I recently posted another thread about how I changed out the intake manifold gaskets and then the motor would only run for about 4 or 5 seconds. That problem magically went away when I had it towed to the mechanic.......go figure. But the mechanic (which specializes in subaru) was clueless about the lack of power. (I am not impressed with this shop......."Roos Only" here in Denver)

 

OK, so now its running and the coolant leaks are gone but its basically running very very poorly. I adjusted the TPS according to haynes/chiltons specifications but the thing wont idle and the lag is horrible. I have readjusted and fixed that. But the lack of power still exists.........it now idles fine but if I give it full throttle it just bogs out to zero power. If I nurse the gas pedal I can get a little bit of power up to about 4000 RPM but any higher RPM's and the power is just gone. I have seen the turbo kick in a few times but its almost impossible to get enough exhaust going to activate the turbo.

 

I checked the firing order.....all is well. I double checked the fuel lines and evap lines.....all is well. All the electrical from the wiring harness is hooked up.

 

Please note that this is not just a performance issue.........it barely runs and I dont think I could get it past 40 MPH on the street.

 

Any ideas????????

 

Thanks,

Gregg

SOunds like the timing is off.

Before I changed out the intake manifold gaskets the car was running great. I never touched the timing.........but I will double check that tomorrow.

plugged catalytic converter? disconnect the downpipe from the rest of the exhaust under the car, see if it drives better opened up.

My neighbors are going to love me when I disconnect the exhaust system. Thats a good possibility.........I know that I had much coolant flowing through the exhaust for a short while........would that plug a catalytic converter?

it can definitely f them up. It won't be TOO loud to disconnect, youve still got some pipe before the turbo, and the turbo to muffle it a bit.

yeah, i've driven like that for days at a time between repairs

just keep the RPMs low and it's not too loud.

My check engine light came on and I found a code.

 

Its code #23 and from my manual seems to indicate an Airflow Meter issue. Now I am trying to test the Mass Airflow Meter but the chiltons/haynes manuals are not very informative.

 

The MAF connector is firmly attached.

 

Help!!! :-)

send me your email address to czaharris at comcast.net and i will send back the pertinent FSM pages for testing the MAF.

 

Also.. make sure the contacts are nice and clean.. soobs are real sensetive to having dirty contacts on their sensors.

did it get dirty while you had it removed? mafs must be clean to work properly. not just the contacts but the element. you can shoot some carb spray thru the sensor to clean it off.

Go figure........I replace the intake manifold gaskets and never even touch the MAF........and in the course of all this the MAF goes bad. I picked up a MAF at a junkyard for $14 and it resolved the major problem.

 

The only problem left is that it is running slightly rough until the turbo kicks in. I figure there is some carbon fouling that will burn off in due time.

 

YAHOO!!! My RX is back to being street worthy.

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Gregg