Cougar

Replacing the fuel filter would be good if it hasn't been replaced in a while. Get some starter fluid also and try that test if the fuel filter doesn't work. If those things don't get any action then you need to check the compression of the cylinders. A timing belt may have broken.

Hi Mike, I assume this engine has SPFI instead of a carburator, is that correct? To see if this is a fuel problem spray a small amount of starter fluid into the intake and see if that helps make the engine run briefly. If you do have SPFI, the injector may be not turning on for some reason. I believe the firing order is correct as you have it.

Check the air filter, throttle operation, maybe have the fuel pressure checked also if the problem is still occuring. I'm not sure if this engine has a TPS but if so, that would be first on the list to check.

The folks here should be able to help you. Jamie has been great to deal with. She visits this site now and then also. I purchased some service manuals through her and she gave me a great deal over my local dealer's full mark up price. http://www.allsubaru.com/html/h_form.html

I would first start by looking things over with the throttle and intake areas.

Welcome to the forum. You can tap into the dash light circuit. Try to find the most convenient light to tap onto.

The Michelin HydroEdge seems to have a good review.

Another thing to check for if you are smelling coolant is a intake manifold leak. I had to replace the gaskets on my '88 at about 63k miles. The leak was so bad you could hear it with out the aid of a hose.

Your welcome for the help Dan. Drive on.

I think you can reuse the O-ring with no problem.

If you have MPFI you could try swapping the injector with another one. The problem may also be due to some carbon buildup in the cylinder so using a fuel additive may help there.

The lights in the radio can be replaced also. They may be a different style, I'm not sure. It would be too expensive to replace the unit just because the lights are out.

I'm not sure how many cycles it takes to reset the light but I'm pretty sure it should have done it by now. I would have the codes read again to see if something else is causing a problem.

I would replace the bad temperature sensor. You will always have to watch the temperature gauge to make sure it doesn't overheat otherwise. If you miss it then there may be needless damage, but it's your car, so you can decide on how you want it. I hope the head gasket is ok also but the test will comfirm what is going on. As far as your Camero goes, I would be sure that the problem is really the ECU. Since they are usually pretty reliable it is the sensors or wiring to the ECU that usually end up being the real problem. They can go bad though. I had to repair the ECU for my '88 Soob once.

I would think those will be great. Just stay with NGK's whatever you decide upon.

The gauges would be nice to have. If you only have 3 put in I would drop the vacuum gauge and install a voltmeter instead, if you don't have one already.

I don't think the car would overheat if the leak was small but it will cause extra pressure in the coolant system. If this vehicle belonged to me I would replace the thermostat with an OEM one along with a new gasket. You shouldn't need any gasket sealer if the surface area for the gasket is clean. I would also remove the constant feed to the cooling fan as it is not really needed if the cooling system is working ok. This just puts extra load on the electrical system. The temperature gauge should read about half scale if things are ok with the system and normal running conditions.

Have a block check done to see if exhaust gases are getting into the coolant.

The temperature gauge for the digital dash in both of my '88 GL-10's ran in the middle or one line above the middle when things were normal.

I would think you would have to have the firing order correct and the plug wires connected correctly to get it run at least as good as it is doing. Have you tried pulling a plug wire one at a time to see if you can isolate the tapping, or is it coming from all the cylinders?

Thanks for the tips Beezer.

You can either measure the voltage at the sender unit while things are connected and turned on or disconnect the sender and check the resistance of the sender. You may also want to check the wiring going back to the gauge for a problem if the sender tests look good.

There may be a bad power connection to the lock solenoids causing them to not work correctly. Does the system work using the manual lock switch ok? If so, then the problem would seem to be with the remote connection. Alternators can be intermittant so having yours checked would be good. You may want to find out what the stored codes are in the ECU memory and then have them reset to be ready for the next problem.

I would keep an eye on the connector as it may fail again but it may work fine now. If it does degrade, swapping it out and soldering the connections will work fine.

It sounds like the switch is broken and needs to be replaced. If there is just a couple of wires going to the switch you could try jumpering them together and see if the heater works then. There may also be a couple of wires to the switch for the dash light.