DaveT

the gauge on these are weird. I've had several over the years. Some gauges read normal at about mid scale, some read normal a little below 1/4 scale. Once I've cross checked with a real thermometer, I have found the dash gauge repeatable / trustable. But the calibration from car to car is all over the place. Yes, do the bubble check, then thermostat, then radiator. If the radiator is original, it probably won't last long anyway. My 93 came with the original radiator, and it sprung a leak not long ago. If it had been a CT car, it would have rotted out long ago, but it came from CA.

What was making it stick? Gunk build up or wearing / burr?

+1 to previous response. And read through the linked thread. Coolant system must be full of liquid, no air. Running these engines over normal temperature is not good for headgaskets. Running them over normal temperature while low on coolant damages headgaskets. Barely gets warm in winter - how do you mean this?

Yes the older ones sometimes had odd stuff. The blue with the male single pin could be the always on memory power feed.

Typically, the speaker wires are in pairs. One wire for each speaker terminal. Speakers do not usually return via ground. No center channel on these old things. One of my wagons had 4 speakers - that one, the radio had 6 wires. Left return was shared, front and back had separate hots. Radio had built in fader for front to rear.

I'd test the radio first. All of my oem radios got flaky a long while ago. I used the radio's connector to make an adapter between the new aftermarket radio I installed and the existing car harness. Sometimes Subaru wire colors don't match between the harness and the radio or other device.

To be sure, you need the year, and a FSM. I am most familiar with 86-93 wagons. I can guess a bit - the reds - one is likely power, the other lights. Black = GND Yellows = speakers Blue ? I've seen a single wire used for power antenna, or external amps, but the gender of the connector is wrong. Type of connector isn't what I've seen for that wire either.

How big is the file? Over 10mb won't go by email. I'll have to see if I still have my drop box account active. youtube works, if you have / set up an account. The description in the op could be CTS, or Idle air, or a few other things, or a combo. Jumpy idle I have experienced due to flaky CTS. Engine dying when the gas pedal is released, I have seen caused by IAC valve dead. But the car would run when I manually controlled the idle with the gas pedal. Going by theory, if the CTS is telling the ECU the engine is at one temp, say hot for example, and it's cold, it's going to be hard to start, and keep running, until at least some heat builds up. The pumping of the gas, well, it's not the same as carburetor engines. In carbs, there actually is a mechanical pump that squirts fuel down the throat when the gas pedal is pushed down. This is needed to keep the mix balanced - the air flow increases a lot faster than the fuel vapor. With out it, the engine stumbles until everything levels off again. In our SPFI, the ECU reacts to the pedal position, and signals the injector as needed, so no need for a pump. It's likely just holding the pedal down a good bit may have a similar effect. Also, something to note - in the event of the engine getting flooded [which I've had happen a few times since 1988] The method [it's part of the programming in the ECU] use to clear it is hold the pedal most of the way down, and crank. Take a break, and crank. Hope you have a good battery. And it will clear, and start firing, then finally catch and run normally.

Ohm meter. Either run the engine up to normal temp, and check the reading as it cools down, or remove it and use water in a small pot and stove, etc. The fsm has a little chart of temperature vs ohms. It should be steady, maybe drift, depending on which method you use, not jumping randomly. I don't have access to a fsm until tonigh.

I my early days of car repair, I discovered that silicon and other gasket maker stuff is dissolved slowly by fuel.

+1 . Wrong axle.

Another thing to check is the CTS .

Do be sure to check for a leak. It doesn't take a big one to cause that code to show up.

I've never seen carb gaskets outside of a rebuilding kit. Finding form a gasket that survives contact with fuel may be tough. I never found any. Try looking for blank gasket sheet, to cut your own, but it's hard to find it thin. Maybe try heavy paper for temporary?

Things to check: Condition of the radiator fins. Are they clean? are they all still attached to the tubes? Do the fan/s run? I do not have experience with this model. A thermostat could cause over normal temp, if it doesn't open as far as it should. Partially clogged [on the inside] radiator tubes could also. Was there any evidence of gunk or build up in the coolant you changed? In the overflow bottle? It wouldn't hurt to check for bubbles in the recovery bottle, just to rule out headgasket problems. This is done once the engine is up to normal operating temperature. There should NOT be a steady generation of bubbles in the overflow bottle. It could be a slow as 1 per minute, or continuous. I would be extremely careful about checking the coolant level until you find the cause of this problem.

I tried to find them in my FSM. No luck. Only that they are there, and the procedure. It's been way too long for me to remember. But there was a set of single circuit connectors - 1 pin Male, 1 Female. And a second set. The mating sets are the same color. When you find them, one set will be mated, and the other not. I think the 4 wires came out of the harness together, so that's a hint. You have to remove the plastic under dash cover. [i always ended up removing them, and never putting them back on] The connectors were somewhere near the fuse block. Not too far up under the dash.

Could it be that the existing booster is just not working?

If it's like my 86 wagon, there are 2 pairs of single connectors under the dash. You unook one, connect the other. It's just a switch on the odometer to remind you to check / clean the egr valve.

Never heard of an oil charge canister. No, test the CTS with an ohmeter and thermometer. The FSM shows a handfull of temperatures and resistance readings.

CTS could do that. Easy to test at least.

If it were mine..... I'd probably drain the fluid, see what it looks like. Drop the pan, look for metal. Put in new correct fluid. If it has a filter, replace it. See how it drives.

Around here, that is a very rare thing. A couple of years ago, I paid 3k for a 93 and had it shipped across the country. When I posted that I was looking for a rust free 4wd wagon, only 1 or 2 were mentioned. More recently, I've seen a thread or 2 where these models must be a lot more common, since prices under 2k were being discussed. I was it certain of the rust condition of those cars however. I would expect to do some mechanical repairs regardless, on a car this age. For me, I'd rather do that than bodywork, so I'll pay for rust free # 1 priority.

Just so you know, the duplicate of this post has a lot more Q and A on it.

The next time it happens, check for spark, and fuel pressure.

The alternator & voltage regulator don't begin to do anything until the engine is running.