Have a 97 Legacy Postal.

Starts, runs, idles, and revs smooth as can be.

Head down the road and after about a half mile it sputters, bucks, and quits.

Cranks, tries to restart, sometimes it does, but then immediatly dies again.

Drag it home, after it has set for awhile, it starts and idles fine again.

I replaced fuel filter, but that wasn't it.

For some reason, this one has a computer that resets itself when the key is shut off.

Last winter this happened once or twice, but it did restart and I was able to make it home.

Pretty much parked it for the laast few months and started to try and make it run again.

170,000 miles, and I don't know much about its prior history.

We have had it almost a year, and it ran flawlessly for 6 months, but now this.

just looking for where to start..........

Are you getting a code? It sounds like it could be the coil pact, very easy to check with a Haynes manual and meter. Or just get one at the junk yard and try it. If it dont fix it you will need it soon enough.

 

I also have a 97 postal wagon and I am now on my third coil pact. However my wagon has 423,000 miles. The first one that went out was doing like yours, the second one just had a cyclinder misfire code.

 

One other thing to check would be the fuel pump.

Edited April 5, 201015 yr by tcspeer

 

I also have a 97 postal wagon and I am now on my third coil pact. However my wagon has 423,000 miles. The first one that went out was doing like yours, the second one just had a cyclinder misfire code.

 

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don't mean to hijack the thread, but 423,000 miles! Has that engine ever been opened up?

Eppoh, I will P.M. you.

Edited April 6, 201015 yr by tcspeer

Coil pack sounds like an easy sensible thing to try.

I have a good parts car out back, first day it isn't raining I will swap them out and give it a try.

 

Thanks!

I had that problem on my 98 OBS 2.2 this winter. Get your code read!

 

I bought an OBD2 scanner because I would not have made it to a place to scan it

 

The code said it was the MAF sensor low signal.

 

Dealer list is up to $390 so I bought a used one on Ebay to see if that really was the problem, only $22 including shipping. Takes 5-10 mins. to swap out.

 

Problem solved! But since I now had an older used part I decided to get a back-up to carry in the car, again from Ebay, only $17 shipped! It also works.

 

Then I got the third one last week, $1.25 plus $5 shipping. Total cost for 3 working MAF sensors $45.25, price for peace of mind, priceless!

 

If your other car has the MAF you may be all set.

Edited April 7, 201015 yr by Bad Brian

Tried the coil pack this weekend and that seems to have done the trick, drove it about 10 miles with the wife following me in the truck, just in case, and had no problems.

 

Who would have thought a coil pack is only good for 180,000 miles!

 

Thanks!