NotLurking

My local EJ22 guru said: "go to pep boys and get some wires". $28 with lifetime warranty against defects (Borg Warner- BWA) looks the same, and is an inch or so more generous on all the lengths. Compared to the OEM wires I removed, Borg Warner's crimping appears to be much more robust. And what does Borg Warner do to help their customers? They box their wires with a small packet of dielectric grease to lube the connection on the spark plug end for easier removal without damage. Ha! re-usable plug wires, what a concept! The moral of the story: Lube your spark plug connectors for best service life. Never needed to do this with my VW stuff, now, minor adjustments to habits must be made now that Subaru 2.2 is manning the engine bay on the Vanagon live and learn. Thanks, everybody for chiming in!

Rampage, thanks for the tip!

Yes moosens, that is correct, they were purchased at the dealer. Along with the new e22 short block and and a truckload of other engine peripheral parts. The problem appears to be with the crimping, which is clearly defective, and would never grip the wire worth beans... And both that I pulled were exactly alike. Perhaps the dealer was sourcing ( inadvertently?) fake wire sets, or the set was made the day a new guy started on the crimper. As for the fake parts you mentioned, are we talking about the guys on ebay??? Are there any other fans of NGK plug wires out there? Where do you purchase your GENUINE NGK wires?

Perhaps I don't know the secret password or something.... RE: my new EJ22 which uses 1993 donor heads and peripherals: Today I set out to pull a couple of spark plugs to check condition for clues to an operational issue. Pulling the OEM wire ends free from the plugs resulted in destruction of the wires (new with only 2000 miles). I did NOT yank on the cables, but rather, pulled the bright-red rubbery ends. After some effort, they came free, but in the process, left their metal connectors on the NGK spark plugs... WTH? are OEM wires these one-time use items? Is there a special process to keep them in one piece when removing? In 40 years wrenching, have never seen any OEM part fail this easily. Is this a fluke? Now I'm hesitant to buy another set from Subaru, and the geeks on USMB say "always use oem wires". Thoughts?

Thanks for the note, yes, I'm sure it is all from a 1993 AT car, as I bought the whole (barely) running car and salvaged what I needed. the almost new IAC was not dirty, and moved freely. Did not test resistance. Yes it's all tight. THE ONE THING about the IAC- it has coolant lines in and out. Simple, right? Well, Subaru no longer makes the tight little coolant elbow that goes between the IAC and the throttle body. Mine had a piece of straight hose which had become kinked... Should have used a longer piece and looped. Better solution: I found a Gates elbow in 5/16" that worked great once both ends were shortened appropriately. This part is considered a heater hose. Suspect this was what was throwing off the IAC outputs and causing codes. So, the takeaways: 1) Fault codes must be hooked up and functioning for easy (er) diagnosis. 2) A functioning multimeter is also essential. 3) Aftermarket Manuals seem spotty at best, so beware. If unsure, ask the bros on US.org 4) Out of all who "guessed" at the problem The mechanic was right (it was also on FergLoyal's shortlist). He reminded me of this. I reminded him that guessing was still for fools! Lessons learned. Thanks everyone for your help! N.L.

No kidding!!! my mechanic said theHaynes info on how to set the TPS is B.S. (It did not work as he predicted). They focus on pins 1&2 and the initial on-off, which seems sensible, but... The Factory manual completely ignores pins 1&2.... Got it set up by "osmosis", and it seems to be working fine now. No bucking, no stalling.

Thanks, Heartless, that's good info to have whether it's perfect or not. I also ordered a Haynes manual to not fly blind so much... UPDATE: Have sorted the wiring and now have CEL lamp wired into dash, and have read codes (throwing 24 & 42) The Air Control Valve and TPS are the culprits. Will remove and clean the almost new ACV in hope that that clears things up. Also noticed that the little hose that connects the ACU to the Throttle body is kinked. It's like 2" of hose between hard fittings that force it into an "L" shape. Will use a longer hose and put a loop into it to prevent kinking on re-install. Suspect that swapping the idle switch has its adjustment goofed up now. Will attempt to properly adjust with feeler gauge before buying a new one : Spec I found here: 1&2 terminals- continuity at fully closed throttle, continuity at 0.7mm open throttle, and open circuit at 0.9mm open throttle as measured at throttle stop. For FergLoyal: the Neutral & inhibitor switches (code 51), parking switch (code 52), and VSS (code 33) are all waived codes under this install per CA. law I'm going to hook up VSS with aftermarket kit and see if it helps operation at all. It should, otherwise why would Subaru have used it? (Vanagons don't have a VSS input source as-built).

FerGloyal- Thanks, the CEL location is very helpful! that's my next task, hooking up a CEL light and checking codes.... the AT mode info is also excellent to have, and I'll make sure that gets grounded as well. will follow up with findings. N.L.

NVU, That's a good point. (and just yesterday, while changing out the coolant temp sensor, It was apparent that little bits of roadway debris collects on top of the engine). There should be (could be) a wheel well filler or even a mud flap to keep crud and water from flinging into the engine compartment. Hmm, could probably sell a few of those if they existed! Thanks, I'll be sure to pay close attention to those areas! N.L.

NVU, Thanks for weighing in. This has been worsening for a few months to the point where it's now unsafe to operate in traffic. Your experience is interesting, But I'm not sure what you specifically refer to. Do you mean the spark plug connector? At the plug end? that could progressively worsen. I'll R&R the plug ends a few times. This makes me think of another possibility... Fouled plugs. Will also take a look there. Probably worth doing the old test of running on 3 then switching to the next etc. to see whether one of the cylinders is dragging the rest down, could be an intermittent fuel injector. (in the old days, a clogged idle jet would be the culprit). N.L.

FerGloyal, thanks for persisting. Apologies for dismissing you without truly taking time to understand you. In truth, I agree, that providing the ECU with as many windows into what is going on around it the better things should perform power and efficiency wise. The vehicle was running well previously with good torque and power maybe not the best mileage, but at >4,000 lb. loaded it's a lot more to push around than a legacy. It is equipped with an original stock rebuilt VW 3 spd. Auto trans with fresh torque converter. This problem has worsened over time, and (relatively) cold ambient air temps seem to make it worse. I think your points are good. This is the first I have heard about either the AT/MT discriminator, or the Neutral switch, and I need to confirm whether either is connected.... (Do you have links to instructions for setting up either the AT/MT discriminator, or the Neutral switch in a vanagon with stock auto trans?? ) You have touched on one of the disappointing things I learned this afternoon. Realizing that reading the codes was essential, I decided to look at ECU connected things for the first time to find out what was being thrown. Seems the trouble is that my experienced conversion mechanic didn't connect the CEL to the ECU. so... there is currently no way to extract the codes. (supposedly, the ecu "had a lamp built into it", but no.). Spoke with mechanic, asking where to pick up the CEL signal led to getting into the harness, which was made and installed by mechanic. That led to the discovery that the VSS wire was labelled but not connected to anything. Both of these issues existed during "normal" operation, but you're right, they need to be addressed. For the VSS, I know that kits are available to run off of the CV joint, so that's an easy step to complete. Regarding the CEL readout signal, do you know where to pick up a signal? (sigh, yes I really need to own a Legacy manual with schematics and troubleshooting info.)... I did learn about how to put the system into a test/code mode etc., and noticed that it smoothed out quite a bit at idle and was less prone to dying in that mode. Is this similar to a "Limp home" mode? would any fault be smoothed in this mode, but power and efficiency sacrificed? Update: MAF and Coolant temp sensor replacement with new subaru parts had no effect. (well, at least I have spares now for the travel kit). Reading other sites/posts lead back to something I fixed 4 years and a scant 2000 miles ago: replacing the ACU. I tried cleaning it but it was erratic at idle even after. Replacement was the key. I have ignored it because "It's 'new' it must be OK" illogically echoes in my head. Next step- remove and clean the ACU and see what happens. Could be that irrational "logic" got in the way of getting straight to the problem. Why would this new ACU be dirty with so little mileage? Theory: For this install, the oil pan has to be shortened an inch, however, everyone says "don't worry you can still fill 'er up, there's plenty of space above the oil". OK, but... If the oil is too high it could be atomizing and much more than usual getting moved through system with crankcase vapors. Could be wrong, but I think that CC vapor does circulate through that part. Will look at plumbing tomorrow to determine. To be continued....

Thanks! It actually runs OK for about 20 seconds before trying to die at stop lights. Yes, have done so, all new and all tight with clamps. (had post MAF leak issue when it was first built, and it is similar except for now it is running OK at first before gaining a bit of heat). This is a vanagon conversion, so the subie AT issues do not apply. Best, N.L.

Thanks, Yes, it is running rich. The coolant temp sensor is on the left side on the back of the coolant manifold- correct? Gauge sensor is to the right of it also on the coolant manifold?

Bennie, Thanks, your thoughts are interesting, but all injectors are new Subaru, as is the Air control valve. (2000 good miles out of all parts). Everything was working. no adjustments have been made. The Coolant sensor may also cause a rich condition, as the ECU always thinks the coolant is cold. This would affect all 4 cylinders equally. Yes am going to have to learn how to read codes. Do not have a functioning CEL on the dash, so need to dig into the ecu stuff under the back seat and figure that out. Have found the code reading tutorial so, that's a start. Thanks, N.L.

Mileage is down on highway as well.