I got a 1990 subaru loyale thats having problems what I believe is the fuel system. The engine would turn over but would almost never start. I replaced the gas filter today and the engine starts right up but unless I keep giving it gas, it will stall. The engine sounds a little rough and the exhaust looks pretty bad. I dont know anything about cars but if someone could give me any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it, Thanks.

does the car run ok once it has warmed up? try checking the coolant temp sensor for the ecu, its on the thermostat housing, it has 2 wires and a green plug. sometimes corroded terminals will make it act up, so clean them up good and see if that helps.

 

also try checking the engine codes following the procedure described in USRM http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/article.php?c=1 in the miscellaneous section

warm or cold the car runs in the same condition. I also replaced the spark plugs and airfilter and still no luck. It's when I changed the gass filter that the engine would actially start but the second I dont keep it revved it stallls. On top of the rough sounding idle the exhaust smells heavy of gasoline. I just put heat in the tank so it cant be water in the tank. Does this help descibe it better?

Make sure any vacuum lines didnt come loose when you were working on it. Also get a new PCV valve from the dealer, its one thing that most of us overlook.

Check for vacuum leaks on intake system (such as intake manifold gasket). Use a hose and listening against ears for hissing sound...Might be a stuck open EGR valve. Locate it and push with thumb to see if the diaphram can be pushed in...

 

See.

 

http://hostingprod.com/@aa1car.com/library/vacleak.htm

did it run before? were you the last one to work on it before the filter? check plug, wires, and fuel. could be bad gas, bad timing or arcing wires. also try to raise teh idle. if none of these are the culprit. compression test is what i would recomend next.

 

Joe

Check the Idle Air Control Valve and see if it is gummed up, that is quick and easy. Also, after it is warmed up, check the timing and all other settings. The spark plugs could also be fouled, check them and the cap/rotor.

Does anyone else have any ideas??

Did you try any of the above ideas?

tonights the last night i can really work on it so im gonna try those ideas but i want to see what other people thought and maybe they know something i heavnt tried

UPDATE: Car starts up easliy on the first try and runs for about 10 minutes then stalls itself. The car starts up again easily up if i dont keep the rpms up (roughly around a thousand) the cars stalls. This should narrow the problem down to a more specific thing I can check. I will be working through the night and will frequently check back for replies. Thanks again for all that have given their time to give advice.

Is the car carbed or FI? Either way, get a can of Carb Cleaner. Start the engine, remove the air cleaner/intake plenum, give it some rpm's and spray liberaly down the carb. Almost to the point of stalling it. This might clean out any garbage that got past the fuel filter.

it's FI and yes I'm still accepting helpful advice