I have a '91 Legacy and it has been the greatest car ever! Until a few months ago when it suddenly lost power going up a steep hill in 4th gear. It didn't do it again for month then began to do it more frequently. It still only does it every couple of weeks. It's been to 3 mechanics and they all said different things. The first was I don't know, 2nd said could be a vacuum prob, and the 3rd was a Subaru dealership that suggested the O2 sensor, canister purge control valve, and the catallitic converter which would all cost more than the car is worth. It has 186k miles on it but I'm not reday to part with it and I live in the mtns of NC so, not going up-hill is not an option! Any suggestions?

watch your egine rpm versus speed-if rpm climbs and speed is constant this is the first sign Mr. Clutch is headed for the graveyard. If will get worse quickly, don't delay getting it replaced if that is indeed the problem(I have done mine twice).

 

 

186K on a 91 Legacy? Lots of life left, mine has 248K and still running strong, does not use any oil.....

 

Let us know what you find out

I have a '91 Legacy and it has been the greatest car ever! Until a few months ago when it suddenly lost power going up a steep hill in 4th gear. It didn't do it again for month then began to do it more frequently. It still only does it every couple of weeks. It's been to 3 mechanics and they all said different things. The first was I don't know, 2nd said could be a vacuum prob, and the 3rd was a Subaru dealership that suggested the O2 sensor, canister purge control valve, and the catallitic converter which would all cost more than the car is worth. It has 186k miles on it but I'm not reday to part with it and I live in the mtns of NC so, not going up-hill is not an option! Any suggestions?

 

If its less likely to happen when stone cold - maybe cat. I think there are tests for it using the O2 sensor bung holes. Also, possible fuel pressure regulator I think. You could try the 'tree trunk test'. Pu tthe front bumper against a tree trunk, shift to 5th, dump the clutch (at idle). Engine should stall immediately. If no, bad clutch.

 

Carl

I'd recommend the basics, just to rule them out, filters, plugs, etc. Fuel filter would be one of the things I'd suspicious about.

 

Can you be a little more detailed about what exactly the car is doing. Does it only happen on hills? Does the engine cut out completely, or does it feel like it's just losing power.

 

Is it an AT or MT?

I hate to say this, but it sounds like a tranny problem. Drove a car just like that yesterday. See if you can feel the transmission grab a bit or delay a bit when shifting up...test it on a really steep hill, fully warmed up. If its okay in lower gears, I really doubt its an engine problem. These trannies seem to crap out around 180K. I've heard exceptions of course. Good luck. You might have a compression test run on the engine. If it is okay, a used transmission might be an affordable option. The engines on those cars last a long time.

Thanks for the feed back. To be more specific, it only does it on steep hills. I can downshift into 4th or 3rd and it sometimes recovers, but the last time I had to pull over it was making lots of noise, almost crunching (the tranny was replaced about 2.5 yrs ago. MT by the way) also, when I lose speed, the RPM's drop...and when I came to a stop it was shaking so I turned it off and waited a minute. It started right back up as if nothing was wrong and I went on up the hill. I've started looking for its replacement, so if you know anyone in western NC, northeast TN, or southwestern VA that is selling please let me know. Thanks again!

I just can't see how a MT can affect the engine/ecu. The tranny is pretty much all mechanical.....

 

If you go up the hill in 3rd, does it still happen?

I don't see how either, but I saw it happen on one of the four recent attempts to replace my transmission

 

-- one of the four they tried had one fewer wire connection than my car has wires

 

-- so maybe just a bad connection on an existing wire could do the same thing.

 

-- it threw all kinds of engine codes; the other three transmissions didn't blinkenlight even once.

 

No explanation how. But it can happen.

So, I assume that you are going fast enough to get up these steep hills in such high gears. Anything less than 55mph in 5th gear is hopeless if want to even think about climbing a hill.

 

It sounds like fuel delivery problem. You should replace the fuel filter - easy, cheap - and run a fuel system cleaner with a tankfull of gas.

I don't see how either, but I saw it happen on one of the four recent attempts to replace my transmission

 

-- one of the four they tried had one fewer wire connection than my car has wires

 

-- so maybe just a bad connection on an existing wire could do the same thing.

 

-- it threw all kinds of engine codes; the other three transmissions didn't blinkenlight even once.

 

No explanation how. But it can happen.

 

you're talking about an auto transmission correct?

 

The manual tranny has two electrical inputs. Neutral switch & reverse lights. Neither of them will cause those issues.