92 loyale. It has a very hard time cold start. And if i can get it to start it spits, sputter and misses. I have to pump the pedal to try to get it up to 3,000 rpm and hold it there until its warmed up. If i cant get it up to 3,000 and it dies, i have to crank and crank and crank until it tries to fire up.after it warms up then it seems to run fine. Does this sound like an air idle control valve or something else? Is there a simple way to test it? Or take it apart and fix it?

Sounds more like CTS problem.

Coolant Temperature Sensor.  2 wire sensor on the lower thermostat housing.

It sounds like timing dose it run OK when warm try turning the distributer if it's loose that's the problem also the advance mechanisum might be stuck I think the temp sensor would only cause a problem when its warm

Yea it runs ok after it warms up. Ill check the distributor after im off work. But im sure its not loose. I did a head gasket not long ago. After that i think i had it running normal. But it sat for about a year, had to replace fuel pump and drain the tank. But this car has always had a little bit of a hard time cold starting. But this is much worse, now.

And i dont think its the temp sensor...

I just checked the distributor, and its not loose. How would I check the temp sensor? Like unplug it and see if it changes anything? Or jump the two wires?

This 2 will get you check engine codes. I have to check my FSM, there are a few ohm readings for different temperatures in there.

Sounds like the timing is a little off maybe the dissy is sticky from sitting the advance might be stuck if its stuck some wd40 should loosen it up I'm pretty sure the ea82 still uses vacume advance mechinisum but I just can't remember off the top of my head

No vacuum advance on a loyale. Contollred by the ECU.

Make a mark on the distributer for referance Rotate the distributer clockwise about 2-3° or 1\8" then try to start it repete till it starts good it takes a bit of work but its free and dosent need any tools other than a 10mm if it dosent turn if its all the way to the right you might have to pull the dissy and replace it a tooth off if that doesn't help put it back on your mark or if you have a timing light use it and set the timing you probably have other issues contributing to your no start issue I'm guessing some fuel system cleaner would help maybe replace the plugs  I still think timing is the root of your problem

But once it warms up it runs fine... i would think if it was timing that it would continue to run like sh*t hot or cold but i will try it

Tryed moving the dissy, and it run best in the spot i already had it.

I found a vacuum leak, what does this part do?

That is a soenoid. Probably the egr one. That vacuum leak will mess with it running correctly.

 

I use Toyota solenoids as they last ... well I never had to replace one yet. Since 1988.

Do you think i could just plug this leak for now? Or is that kinda important solenoid?

Plug it. It will run fine. You might not pass emmisions, but it won't hurt anything.

So plugging the leak made it run some what better, but i still have the original problem. Other ideas?

Only things I can think of off the top of my head would be the Idle Air Control Valve, Throttle Body Sensor, or something to do with the throttle plate. 

And i dont think its the temp sensor...

 

Why not?

It seems the most obvious culprit.

Check it by removing the connector and measuring its resistance.

You may find the connections corroded,maybe not.

Resistance should be 7000-11,500 ohms at 14 degrees or 2000-3000 at 68.

It should be somewhere within that range.

 

 

Easiest way to check the IAC is to unplug it w/the engine running.RPM should drop at least a little.

Normal running w/warm and a lack of trouble codes suggest it is OK.

Could be sticky w/cold though.

I didnt realize that the temp sensor does things for the motor. I thought it was only for the gauge. The gauge seems to be working fine. The check engine light has always been on for this car... at this point i think i need to figure out how to get it to tell me codes. It sounds like from what everyone is saying is that i have sensor problems. One or more.

Ok so if i didnt do this wrong(who knows if its possible, i can f*** it up) i got 3 codes.... 31 thottle sensor, 21 coolant temp sensor, and 24 air control valve. Im going to clear it and double check to see it those stay hard coded

So should i start replacing these sensors, or it there a way to fix the ones i have? I dont have a whole lot of money to just spend on this car right now.

NO!!!

It is probably a free fix.

Having THOSE 3 codes at the same time suggests a bad connectiion at the engine wiring harness connector to me.

Or maybe a bad ground connection for the ECU at the engine.

Unlikley all 3 would be bad at the same time.

I had something similar on my car w/the engine harness connector was slightly loose.

 

Measure the resistance of the coolant temperature sensor  to see if it ACTUALLY is bad.

It needs to be VERY bad to set a code.

 

You can measure resistance of the TPS and the IAC coils too.

See details in section 2-7 of the EA82 manual here

http://jdfinley.com/file-downloads/subaru-manuals/

The CTS tells the ECU what temperature the engine is at. It's the one with 2 wires. The sensor for the dash gauge is a one wire sensor. They are separate.

 

See what comes back when you clear it.

Check the connections and wiring in addition to the sensors. The FSM has testing details.

 

If a sensor is bad, it's pretty much done, unless it's a wire broken off kind of thing. Possibly some failures of the Throttle Position Sensor could be fixed.

What Naru and DaveT said. Clean all the connectors.  Check and clean the grounds.  Check the sensors according to the manual.

 

The "cheap" sensor in that lot is the CTS, and it is about $70, so don't just start spending money on it.