bruvan Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Ok, I just picked up a 98 Legacy GT sedan, I LOVE THE CAR, but it does need some work, First off the gas gauge don't work, the check engine light is on, the guy i bought it from said it will overheat from time to time... etc But for the price, i couldn't pass it up, cause i have always wanted one!!! Also, How do i get it from FWD to AWD? lol Any help with some of these problems would be great, Thanks Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Welcome to the Subie club with your new car! How much do you know about Subies? Your 98 engine is prone to blowing a head gasket to cause over heating. I hope that is not your case, and that the car has not been driven while the engine was over heating. That is very bad for aluminum alloy engines. The car is designed to run in AWD all the time. If there has been an issue, maybe the previous owner realized this, and inserted a fuse in the holder on the firewall under the hood. The fuse holder is located on the passenger side and is marked "FWD." If so, pull the fuse, and see how it drives in AWD. If it drives "wonky," then that will need to be addressed. Others here will chime in on that issue. Hope your new car performs well with some TLC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruvan Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 This will be my first subie, so i don't know much about them... Ya, i hope it's not the head gasket too, I did see that there is a fuse in the FWD under the hood, maybe it was put there to save on gas, idk.. i'll have to check it, ive drove it a few miles and it hasn't overheated on me yet, so idk. I would like to get the gas gauge working though, going by miles would be a pain. Thanks for the help, so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 People don't put a fuse in the fwd fuse holder to save on gas. The amount saved on gas would be eaten up by the transmission replacementas a result Either the previous owner or their mechanic thought the fuse was missing in there so they put it in. Or the tranny is toasted and it had torque bind This is fixable but can be pricey. This is a great car but with high problems of head gasket failure which is why they are seemingly being sold so cheap Let us know what you find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Welcome aboard, bruvan! Hope you're lucky with the head gaskets. Keep a sharp eye on the temp gauge and check your coolant overflow tank regularly, at least for the first few months. Pull the FWD fuse and test for torque bind--crank your steering wheel hard to one side and let the car idle itself forward, if it hops or "judders" you've got it. Try the same test to the other side and in reverse too. By the way, the FWD trick does not save any gas and will probably shorten the life of the control solenoid. As far as the fuel gauge, get used to it--it's a Subaru quirk! You can pull the fuel pump/sender unit, both sides, and clean the contacts but that's no guarantee. Get used to resetting the trip meter when you fill up. Get familiar with the "search" function here on USMB. This place is an absolute encyclopedia of anything you need to know about your car. Good luck and happy driving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Don't want to be a wet blanket but it sounds like you are going to have your hands full for the next few weeks. I am willing to bet you already have an external leak on your head gaskets. Like stated before, either the guy was an idiot and thought the car needed a fuse there or you have some torque bind issues. I believe the main cause of the bind is the duty c solenoid. I would go to a large empty parking lot, take out the fuse and drive in circles. You will know pretty quickly if you have the bind or not. Take your car to the local auto parts store and have them pull your check engine codes and write them down. Bring them back here and post the codes and we will give you an idea on what to fix. Welcome aboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruvan Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Wow, thanks so much already guys! I stopped and got gas, so i figured i would pull the fuse, i didn't notice any difference, but i just might not be sure of what "torque bind" is. I haven;t noticed any leaking yet, but what i have noticed is then when i start to take off, its real sluggish till around 25-30mph, then it's fine, but other then that, i haven't noticed it heating up at all and i just drove it nonstop for about 30 min. The check engine light is on, so i'll take it to autozone tonight and get the codes. Thanks a bunch everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruvan Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 (edited) Well, i just got back from autozone and here are the codes 463 170 440 400 325 301-304 ( all four cylinders ) 9 codes in all It still didn't overheat at all though and that was a good 40 mile trip... It was still sluggish off the start though until it seemed to "warm up" for about 10 seconds.... Edited August 7, 2009 by bruvan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I would start by going to the dealership and buying some plugs and wires and changing those out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruvan Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 Just picked up the plugs today and i ordered the wires for it, I'm doing the plugs now, talk about a pain in the butt place for them lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruvan Posted August 9, 2009 Author Share Posted August 9, 2009 Well after changing the plugs and air filter, it don't seem like it helped a bit... It still starts out very sluggish. Im at a point where idk what to do. The motor has 163,000 miles on it and i hate to keep adding money into something that is never going to run as it should. I paid 1000 for the car and it's the GT limited, the interior is mint, power everything and leather. The body is in good shape, but im starting to think that the motor is beyond help. I do love the car and how it looks, but is it worth my time and money to swap the motor out? I can get one with less then 30,000 miles on it for about 900 bucks. Is it a hard swap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 What about the plug wires? Sounds like the PO didn't pay much attention to the engine. But give it a chance before you condemn it outright. You don't know for sure that it's "beyond help" anymore than you know the actual condition of the $900 engine. The trouble codes are trying to tell you a lot--get a Haynes manual or start researching online. Search here on USMB. And of course, keep praying that the head gaskets are okay! Don't panic and give up. Put a little reasoned effort into the engine before you throw in the towel. Good luck and keep asking questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Check the link for location and insure none of the 3 test connectors are connected. You never know. Also includes a list of what the trouble codes indicate. http://www.troublecodes.net/Subaru/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Just looked at all your codes and all seem to point to a lean fuel condition. If you just want to throw some parts at the problem, start with a new fuel filter and air filter. Clean the A/F meter. Find out what is wrong with the EGR valve. A used A/F meter and EGR at a pull-a-part yard will probably set you back $15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 463 Fuel Level Sensor "A" Circuit High 170 Fuel Trim 440 Evaporative Emission System 400 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow 325 Knock Sensor 1 Circuit 301-304 ( all four cylinders ) These are misfire codes for each cylinder 1-4 respectively. All these could be related to a vacuum leak. But all of this stuff needs to be check out individually as well. The Fuel level sensor can be pushed off for a while, its not gonna make the car run bad. Remove the EGR valve and clean the ports. It could be stuck open and causing trouble. The knock sensor might be bad, or the wiring might be pinched or cut somewhere. The Evap code could be because of a loose fuel cap. Or it might be a split in the lines for the vapor canister. The Fuel Trim could be any number of things. But once you get the rest of this stuff straightened out I'm betting that will just go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Well after changing the plugs and air filter, it don't seem like it helped a bit... It still starts out very sluggish. Im at a point where idk what to do. The motor has 163,000 miles on it and i hate to keep adding money into something that is never going to run as it should. I paid 1000 for the car and it's the GT limited, the interior is mint, power everything and leather. The body is in good shape, but im starting to think that the motor is beyond help. I do love the car and how it looks, but is it worth my time and money to swap the motor out? I can get one with less then 30,000 miles on it for about 900 bucks. Is it a hard swap? These cars (like most cars) have ECU's that adapt and remember to sensor input conditions. The sluggishness you feel is due primarily to a retarded ignition timing condition that the ECU sends when knock is detected. The knock is caused by plugs, wires, fuel flow, etc. and must be corrected before the sluggishness will abate. It will take several cycles with all inputs being correct before the ECU will believe all repairs and maintenance have been done correctly. (Cycles as in aircraft takeoff/landings.) It takes time and study MUCH more than money. All required info is on this board. Like everyone said, plug wires, fuel filter, to start. A $40 code reader from harbor freight will let you do it at home. That said, I do not know if torque bind conditions affect ECU. A separate TCU is largely responsible for tranny/AWD operations. Additional torque load on teh engine caused by a failing tranny could cause knocking and subsequent ignition retard, but that would be a pretty severe case and you would feel other symptoms like in the above mentioned torque bind test. Have you done that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Your poor running motor isn't because the motor is bad or old, it just has a minor problem that needs to be tracked down. First - are you sure the engine is making it slow and not the transmission? it's running and shifting fine through gears? The first step should be to clear those codes (they probably did?) and check it immediately when the CEL comes back on. See which one comes back first. If it's all of them, drive it into the nearest brush and leave it. If the guy said it was overheating, I'm sure he didn't make that up. Coupled wiht the fact that these motors do just that at the onset of headgasket issues - overheat randomly and rarely - you likely have a headgasket issue. Of course you'd like to check the radiator out and replace the thermostat, but with the frequency of head gasket issues on this motor it's hard to ignore that. That being said - dumping $900 into another EJ25 is a horrendous idea. It could easily have head gasket issues in the next year - then you're really hosed. That $900 would be better spent repairing your existing engine if it really isn't overheating much. I don't know where youngsville is but if you were close i could possibly sell you an EJ25 with new headgaskets already installed for $1,000. Any EJ25 you end up with in the car needs to have new head gaskets. Or go with an EJ22 swap. Much cheaper and don't blow headgaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97LGT Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 my 97 legacy gt will start to get hot at stop lights or sitting in traffic. i turn the defrost on and it gets back in line(replacing t-stat tomorrow), if it continues to do it ill rip the heads the off and goto town. either way its no big deal to me. changed my plugs and knock sensor and wow what a difference. the plugs i took out looked as if they were installed at the factory. car runs so much smoother and pulls alot harder(went with ngk v-power instead of whatever the $13 ngk plug thats supposed to be used). also shes got 150xxx miles and the crappy automatic tranny. good luck with the car and let us know what the deal is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 this doesn't sound like you typical HG overheat. usually there is no heat coming through the heater when it over heats, because there an 'air lock' restricting water flow. t-stat, or maybe a plugged radiator.?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 i agree - that doesn't sound like headgaskets. more likely a radiator fan isn't coming on like it's supposed to. actually turning the defrost on might force one of the fans on which compensates for the other fan not turning on. anyway - let it start to get hot (not overheat/in the red) again at idle and see if the fans are kicking on. my bet is they are not. otherwise it still could be a clogged radiator or tstat issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Just a guess but if you are not the original owner I'd guess someone somewhere in the past dumped some Stop Leak or whatever in the radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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