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The car is a 1997 Legacy AWD 5-speed EJ22

 

The car was running perfect until last night, it starting lagging. It feels gutless and powerless before 2500 RPM's, after that it's like normal.

 

Thinking it may be my plugs, I replaced those. But not only did that not fix the issue, now my CEL is on. I haven't had a chance to read it yet

 

Any ideas on this?

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How many miles? Last time the timing belt was changed?

Could be vacuum leak, loose hoses, jumped timing, the codes from the CEL could reveal a clue.

 

Check cam timing alignment, make sure the belt is not loose. Make sure the plug wires are tight on the spark plugs (can be difficult some times to get them seated all the way) intake tube clamps are tight and the air box thing is securely closed. Take a good look at all the vacuum hoses and make sure they're in their proper places, the diagram on the bottom of the hood should help.

If all that checks out, (and the timing has not jumped, 97 is an interference engine so if the timing is off don't drive it) then limp it to Advance/Zone and get the codes read.

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Often when a Subaru suddenly runs like crap and no miss, cat converted glowing red, and no codes it seems to be knock sensor.

 

Look to see if it's cracked. Often a knock sensor atleast at the start will only perform bad when damp. So rainy days until the engine gets warmed up and dried out it'll just be gutless.

 

You can often cause this at will by taking a spray bottle and getting the knock sensor wet. If you see any cracks on it when looking at it replace it.

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It's got a 168k miles. And the timing belt was done roughly 20k ago.

 

I thought that 1997 and later were interference motors, but wasn't my car made in 1996 (for the 97 model year) making it a non-interference engine?

 

And where will the OBD port be on this car?

Edited by brysawn
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The code was for the MAF - the reason being; when I put my new plugs in on the passenger side, I unplugged the sensor to take out the air intake tube.

 

But the lagging issue was due to my plugs, because I have my new ones in and its running perfect again. But the old ones were white at the bottom, so that means its running a little lean, right?

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