I have a 97 Subaru Legacy and I can't figure out this problem. So every so often my engine shakes real bad and I lose all my power (barely gets up to 15mph) and when I turn my car off and start it up again it goes away. What could cause this? Someone please help

HI,

What have you done 'to figure it out' so far?

Tuneups?

Any recent maintenance or major work done?
Original 2.5 engine and trans?

Used the green diagnostics under the dash to check sensors?

Used an OBD2 Code Scanner to see if there are any stored codes? (Regardless of the CEL being on or not)

 

Let us know,

TD

Edited September 2, 20169 yr by wtdash

Took it to a mechanic and he said my computer is going out. Would that really cause my engine to shake that bad and lose power?

Also it didn't start doing this until I put a new battery in, idk if that makes a difference or not just thought it was odd

it isn't impossible for the ECU to fail, just extremely rare. They can be bought from junkyards, car-part.com, LKQ, maybe folks parting-out wrecks, etc.

 

you might consider posting in a new thread asking for a shop recommendation near your city - someone may know a good subaru mechanic where you could get a second diagnosis.

Also it didn't start doing this until I put a new battery in, idk if that makes a difference or not just thought it was odd

 

double check the battery connections - especially the ground connection. In fact, refreshing ALL ground connections would be a good idea on a 20 year old car.

 

Battery cables could be bad as well.

 

consider having the ECU scanned for trouble codes (usually free at a parts store) post any codes here.

Edited September 2, 20169 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

Thanks I'll go do that but would a bad ground wire really cause all that?

Yes....all the issues you stated can be attributed to a bad ECU, bad Grounds - on the car and to the Battery, etc.

Plus, a host of other things, but our feedback is only as good as the info provide.

Edited September 2, 20169 yr by wtdash