Hey all posting for a friend, he's not one of us YET! Heres what he says

Its a 90 legacy wagon

 

Maybe you can help me diagnose this problem with the legacy. Starts

perfect but soon idle fluctuates some, then dies. If I am fast I can put

it into gear, then punch it through a gear or two then it loses power

and eventually stalls out. Each time I can restart the engine right

away, and the symptoms start again. I have replaced the fuel filter, and

I have cleaned the MAF with alcohol. [it did not look a bit dirty, but I

cleaned it anyway.]

 

Also I get a smell,,,,,,not sure what it is,,,,,like

emissions,,,,similar to catalytic converter smell???? That only smells

when I rev the motor a few seconds before it loses power and dies.

 

If you have any ideas please, please let me know because we are in a

great bind with this car down.

 

And I said.... Hey Bill, Gregg here, never had that happen to me but, it sounds like it

could be the fuel pump, there are not alot of things that can cause this

type of trouble. You have covered 2 of the likely issues with the MAF and

filter,the MAF failing can cause your problem they don't fail often but can

cause weird issues, check all of the hoses that run to the intake for

break/leakage as unmetered air can cause trouble, , the smell is a new one

to me????? Sorry to hear bout Subaru troubles, I will post your letter on

USMB and see what the masses have to say, good luck Gregg

 

 

Lets help him outa this great bind, thanks..........G

actually - just had a MAF failure on my 1990 legacy - I also thought it was a fuel delivery issue at first, but it was not

Car did not throw a CEL for quite a while after this issue started either - but it did finally, which led me to the MAF

 

simple check for fuel pump (located on passenger side, behind rear seat back, under carpeting - oval shaped access plate)

1. Make sure it is getting power - large colored wire on the plug (i think it is blue w/yellow stripe) - will need two people for this one - one to use the meter, one to crank engine over.

 

2. a simple, inline fuel pressure guage will verify fuel pressure is sufficient - it MUST be an inline type tho - Harbor Freight sells on that works fine for this. I installed between fuel filter and hard lines on the motor.

Fuel pressure should be between 26-30 psi

 

if both of those check out good - i would seriously look into the MAF.

 

If you check my thread about it (air flow sensor problem?) you will see the testing procedures used to verify proper operation.

I can also get you more info if you need it as i have a FSM for this year.

Possibly you have a plugged catalytic converter?

thanks guys passing this info along.................G

just to ty this one up, it was the MAF, replaced with used one all is well, back to driving and smiling. Thanks to all, cheers.................G