rickyhils

No codes. We know that EGR will affect NO (ppm). Now, I did pass California smog last week, but I am curious why the NO (ppm) @15mph was reading a whole lot higher than NO (ppm) @25mph. This last test showed 800 ppm @ 15 mph and 67 ppm @ 25 mph. Am unsure whether or not EGR needs looking into.

The EGR temperature sensor is out of the car. Multimeter reads infinite ohms when at room temp. Putting it into very hot water - ohm reading appears. Starts at 175k and gets down to 80k, which seems to be way out of range. I think it should start at 400 ohms when cold then ohms drop as it heats up. ???

True. Many times I go DIY on my 1991 Subaru Loyale Wagon. But, I have had to take the entire hub assembly and cv axle to a mechanic to get the axle pressed out reliably as I don't have those tools and the know how. And on my 97 Honda Accord cv axle I did not trust myself enough to not mess things up, so I had my local mechanic install it.

Hey! All good. Happy to hear that. Every problem has an answer. 80% of fixing a problem is knowing where the problem is. A proper Subaru tech with 35 years of experience would have had my problem sorted out within an hour and a half. But those guys are going away.

Car is now back to running ok. That blown 15A fuse went to the SPFI controller. On top of the engine, the small bundle of wires that runs past the throttle body area was causing the short, with insulation that rubbed away after 34 years. When I lifted up that bundle of wires my multimeter readout went from 0.8 ohms (to ground) up to 14 ohms (to ground) at that 15A fuse location. Yay!

Tomorrow I will check the heater blower motor power connection. I vaguely remember in 2012 hurrying through a heater blower motor replacement. Not sure if that could be cause of problem at Meter Engine 15amp fuse, but I will check tomorrow.

I just now located 1991 Subaru Loyale Wiring 8X11rev3. PDF 76 mb. It's too large to upload here. Can send to you via drop box

With key OFF the Meter Engine 15A fuse is already shorted to ground. I have my work cut out for me diving into all of those clusters of wires.

My 1991 Loyale engine [non-turbo] suddenly shut down last night. The Meter Engine 15A fuse was blown and after blowing another swapped in good 15A fuse, I now need to find where is that short in the ignition. Could be a broken wire in the key switch causing a short, or a short in that lower left wire spaghetti mess under the dash behind that panel next to the fuse box. When the engine stalled, I just cranked it over attempting a restart, but no ignition. There was still FULL BATTERY POWER to EVERYTHING except the ignition. Timing belts checked ok. Can hear fuel pump priming with ign turned on. Dash board voltage meter stopped functioning at all. Good battery and alternator. All four fusible links near battery are still ok. Tomorrow I'll disconnect the battery and poke around with a continuity probe. First thing I'll check is the O2 sensor wire to the front catalytic convertor. Real easy to get at.

Thanks for your help. PCV valve is working and the hoses are good and clean with no air leaks. Turns out that my oil filler cap was not sealing, so i fixed that. What I am not understanding is how a "too lean" exhaust [from poor crankcase ventilation] would cause smog test numbers to increase HC at the 15mph test??? Wouldn't "too lean" mean that less fuel is being burned? And, my ignition timing was at 27 ahead of TDC when that 2023 smog test was done. It is now at the correct 20 before TDC. Getting it smog tested in two days.

XLNT. Will swap out that PVC valve and will clean associated hoses. Thanks.

1991 Loyale Wagon SPFI FWD had new cats put on 6 years ago after CA smog fail. New cats then passed CA smog with flying colors. HC (ppm) meas was 6 (six) @15mph and 3 (three) @25 mph. CO% meas was 0.01 @15mph and 0.00 !!!. @25mph. NO (ppm) meas was 58 @15mph and 32 @25mph. I could not have been happier. Engine had 340k miles on it. After the engine overheated to death, I swapped in an EA82 long block (a pro rebuild that is now going on 6k happy miles - I got lucky on a Craigs List find. All good work, from cams to main bearings to new oil pump. Probably rebuilt around 2009 when machining and parts were still available). Jump ahead to 2021 and 2023 when the CA smog tests measured crazy high. HC (ppm) meas was 118 @15mph and NO (ppm) meas was 788!!! @15mph. BUT NO (ppm) meas was only 64 @25mph. I am not sure as to WHY. My DIY guesses range from my having messed up the EGR setup, ignition timing, to a low performing fuel pump (lean fuel mix) , to a slightly higher compression ratio after heads resurfaced (although there has never been any knocking sound). Any ideas? Thanks to all you guys for still being here.- Ricky

UPDATE. All seems good enough for now. My oversight and approach was somewhat lacking. There was extra weight in the back of the wagon all this time. Nothing broken or out of place at either L or R coil spring/shock mounts. Both shocks are still good. Left spring does sag but only just a bit. I got the car on a level driveway and took photos. And I was I was able to temporarily get my fuel pump working again when the car wouldn't start this morning. Voltage was getting there, but motor was at a "dead spot" on the 34 year old orig fuel pump. So I reversed the polarity and spun it backwards for a few seconds. Then it was working as normal. Yes, I do have a Ford F150 electric fuel pump, but never got around to installing it. Need to check it for fuel line fitting adapters. Thanks

Thanks Bennie. Will be jacking up the car tomorrow morning and see whats up and compare measurements on L & R side. Will take a few photos. And YES I WILL BE USING JACK STANDS!

Thanks, Pizza. Although I will keep looking, as my 1991 Loyale wagon is FWD and King springs are for 4WD.