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HELP! engine dies under load!:(


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90 legacy 2.2...

 

engine starts pretty well... as soon as you put your foot on the gas, it revs to about 15-1700 then tries to die.. after a while it doesnt even try to rev..

 

keep trying for a few minutes and it wont even start...

 

i left it for a few minutes again and it will now start...but it just repeats the above procedure..

 

drove it out of the garage now it wont go back in!... its gonna roll down the slope!:-\

 

Help please!

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90 legacy 2.2...

 

engine starts pretty well... as soon as you put your foot on the gas, it revs to about 15-1700 then tries to die.. after a while it doesnt even try to rev..

 

keep trying for a few minutes and it wont even start...

 

i left it for a few minutes again and it will now start...but it just repeats the above procedure..

 

drove it out of the garage now it wont go back in!... its gonna roll down the slope!:-\

 

Help please!

Sounds like clasic case of fuel starvation to me. Check the fuel filter, and fuel pump. Are you getting a Check Engine Light (CEL)?

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I'm confused. Are you saying that you fixed the problem or you didn't?
i put the new filter and pump in...

 

bled the brakes, did a few other non engine things...

 

connected everything back up.. started her up... seemed fine... had one small hiccup, restarted, and then o.k. again... revved it briefly, seemed o.k....

 

rolled it forward out of the garage to re-park it more "centrally"... tried to reverse and it wont move itself under load.. i.e. exhibiting the problems in my first post.. havent attempted any fixes yet...

 

any other ideas?!... where should id go from here? should i test the filter and/or pump?!... how?.. or just put some new petrol in?!..

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I agree with the previous resonses about the problem seeming a lot like fuel starvation, but I suppose you would also do well to make sure that the ignition is firing properly. The coil can break down under load and/or temperature.

 

As far as checking the fuel system goes, you'd want to measure the fuel system pressure with a meter to see if it maintains spec. and you could disconnect the fuel line and briefly turn on the ignition to pump a small amount of fuel into a jar to examine it for water and/or contaminants.

 

A little history might be valuable. How did the problem develop?

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The spark plugs might have something to do with it. Pull out the spark plugs and see if they're covered in black tar-like crap. If they're all cruddy, replace them. If not, you've probably got some problems somewhere else. If you can't think of anything else that could be wrong with it, do not, I repeat, DO NOT attempt to play doctor with your car... take it to a professional mechanic who actually knows what he/she is doing. If you try to jack around in your engine, you might foul something else up and it would cost even more money to fix than if you took it to a pro in the first place.

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I always look at what I worked on and what is nearby. You could have installed the fuel filter backwards or it could be defective or the hose crimped. The fuel pump could be defective or have a blocked pickup or a crimp or bad connection.

you could have knocked off a critical wire or hose.

The bad part is that I have had something completely unrelated go bad on the test run. 99% of the time though it was me.

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ARRGH!

 

update..

 

put some more fuel in it..

 

disconnected the fueline to the injectors etc...

 

put hose on it going into a jar.. turned on the ignition 4-5 times.. can hear the pump going..

 

barely a dribble if that coming out.. it should shoot across the room, no?! or fill the small jar pretty quick..

 

if the pumps working properly, and i followed the direction written on the filter to install it the correct way round.. whats happened?..

 

crap in the bottom of the tank clogging the filter? just a bad filter?...

 

im assuming the filters clogged and will try and replace it tomorrow...more money:(

 

it did work fine and revved fine for about 10 mins... switched off... came back 5 mins later, then all the trouble...

 

again.. arrgh!

 

thanks for all your help so far...

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ARRGH!

Aye Matey! Avhast ye scurvey dog, swap the poop-deck!

 

Aye, before ye replaceth the filter, dissconnect the line going to the input of the filter (coming from the pump) and do the jar test again. Worketh your way from one end to the other.

 

You didn't answer the question about the initial developement of the problem. Thee vital clue is very likely in there.

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I think you might want to have a look at the fuel pump,

. Either the hose between the fuel pump and the fuel pump/sender bracket has come apart or the new pump has packed it in

As far as the filter if its an OEM it says In and out on the top can't really go wrong there

 

SEA#3

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and hook it to a tube to a container. Then turn on the ignition. If it comeout its the filter. I agree one should not be able to screw up a fuel filter but I've seen it done. If it has a check valve (I don't know if Subies use this) it will only flow one way. I have seen fuel pumps installed backwads too that were pumping into the tank. I saw a London cab that came from the factory with the inlet and outlet hose reversed. Ran fine until the first two gallons were used up. I have seen a fuel pump wired backwards when the guy had to cut the wires to do it.

All sorts of interesting things can be done to a pickup and hoses can collapse or kink.

It would certainly be easier if we could see it.

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fixed it!:)

 

seems to be a slightly kinked fuel line and the filter... rerouted the fuel line with a new piece and installed another fuel filter...

 

everythings good now...

 

thanks for your help and suggestions everyone, much appreciated..

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