a '90 Mustang, but it's the 2nd worst vehicle I've ever driven in the snow.

Debris in the tank was my 1st thought (JUST went through that with the '71 Eldorado less than 2 months ago.) In searching USMB archives before starting this thread, I came to the conclusion there is more than likely no pre-pump filter/strainer. My hesitation in getting gas is, I don't know if I'm going to have to clean out that tank soon. Also, in the archives, I came across references to this igniter, and parenthesis coil bracket. Haven't looked at it yet, but I'm presuming the igniter is formed into a bracket for the coil? Can I put the carb'd car's igniter on this car to see if that fixes the issue? Did y'all know that iPhones suck, and typing all this on one has sucked even more?

After work yesterday, I drove my friend's car back down to Denver to pick up the Subaru. My car stated fine, but within 1/4 mile, it was bucking and dying. About 1 mile later, it refused to start. After maybe 15 minutes, it started up again, and we were on our way. It ran perfectly fine for 25 miles, and then more coughing and bucking, so I stopped and waited again for about 15 minutes, and then resumed the trek home. Again, about 25 miles later, there was some bucking, but I was close enough to home that I just pushed through. The gas tank is nearly empty now: I didn't want to refill early if there was maybe some bad gas in there. Should I fill it up now? Seeing how the pump is not in the tank, I can't see a need to drop the tank in the near future.... I think I'm going to hit the distributor with some electrical parts cleaner, just to make sure there's no moisture in there. Not sure what else to try. Will definitely check the coil tonight, too, thanks JesZek. Will the coil from a carbureated car work on the MPFI car? (My parts car is carb'd.) Jason

Help?! '88 GL 4x4 Wagon, SPFI: Driving to work this morning on the highway, about 75 mph. The car starts 'bucking' pretty severely, and w/in 30 seconds is dead. Oooooo, pretty red dash lights! I pull to the side of the road, turn the key, engine cranks over like mad, but no happy ending. Check things under the hood, no unusual smells, heat, nothing. Plug the fuel pump test leads together, turn the ignition to 'ON', the pump is running fine. (Maybe it sounds a bit muffled? Not sure, haven't sat in the car and listened to the pump for awhile now...) Sounds OK. About 10 minutes later, "Let's try this again!" Turn the key, VROOM, happy ending! Only make it about 3 miles before (How'd you guess?!!?) more bucking, more sputtering, OOOOOOoooo, those pretty red dash lights! Fuel filter was changed about 2500 miles ago, and then again 2000 miles ago. (Was really dirty the first time.) I'd swear it was a bad fuel pump, just from the symptoms, but I can hear the pump running. Is it still bad? Is there a clogged strainer? Conical screen thing before the pump? Jimmy Hoffa's rotting corpse in the tank? Is it the new alternator I installed LAST WEEKEND?

Hey, could you tell that to my '88 GL10, because that's exactly what happened to me. Pulled over, popped out the thermostat, and ran cool the rest of the trip. Replaced it when I got home and haven't had any cooling issues since. So I'd say they can definitely get "stuck while on the highway."

Saw this guy in the junkyard. So apparently the answer is 470,522 miles is too many miles.

I forgot to mention: the purge valve must be open, because when there is not much vacuum (like cruising on the highway) the HVAC system doesn't have enough reserves to keep the vents open. So if you're cruising down the interstate at 70 mph, you can't have the heater on your feet, or have the windshield on defrost, because the system can only blow out the vents into your face. The ultimate solution would be to fix the thing.

I have an '88 GL Wagon, FI, non-turbo (5-speed for those who care). The car runs like crap at low RPM's. I got it from a guy I work with. The CEL has been on since before HE got the car. It's Code 34 (I think that's the one...whichever code is for the Vacuum Purce Control Solenoid.) Now I haven't bought a new one, but I've bought SEVEN used ones, and I'm thinking the solenoid isn't the issue. I've changed the fuel injection wiring harness....no improvements. I've done searches here, and I see that I can stick a resistor in there, or pinch this off, or that, but how do I NEATLY bypass (or disable) this purge system, shut off the CEL (but leave it still operational for OTHER systems), and get the car running better? If there is no such magic wand for this, how do I get the car to run better? Thanks in advance for your help.

How did you do this test? Can I do it on my '88 GL?

Not quite that bad, but we had just gotten the engine bolted back to the transmission. I'm getting good at pulling that engine...

Sorry. Let's see if this works. I'm doing this on a phone. These showed up after pulling the engine and we don't remember removing them