has 101k miles on it, and it's an auto....very clean. car belongs to a friend of mine, and he got it cheap because it occassionally stalls, or so the previous owner told him, and he was never able to fix it so he sold the car for $300...anyway, anyone have any clues at to what could be causing this so i can let him know??? car runs perfect then just, bam, it will shut off.....

More context needed. Does it die at idle, under cruise, or under power? Is the cut clean like the ignition was shut off, or does it taper off a bit like fuel starvation? Is the cut momentary or does it come back on, just causing a "buck"? If it isn't momentary, can the engine be immediately restarted, is it tough to start, or does it have to wait a certain time or until it cools? Any correlation to temperature, engine and/or air temp?

More context needed. Does it die at idle, under cruise, or under power? Is the cut clean like the ignition was shut off, or does it taper off a bit like fuel starvation? Is the cut momentary or does it come back on, just causing a "buck"? If it isn't momentary, can the engine be immediately restarted, is it tough to start, or does it have to wait a certain time or until it cools? Any correlation to temperature, engine and/or air temp?

 

well i don't know any specifics as of yet, he's only had the car far a few days. supposedly it would just bam, shut off, and it might take 10 mins or so, then it would restart and be like nothing happened. after it would shut off it would not immediately restart, no...i understand it's kind of a vague question but thought if someone had a similar problem with a similar car they might be able to get me headed in the right direction you know....

The turbos are a complex little beast, and the 86 was just the second year for them. If it takes a while before it restarts, it is probably not a clogged fuel filter... probably not fuel related per se. Sounds more electrical/electronic. During the "won't start" time, your friend should check for spark. If spark, it might be fuel pump related (relays, fuel pump itself). If no spark, it could be coil, distributor module or ignitor (fancy name for transistor). Factory coils don't fail too often, but some aftermarket coils seem to have a high failure rate. The ignitor is mounted to the coil bracket and is grounded through the coil bracket; common problem is a bad/iffy ground.

 

Lots of other possibilities.

Another thing that is good to check is the coolant thermosensor. I know they can keep a car from starting, not sure about stalling out. This post has a nice picture of where it is: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=40589#poststop

 

The connectors get green and fuzzy on these old cars and usually just need to be cleaned.

I was having a problem with my ecu connections make sure they are connected. Also check the fusable links in the engine compartment. Electrical problems are fun!!!

 

Good luck