Just bought my neighbors 97 Legacy station wagon with a decent body and interior...power options all work as they should,auto tranny and AWD()...270,000 miles on it. Main reason he sold it was beacuse it starts but engine would only run if your foot was on the gas pedal.Once you take your foot off the pedal,engine dies.He had changed the spark plugs thinking it would fix the problem(as advised by his mechanic).Trying to see if it is a cheap fix or should I just go ahead and swap engines?Trying to make this my reguar winter ride.Any help would be appreciated.Thanks.

Edited October 1, 201114 yr by soobydoo
corrections

Just bought my neighbors 97 Legacy station wagon with a decent body and interior...power options all work as they should,auto tranny and AWD()...270,000 miles on it. Main reason he sold it was beacuse it starts but engine would only run if your foot was on the gas pedal.Once you take your foot off the pedal,engine dies.He had changed the spark plugs thinking it would fix the problem(as advised by his mechanic).Trying to see if it is a cheap fix or should I just go ahead and swap engines?Trying to make this my reguar winter ride.Any help would be apreciated.Thanks.

 

first look for the Check Engine Light, if it is on have the code read and it will point oyu in the right direction.

 

but it sounds like you have a vac hose disconnected. check all the hoses/ vac lines under the hood. especially under the black plastic air intake tube that runs from the air filter box to the throttle body.

 

there is a large, black tube / hose that connects the air intake to the pcv. it has a larger diameter than your thumb. it is easy to knock off when changing the air filter or plugs and is very hard to see.

 

i hope this is your problem, it is an easy fix, but i would have thought a decent mechanic would have caught it.

 

good luck and let us know what you find.

Thanks a lot,will do when I get back in 10 days.

There are really only Two reasons to replace an engine in a Subaru.

1. It's about to throw a rod.

2. It threw a rod.

 

It won't run unless you hold the gas pedal down isn't a reason to replace the whole engine.

 

You basically need good tune-up. Filters, plugs, wires, vacuum hoses, and clean the idle control valve.

As John said, a CEL will indicate the ECU has detected an issue and can lead you in the right direction. You can get that scanned for free at most any auto parts store. Even if the light is not on, check for operation of the light during the bulb test by turning the key ON.