trevize1138 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 My '97 OBS gets driven about once a week in the summer now if that. It's got about 127,000 miles on it. In the last month or so I've noticed a rather annoying hesitation before the engine's warmed up but only after it's been sitting for a week or more. If I drive it the next day and the day after that there's no hesitation at warmup or after it's warmed up. Is this just gunk settling in the fuel from sitting that gets blasted out after a few miles of driving? Maybe I need new plugs and wires? Injector cleaner? I've searched the archives and come across people talking about a coolant temp sensor, I believe. Apparently that's a cheap and easy DIY fix like plugs and wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevize1138 Posted April 29, 2006 Author Share Posted April 29, 2006 bump =) Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 My '97 OBS gets driven about once a week in the summer now if that. It's got about 127,000 miles on it. In the last month or so I've noticed a rather annoying hesitation before the engine's warmed up but only after it's been sitting for a week or more. If I drive it the next day and the day after that there's no hesitation at warmup or after it's warmed up. Is this just gunk settling in the fuel from sitting that gets blasted out after a few miles of driving? Maybe I need new plugs and wires? Injector cleaner? I've searched the archives and come across people talking about a coolant temp sensor, I believe. Apparently that's a cheap and easy DIY fix like plugs and wires. If it was the coolant temp sensor, you would have the problem at each start up and not only after the car has been sitting for a week. The fact that it only shows up after a week makes me think that it's fuel related. Starting from here, it's all speculations. In a week's time, the fuel can drain from the fuel lines and if you have a dirty fuel filter or weak pump, maybe it takes a little time for the pressure to get back to normal. I would begin by replacing the fuel filter if this has not been done for a while. If it does'nt work, test the fuel pressure at start up after a week. If fuel pressure is OK., then hope for more expert help which you are sure to get here if you're patient enough. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 After thinking this one over for a couple days, one thing springs to mind that would change with your vehicle as it sat for some time ...is the saturation level of the evap canister, but I can't see how that could have any effect on a hesitation tho. Another possibility might be some sort of vacuum leak in/or around the intake manifold or one of the vacuum lines. Possibly the leak swells shut when driven to fully saturation hot, then "retracts" over the course of several days of inactivity? I dunno. **** ******! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I suppose you could carefully crack open the fuel system to relieve some pressure, reconnect everything, then see if the car has the same symptom starting as when it sits for a week. I dunno Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 SOmething else to look at is the ignition cables. ONce the engine warms up, all the moisture from the car being parked is dried off, and it will run fine. Is this car parked in a garage or outside? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christmas22 Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I am not an expert by any means but I have found when my car does that adding some dry gas helps a bit. If my car sits for a while it tends to hesitate when I start it up and get going, the dry gas seem to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevize1138 Posted May 1, 2006 Author Share Posted May 1, 2006 SOmething else to look at is the ignition cables. ONce the engine warms up, all the moisture from the car being parked is dried off, and it will run fine. Is this car parked in a garage or outside? nipper I'm thinking this is where the issue is. I currently do park this car outside. The newer Legacy and the classic car get the garage. Yesterday I drove it after it had been sitting for a couple days. It's been raining here for several days and I go the bad hesitation again in the morning for the first couple of miles. I did some troubleshooting and narrowed down what I'm experiencing: * It will hesitate if I floor it. Push the gas pedal 1/2 or 3/4 of the way and accelerate at a moderate rate and it drives just fine. * Again, after initial problems for the first mile or so in the morning the car ran just fine rest of the day. * No CEL (just to keep you guys on your toes). Last time this happened the car had been sitting for a while, but I drove it immediately to the car wash two blocks away for a cleaning, vacuum and interior wipe-down. It was a sunny day, but after sitting for a few minutes after the car wash while I vacuumed it had the same hesitation. So, that and yesterday's rainy day experience seem to suggest a moisture factor. But, the hesitation happening at full throttle suggests a fuel delivery problem ... so ... anybody recommend some injector cleaner? I heard the label "Seaform" or something to that effect mentioned. Would it hurt to try that? If so, we'll see the results and if that doesn't do it move on to the next culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 no cleaner, you need ignition wires. The spark is not getting delivered to the plugs under the highest load. There is a reason what ignition coils are at such a high voltage, its to jump the gap at in a dense atmosphere. Highest spark load is Wide Open Throttle. If it was an injector probelm you would throw some codes and it would happen all the time. Once the car is all warmed up and a happy camper, spray the ignition wires with water, a spray bottle or hose, bet you will repproduce the condition. This is most fun at night as if it is really bad you can see a lightning storm under the hood. Use OE wires. Wires don't last for ever, and can start to fail after 100K miles (or as low as 60k). nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevize1138 Posted May 2, 2006 Author Share Posted May 2, 2006 Cool! So, I just replaced the plug wires on my '72 Ghia and it was as simple as yank the old wire, plug in new wire (one at a time so you don't mix it up at the distributor, of course). Just as simple with the Subaru? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Just as simple with the Subaru? yes, as long as you use OEM Subaru wires. don't use anything else, with the exception of magnecor but most people don't need those. i have them in all of mine. but no matter, these motors are very sensitive to having good tight fitting wires around those deep spark plug holes. i've seen brand new wires from the auto parts store cause CEL - "cylinder #1 misfire" immediately after installation. if you get the right wires and install them carefully it's easy. unplug the old, plug in the new. EDIT - 1997 does not have hydraulic lifters so no issue there. (they can be noisey after setting awhile, but yours doesn't have them, 1996 was the last year the 2.2 had them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevize1138 Posted May 2, 2006 Author Share Posted May 2, 2006 yes, as long as you use OEM Subaru wires. don't use anything else, with the exception of magnecor but most people don't need those. i have them in all of mine. but no matter, these motors are very sensitive to having good tight fitting wires around those deep spark plug holes. i've seen brand new wires from the auto parts store cause CEL - "cylinder #1 misfire" immediately after installation. if you get the right wires and install them carefully it's easy. unplug the old, plug in the new. EDIT - 1997 does not have hydraulic lifters so no issue there. (they can be noisey after setting awhile, but yours doesn't have them, 1996 was the last year the 2.2 had them). I just did a quick search at autozone.com and there are three brands. The first two are Duralast and Bosch. Are either of those OEM or is there a better place to go for OEM wires? Got a good link for Subaru parts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Buy the OEM wires from a subaru dealership only. or magnecor. anything else is hit or miss. There are online retailers here on the site. subiegal can hook you up, search for her info she'll mail you a set. there's also 1stsubaruparts.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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