azsubaru

Nay. Why add more work than necessary?

The ECU is up under the dash, easy to find and read. - check this: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49918&highlight=ecu+codes Your engine codes will most likely be in the section titled "-- 1988 and Later Models With Single-Point Fuel Injection -- "

Yeah - I got that backwards, but you get the idea. I agree - but at least for me, things that are hard to fix often turn out to be something that I didn't check because I just knew it couldn't be the cause

Well, good luck on finding it. Lots of things seem to cause similar symptoms. One thing I don't know has been mentioned, but maybe the Idle control valve is sticking closed. Mine stuck open, so the usual poor cold performance, but I don't know why it couldn't stick in the other position. Cleaned mine out by spraying lots of carb cleaner down in there, and it fixed it up.

Oil leaking from the engine can blow back on the exhaust like that. But then, you should see the oil on the bottom of the engine and/or on the ground....

The Crank Angle Sensor is in the distributor. My Loyale will do that when water gets in the disty. If you don't dry it out well, it can take a couple days to dry out by itself, so it would be well worth the effort to make sure there's no moisture in there. If you still have your old disty and it works at all, stick it in there to see if it fires up.

Correct, non interference. You may have set the belt off by a tooth or so.

Could be a loose Oxy sensor...

I agree, I futzed around with mine for a long time and problems kept coming back until I gave up and replaced it. You could try spraying some cleaner into the TPS to see if it helps, but I doubt it will work. It sounds like you have a worn spot on yours, if so, it really can't be fixed. Fairly easy to replace, but don't buy a new one, they are really expensive. Instead get one from a junkyard or from someone here on the board. There are (at least)two types - one has three wires coming in and the other has 4. The one with four has the idle switch in there with the TPS unit. Make sure you get the right one.

Maybe you don't need it, but you can get used to it. Then you get PO'd when driving your other cars if you forget and try pushing the brake and lettting off while sitting at a light on an uphill pull!

What code(s) show up on the ECU?

I redline my Loyale all the time, everyday, upshifting and downshifting through traffic. If it starts running poorly, the first thing I do is take it out and "blow it out" a little. It has dealt with this for 15 years now, never a problem that I can relate to over revving.

green connectors are usually for resetting the ECU. disconnect, connect the white ones, try again. There's a thread on here somewhere for interpreting the codes.

Don't know if there's really a difference or not, but my wagon (bought new at Jeff Morris Subaru in Charleston 15 years ago) feels like it's roomier and has better headroom. Excellent visibility all the way around. I would think there may be some minor differences in suspension in order to handle the weight and balance differences.

I don't know if most vehicles are like this or not, but it always seemed strange to me that the direction of the threads means that every time you start the vehicle, it torques it in the direction of loosening the bolt. So if it's loose at all, it's going to come the rest of the way off pretty quickly.

Take out a spark plug, stick about 10 ft of rope down in there (leave plenty sticking out!) and it will lock the engine for you when the piston comes up. Learned that here on the board, and it works great.

91 Loyale Wagon, 5 Spd 2WD. had it 15 years, bought it new. Cost was $9997, I still have the original papers in the glove compartment.

Hope you checked it anyway, just to make sure. You never know.

Agree with the alternator. My Loyale does that, although not too loud. very aggravating at times. I suspect it's a bearing problem.

Don't know the reasons why, but I was unable to buy an aftermarket CC for my Loyale, even back in 1992.

At 190,000 miles, mine loses about a quart every 2000 miles (3000Km?) - I believe all of it is through leaks.

Hey, Stoner, I think I know which car you're looking at - near Roosevelt?. If you're thinking of buying it and replacing the motor/trans, PM me - I could use the heads and maybe a couple other motor parts. We could split some costs.

Just repeating advice that I got on this board, and seemed to work for me - The best fuel economy should corelate to best efficiency, which would mean timing advanced as much as possible. So advance it a degree or so, then take a test drive, and see if it pings. Repeat until it does, then back it off until doesn't ping anymore. It will probably be pretty close to factory specs.

If you sit in the car with everything quiet around you, turn the ignition switch on, and you should be able to hear the fuel pump run for about a second or so, then shut off. It's the only sound coming from the rear of the car, so no problem recognising it. Doesn't check pressure, but would at least verify it's working on some level. Also, maybe slightly risky, but if you disconnect the fuel line coming in to the fuel filter without relieving the pressure, and fuel shoots out, the fuel pump is probably ok. Keep a rag handy and don't let the fuel hit you in the eye or anything that's hot.

Holmes is right about the location, and there is (probably) a white set and a green set there, should be easy to find.