1996BlackBauer

For real, keep whatever you enjoy more. sure you can have more fun in the WRX, but will you? I know for sure I have WAY more fun in my Impreza, because I don't care, plus everything is so cheap to fix or replace. I actually let my Baby(my Ford Explorer) sit most weeks, just because the impreza is such a blast to drive, and WAY better on gas. Now granted this is my particular situation, yours may differ.

I have only driven the car for 60 miles, but I have yet to have an issue. It would appear that the new to me MAF sensor fixed my issues. Still not going to go any any big trips with it until I put a few hundred miles on it, but I'm feeling pretty confident. The last few times it happened within an hour or less of sitting in my driveway idling, or less then 20 miles of driving. I can only assume that the solder joints where either not fixed by my soldering, or that the chip in the MAF took a crap due to age.Either way I can't thank everybody enough, I am very thankful for all the input. now if I could only get some front fenders for my car I would be happy, anybody got any? lol.

Unexpected update, Well after relaxing for a bit and eating, I began rummaging through my garage, and I was able to pull out a full air box, with a MAF sensor off of my buddy's '93 Impreza, which ran perfectly fine until he gernaded the trans, and decided to ditch the car due to Structural rust issues. so I popped it on my car, and let it run, now just as a reminder EVERY time I just let the car idle in my driveway within 15-30 minutes it will start having the issue. I let the car run for almost 2 hours, with absolutely no problems at all. I was outside the whole time too, I was taking things off my buddy's car for the engine/suspension swap. Sooooo, MAYBE? its fixed? I'm going to drive it the rest of the week to find out, usually 2 days to work, and the problem comes right back, so We'll see, I'll update if and when it happens again, or at the end of the week. thanks for everybody's input.

Thanks for the input guys, hoping to have some free time to mess around with the car this weekend before I head up to Jefferson for the swap meet. I looked up the MAF and found a new one for $46, from a company called Replacement? IDK how good it is, but it is in my budget for this car. as far as the temp sensor goes I can probably get to that this week, I just have to remember my volt meter and temp gauge from work. I'll continue to leave updates with what I do and find. Thanks again for the tips, Normally I am not one for just throwing parts at a car without good reason, but if the MAF go bad all the time, it's worth a shot I guess.

I have cleaned that, and it appears to be working just fine, can that cause misfire like symptoms while driving at higher RPMs? You know what, I have not checked the temp sensor, it does also appear to happen after the car warms up, it ALWAYS got to operating temps before it ever started doing this. I'll check the specs for it on Alldata, and test mine, I'll report back. Also, I've needed an Excuse to buy a vacuum gauge, so I will also do that as well. Unfortunately this issue might have to sit on the back burner for a little bit, my best friend dropped of his '95 Impreza for a motor swap that I finally just got all the parts for, along with some JDM suspension, and brake components, I'm hoping for a 2 week turn around, including waiting for the clutch and new light weight flywheel. But in my free time I'll be trying to get mine running good again.

Bad news guys, I did everything I said I was going to do, and after only 10 minutes of running it was back at it again. the connectors at the back of the block where pretty clean, I did however find 2 wires that had the insulation rubbed off of them, after cleaning everything up, and throwing some electrical tape on them, I found nothing else wrong with the wiring harness. The ECM looks to be in good shape with no signs of water intrusion at or around it what so ever. The Injectors all tested at 11.5 ohms, which the spec is 11-12 ohms, so those are good. I also did the not so scientific shake test at all of the connectors I could find, and all where secure. Lastly I checked the ground and that was tight and secure as well. I still can't believe it is the ECM, there HAS TO BE something else I have missed, unfortunately I do not have a spare '96 ECM laying a around I only have a '93 1.8 ECU, so I cannot swap and see if that is the issue. Any other input would be greatly appreciated, I just want to drive the darn thing, instead of looking at it. this is really getting to be annoying.

I will be sure to do that, thanks again! When I replaced the crank sensor it had a bunch of junk on it, the problem got only slightly better, but that had to be part of it.

I do actually, I put it in already, and the issue is still happening. I have done just about everything under the sun, and it still happens.

OK, well plan of attack for tomorrow will be to check everything that Fairtax4me suggested, and also check the injectors, other then that, every single electrical item has been checked as far as i know. So I'll update once all of that is done.

I had really good luck with just drilling the bolt out, without using a extractor. just keep bumping up the sizes, and go slow, it'll take a while, but in my case the last drill bit before I was going to gack the threads grabbed what was left of the bolt and spun it out. I cleaned the threads and got a longer bolt with a nut, been great for almost 6 months now.

I'll check that all out, thanks, I almost feel like I am missing something,it is just an odd, and completely random problem, its really bothering me..

Still happening, drove about 50-60 miles and it started doing it again, still not nearly as bad as it used to, but it continued to do it for about 2 miles then stopped again, and did it 2 more times for maybe 10-15 seconds... IDK what else could be causing this, this is really weird.

Another update, sort of long video, but I do go into detail on what I did so I don't have to type as much. After the video I drove it for about 20-25 miles around town, and only had it slightly stumble twice, and one of the times was from a stop, so it might of been because of me not giving it enough gas. Let me know your thoughts, any input would be greatly appreciated.

Only the coil and plugs. I did check them for resistance, and they are within the allowable range. I also sprayed them with water to see if they are cracked and shorting anywhere, and they are not. I even took a good look inside the spark plug holes to see if I could find any burn marks of it shorting out in there and found nothing. Even though they are most likely the factory plug wires, they do appear to be in good shape.

Very good thank you! I'm hoping to get everything hooked up either Saturday, or Sunday, I actually bought a Harbor Freight kit. I figure I could use it at home, and for work I'll buy a snap on one some day. It was only $18 with the coupon, so that's no big deal.

Well guys, I am breaking down and buying a fuel pressure gauge, but I cannot find an access port, so is the only way to get fuel pressure is with a T inline? Also while searching online I found different specs for what fuel pressure I should have, anybody got a Subaru service manual, or something similar so I know for sure...

I have a straight pipe on my '96, and by straight pipe I mean, cough, cough, no cats, but I do have a glasspack muffler to knock it down a bit, it's louder then frig, but I don't usually drive it long distances. I really haven't noticed any performance gains, or losses, seems pretty normal to me.

Update, it's still happening, it appears to happen less, but it's probably still in my head.

Ok, thanks for the input. So basically look for an Early EJ22 timing set then. What is the difference in the timing kit then, basically why do they list two separate kits for interference , and non interference. sort of weird. I don't know the specifics for the engine part years obviously, so do the different heads make it non interference or something? I am by no means questioning you input in a rude way, I am just curious so I know. Before I started working on Subaru's I was told they are kinda like Legos, it is coming more true every day I work on them, lol.

So my Friend about 2 years ago had his car taken apart, and had an engine put in, It was a 2.5L block, with 2.2L heads, so it had a slight horse power increase due to more compression. Now We're re sealing the engine because it leaks a bit, and we also figure we might a well do the timing belt, but the problem is that we have no idea how to tell which one to get, I am assuming it is a 2.5L kit. Just to say it we are unsure on the belt condition, and whether or not it was done, or if the heads where put on and the old belt was re used. So how can I tell if this is an interference engine or not? I cant really find any engine markings that make it obvious, only thing I have for now is a picture of the timing set as it sits now. So what kit should I get (Brand, and engine size), and what sort of engine do we have? because according to RockAuto the interference, and non interference engines are different. Picture of the Engine now. Thanks for any input guys, Harold

Well time for an update, after repairing the intake tube, and soldering the connections at the MAF, I have run the car though about 2 30 minute running cycles, and about 15 miles of driving, I have yet to have a single sputter, misfire, or any other issue yet, I am going to take it to work tomorrow, which will be another 20 miles. the MAF may have actually been the issue. It even stsrts faster then before, which is awesome. I'm going to try and put 200 miles on it this week to see if anything happens, I'll update after that is complete. Thanks everybody for the input.

Thanks guys, I'll check all these suggestion out hopefully on Sunday after replaced the thermostat on my buddies EJ22. I'll keep the thread updated. So far I re soldered the connection on the MAF, and in the process of removing it I broke an elbow off the intake tube, so I am waiting for the JB weld to cure, and I'll at least start it up tomorrow, and see if it got any better. Thanks a ton for all the suggestions though, I was also thinking it had something to do with the fuel Pump, plug wires, or the MAF, but wanted some input before I tackle anything else. While I was checking the car out I was wiggling connectors on sensor to see if it made it act up, and in the process of doing so I accidentally unplugged the cam sensor, turns out there was a small piece of dirt, or a rock stuck in the tab, which allowed it not to lock completely.

So I grabbed the MAF out of the vehicle and opened it up, are we talking about the connection inside the housing, or actually at the board, I can't really see any cracks, although they might be smaller then my eye can see. Also, it doesn't appear to happen only when it is wet any or rainy outside, it happens on perfecty dry days as well, but I can check that out, just to be safe.

I'll check that out, thank you.

Alright guys I am pretty much lost with this. My '96 Impreza 2.2L will just randomly run bad with no warnings what so ever. what will happen is that it will randomly have a few misfires, then just start dying, and coming back to life, throttle response does nothing to bring it back most of the time, it just continues to run bad, and after a few seconds of that it will die. When i go to restart it takes forever, and runs like crap. Occasionally it will just be like somebody flipped a switch and it will run good again. Not sure what is going on here, I have tried to replace some parts that I thought might be the issue due to being soaked with oil due to leaks. Things I have replaced: -Oil sender/switch(This was the oil leak that made every sensor covered in oil). -Knock sensor, had a code for it, and it was cracked. -Crankshaft position sensor(had codes sometimes, but was filled with oil, so I replaced it, no codes recently. -Coil pack, replaced it with a Subaru one off of my friend slow mileage Forester -spark plugs are newer (NGK), maybe 3k on them -upstream o2 sensor, had multiple codes for it(no codes since replacement, with miles put on it) things I have checked and done: -Checked for Vacuum leaks, none found -Cleaned MAF, it was dirty, but appears to work just fine -Cleaned throttle body -replaced crappy Fram air filter for a quality one - checked resistance for plug wires(they are within spec) - cleaned out any connectors with oil, grease or dirt in them. I also have a video of it happening, not the best quality, but you can see what I mean. The check engine light is on only because I unplugged the Camshaft Position sensor while it was running. I NEVER have any misfire codes ever. Here are the reading from the sensor after it got to operating temperature. MAP(inHg) - 8.3 Engine RPM - 700 +/- 30rpms Spark Advance 14.0 MAF - 0.4-0.5 ECT(in degrees F) - 165-170 STFT - 0.0 LTFT - -2.3 These are all the specs I can get out of the scan tool that I have. wish I could see more, but I can't. Any input would be very helpful. not sure where to go next, I am a Mechanic, so I have tools, and mechanical knowledge.