Deener

Sounds like a dirty MAF sensor if it dies within seconds. I am not 100% sure about your model but speaking from experience, the MAF sensor will definitely do that if it's not working/weak connection or if it is dirty. If you find out that the MAF works again after a shot of carb or throttle body cleaner (DO NOT USE WD40), check your PCV hoses and valve because when they gum up, they can spew out the air cleaner and contaminate the sensor in doing so. Shes a fragile little element so don't touch it with your hands. Oil/mayo in the air box would be a good indicator that the MAF is dirty. If the MAF sensor is good I would check that you didn't slip a tooth on one of the timing belts (are they tight still?). Failing those two options...TPS, and less likely the CTS and IAC. Good luck!

I just rebuilt a caliper last night and it wasn't hard at all. The most difficult part was getting the piston back in the rubber boot without damaging it. If you are going that route, remove the e-brake cable then the brake line (14mm) then take the caliper to the bench (heres where a vice is handy) and pump the ebrake lever over and over by hand until the piston eventually pops off of the 'bolt' inside, once near the top, just unscrew it by hand. Then peel the rubber boot off and the piston comes right out....no small parts or anything inside. Theres a threaded part inside the piston that mounts onto the 'bolt' of the cailper but thats it, nothing to lose or break in there. Clean up the inside with brake cleaner and rags (steel wool if its really bad) then grease the piston back up with the synthetic brake grease and screw the piston back into the caliper. Resinstall caliper and bleed. I just did this bleed order and it worked for me: drivers side front, passenger rear, passenger front, drivers rear....not sure if thats the proper sequence but it worked for me last night. Dean

Nope, none of the above. This one would have been a long shot to guess this one without seeing. I rebuilt/regreased one of the calipers, and then turned the rotor around without issue. Next I put on the rim and spun it again and it kind of hung up, so next I tightened the rim and then it wouldn't budge! The proverbial light bulb illuminates...the reason it's binding is because I have the black 'Wagon Wheel' rims below installed. The old pads were worn enough to allow the outside of the caliper enough clearance for the rim 'spokes'. But the new pads (Bendix D311IQ) were too thick and thusly pushing the calipers outwards on the silde pin enough to hang up on/rub the rim. These Bendix pads are the correct pads for a 93 Loyale BUT they are roughly 2-4mm too thick to use with my black rims. Since I don't care about the rotors I shamefully loaded the outside pads into the vice, put on my eye wear and ground them down about 5mm which was enough to give me clearance. Bled them all the way around with fresh fluid and it's rolling smooth again, brakes work great. So that leaves me with a couple of questions... Since grinding down pads is not the smartest thing to do, does anyone know if there are any lower profile pads around that would do the trick? I thought about making an adapter plate for the hub maybe, but I don't want to sacrifice any structural integrity....? Oddly the white rims I show here below fit my 88GL without any rubbing whatsoever, yet the black ones on the 93 Loyale rub the rims really bad. Were the 88GL calipers smaller than the 93 Loyales? If not then I must have obtained smaller pads for the 88.

No I didn't. They slid back and forth really smoothly though. I will give it a shot - any special grease that I should use?

Hmmm, well I turned them clockwise and pushed them in simultaneously to fit them over the new pads and I have done them this way before on my GL without issues. These pistons slid back really nicely, especially compared to working on the GL. I didn't grease the pistons, perhaps I need to? As this is my first experience with a hill holder system, could that be the culprit? Note that it seemed to work great prior to the pad slap.

I just did a pad slap on my 93 loyale and now the wheels won't budge, its like the brakes are stuck on. Well they will move if I drive it but they grind real bad like they shouldn't. The calipers slid on nicely so the pads aren't too thick...Could my caliper pistons be stuck in or something? Seems like they are both grinding. The wife helped me bleed them and the pedal seems real tight, ebake cable in the cabin is loose, when not engaged. Ebrake cables at the cailper don't seem too tight. Any thoughts? Re-bleed? Kinda stumped here. Dean

You did the pan gasket with the engine in the car...? Wow, congratulations. It must have taken significant effort....all those pesky little bolts!! Thats some nice sludge you have there too. A few shots of solvent/carb cleaner etc on the screen and up the tube accompanie by some compressed air might help clean it without removing it.

+1 for grounds/cables. Take both of the battery cables completely off and clean up the ends with some sandpaper until they are perfectly clean. Once replaced and snug - still just one click? One click or lots of clicks? More suggestions: Check the fusible links - I am not 100% sure about your model but you should have a small wire going to the fusible links box (it runs off of the positive battery cable) that matters too. Chassis grounds...any wires in there that aren't attached or have significant rust where they attach? If so, clean em up with your sandpaper and re-attach them snugly. If it starts every time when you arc the starter, just as 3eyedwagon points out then it could be the ignition module. If so, the advice here seems to be to install a push button start to bypass the ignition instead of trying to repair the ignition.

With respect to examining the CTS, I have had two of them that were bad because I was in there around the thermostat housing messing around and in doing so I actually broke a wire off of the CTS itself, right where the two wires of the pigtail meet the metal 'nut' - but I couldn't tell it was broken because both times the rubber bit was covering it and it LOOKED and FELT like it was still attached. It wasn't until I peeled back the rubber that I discovered the disconnection. Zero resistance on the pigtail at any temperature is another symptom when there is a snapped wire. Also note - if your CTS is completely toast you should have trouble cold starting the car and it will give a very low idle (like 200-300rpms) until it warms up. Good luck!

I had bad gas in the tank once before that caused it for me. Hows the fuel filter? Getting any blowby in the air cleaner? Perhaps the injector is dying? Just some suggestions.

You said you checked the fusible links but check the little black wire that goes to the fusible links box in case it is loose. Another thing - if you have recently had a new key cut and are using it, perhaps try the old one.

You could try wiggling the engine back and forth/side to side and see if they have any slack...

Take a look at them and if they aren't holding your engine to the cross member snugly anymore then I would say they were bad. They are part rubber and part metal - kind of like a 'clubhouse sandwich' of rubber and metal. A quick visual inspection would tell you their condition. You might need a mirror to see the one on the drivers side...

Ahem - if I may answer my own question...dash removal is not required. It took 5 minutes with a phillips, a light and a long arm.

I am trying to insert a pic of it for you, it is in the back of the intake and a hose should be attached to it:

93 Loyale I replaced my heater hoses last night (pinhole leak) and in doing so I borked my speedo cable. I got a code 33 for the first time (speed sensor) and my speedometer stopped working. I don't think that I wrecked the cable because the end looks good and shiny and together and all - it was just disconnected from the instrument cluster. Do I have to rip the dash to get at it or can I get away with re-attaching by reaching up to the cluster from underneath the steering column? The wife does not tolerate any 'excuses' for speeding so I have to re-attach it. Dean

After checking what Miles has suggested and if the problem persists beyond the PCV and hoses, do a dry and then wet compression test. If the wet results are substantialy different, you could also have a serious cylinder/piston ring issue. I just went through the exact same symptom and I chased it for a while as though it was a blocked exhaust and/or a PCV issue. The new PCV valve and clearing the hoses etc did nothing for my issue and a vaccum test on the exhaust proved it wasn't restricted. My issue turned out to be a wrecked cylinder and piston rings. The only thing that fixed it for me was a new engine block where the cylinders all hold compression. I don't want to scare you - but knowing to test the cylinders for compression could save you hours of scratching your head if the PCV system turns out ok. As far as the car not running very well right after this happens - the blow-by on mine was so bad that it would actually contaminate the MAF sensor with oil (little tiny element inside the rubber air intake, close to the air box - viewed through the small hole when the air box is off). To get it back running after when the plume of smoke happens you can try squirting some carb cleaner on the sensor to clean it. Best of luck and I hope for your sake it is only the PCV system. You can also read this thread about the issue I had if it helps any: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=117313

I have had whiplash more times than I can count (MV and snowboarding) and unfortunately Nipper is correct - it doesn't always hurt immediately after the accident. You are usually running on a bit of adrenaline from being startled - especially if you are unaware of being hit...like rear enders. Once you calm down the pain will usually set in. Not to discount the fact that she's probably hamming it up a bit for the cash, I can just say for certain that it can come on immediately or as late as even the next day, depending on its severity and verious other circumstances. Best of luck with your case.

+1 to Grossgary and Permatorque gaskets. I have used them on 5 different EA82's recently and they are really good. OEM intake and cam cariier gaskets are the way to go. They have a layer of metal in the center whereas the aftermarket ones I have seen are only made of rubber.

Well a new block went in yesterday. All cylinders are now firing peefectly with zero blowby and TONS of power up hills, and in all gears at all RPM's!!! Thanks to all who helped. I will be splitting the case in half and going .25mm over bore with the full rebuild when I get around to it.

No the sensors were actually broken right under the rubber, right where it meets the bolt piece. In both cases one of the wires had snapped as they sink into the solder but I couldn't tell it was broken until I peeled the rubber back (most likely broke them due to high tension/short wire plus fiddling around in the Tstat housing area). Sounds like your sensor is working though if your resistance values change with the temp, with a broken wire you get zero. The reason I suggested a possible intake gasket leak is because of the coolant loss + rough idle. If you have isolated the coolant leak to the water pump then that theory doesn't apply. I would still check the vaccum points just to be 100% sure that something wasn't accidentally missed. My favorite move is the carb cleaner shot directly onto the hoses/intake etc because when the RPM increases, the breach point is obvious. Timing belts are good and tight too? Belt slop gave me poor all round performance too but rough idle for me was always a vaccum leak or the CTS.

This looks good. I need to re-ring an EA82. Thanks for posting that link.

I have had a low rough idle issue on my 88GL SPFI and I went down the road of suspecting the TPS, and the IAC but it was in fact the CTS in the end for me...twice. Exactly as you describe - won't start unless you floor the throttle and runs like cr@p at idle but was fine at high RPM...note that it would sort of 'stumble' start but only after cranking it for longer than normal with the pedal all the way to the floor. You are getting power to the CTS and resistance from the sensor, correct? You have tested and ruled out vaccuum leaks too, right (especially at the intake gaskets)? No idea what would cause the idle to jump that high though.

Welcome to the board. First off, what you mean by 'self diagnosis' is unclear. Check underneath your steering wheel for a couple of screws holding the plastic kick panel on. With that kick panel removed and the engine on, you can move the wires aside and you should see a flashing red light. Long flashes are tens and short flashes are ones. Write down the sequence and analyze it to the point where you can see the pattern repeat. Once you have retrieved the 'code'(s) you can seach here in this forum again for what that particular code means. Here is a link to an explanation of the codes: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49918

I have a black one in my 88 GL and in all of the Loyales (91, 93 and 94).