NorthWet

Look for problems that are related to work that has been done. Look for simple problems before looking for exotic problems. 99% (made-up stat, but close to reality) of issues of this type are either timing belt alignment (85%) or firing-order wrong due to swapped cables (10%). Follow Miles/Fox's videos... good stuff.

The "Gold Standard" is to look at the timing marks rather than the valves. Being able to state with assurance that one cam-sprocket mark was straight up and the other was straight down while the case pointer was on the middle 3 of the hash marks avoids a lot of confusion. So, another possibility is mixed up spark plug wires, or bad wires.

The most common fault when replacing timing belts on the EA82 engine is to forget to rotate the crankshaft one full revolution before putting on the second belt. If this is not done, then the non-distributor-side valves will be timed 180degrees off. It will act like those cylinders are not producing power. Remove the covers over the cam sprockets, and verify that the timing dots for the left and right cam are pointed 180 degrees apart. If they are both pointed the same direction, then the rotation step was skipped. Another common fault is caused by aligning the timing belts relative to TDC rather than the 3 "hash marks" on the flywheel. It is also common to be off a tooth after releasing the tensioners. This causes only moderate grief.

It was meant to be generally good advice, borrowed from Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". I should have thought to put quotes around it. Mea culpa.

The "gunk" is mostly to allow the frigid gas to reach the evaporator without picking up stray heat between the expansion valve and the evaporator. Concurrently, it prevents water from condensing on the otherwise exposed cold piping and being a nuisance.

"DON'T PANIC" Little leaks are just little leaks. Fairtax4me gave you some good advice. Neither leak sounds anything like "gushing", but more like very common nuisance leaks. The ATF is the very common DEXRON III (originally used in General Motors cars but now nearly universal), and leakage around those transmission cooler lines is common on all makes of cars, and is usually just a fitting/clamp needing tightening. Monitor the fluid levels and keep them topped-up. I would NEVER consider using any stop-leak product without first doing a lot of research. The "cure" almost always causes more problems than it temporarily masks. Regarding the timing belt, did the other belt-related rotating parts with bearings (like idler wheels and tensioner pulley) get replaced along with the timing-belt and water pump? They should have been, and this is important information to know. Cheers!

Ah... I had assumed that the delay would be on the position signal side, not on the coil-drive side. Edit: After some reflection, I think that the ECU would not like having its coil feedback disrupted. I imagine that it will throw codes saying that all of the plugs are misfiring.

Fuel filter? Spark plugs/wires/rotor/cap? Is this the same car that you posted elsewhere as a failed air-suction-valve (ASV)? Sucking exhaust could be your problem.

This is a common failure item, and the usual way of dealing with it is to block off the port into the exhaust. Failure often causes bits of melted plastic to get ingested into the carburetor.

It has been a few decades since I played with such stuff (analog), but I suspect that the signal would get distorted, possible enough that the ECU would no longer accept it. Unless you want to go the route of a fully configurable ECU, your best bet might be to use an off-the-shelf microcontroller. One possible methodology would be to run each sensor signal into an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) input, sample the resultant digital value and store it, and then after a program/user controlled time interval, feed the samples into a digital-to-analog Converter (DAC) to restore the analog waveform and feed that to the ECU. If you do it on both crank and cam sensors, and the sampling rate is high enough to not distort the waveform too much, the ECU will not know the difference. Once the sensor signal is sampled, the delay/retard value can be set in many different and combinable ways. The basic hardware is cheap and readily available.

I responded in your "wanted" post: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/140837-wanted-lower-control-arm-bushings-for-loyale/

Metered-air leak (vacuum leak or leak in the boot between MAF and throttle body)? In my (limited) experience, CTS issues either throw check-engine codes (open-circuit or too much resistance) or make the engine run richer. Typical failure mode is corroded connectors and wires. Running out of gas should not make any difference regarding crud: The tank's fuel outlet is fixed and located at a the bottom of the tank, so any crud would find itself there even with a full tank. (Except for ping-pong balls.)

Might be far easier to get a hub/inner trailing arm assembly.

Edit: As pointed out in a later post by Naru, carb'd cars do not have a separate ignitor. Thanks, Naru! A couple common issues is a bad ground to the "ignitor", and a bad "ignitor". (The ignitor is the switching transistor used to operate the coil.) The ignitor is mounted on the coil bracket, and it is common for the grounding of the coil bracket to get flakey.

If you really suspect the pump, just go straight to the pump's connector. The green connectors is most useful to validate the function of the ECU/relay/pump system.

No solution, but similar issue with my 92 SVX. Pretty much as OP posted: The issue seems to be running above that engine speed (mine is around 2900rpm). As a get-around, I readjusted my TPS to convince my TCU to upshift at a lower RPM, then just drove the car very conservatively. With 230HP easier to loaf the engine than with a Ej22... It has been a couple years since I pulled tranny codes on this one, but I think that the only code was for a duty-A solenoid. Perhaps the main line pressure was exceeding a limit and the tranny was protecting itself. Pure speculation.

The chassis and suspension differences are minimal amongst the the 85-94 Ea82-series cars. Most parts should readily interchange. There are wiring differences throughout the series, mostly in the engine and transmission harnesses.

One of the cleanest, smoothest running EA82-series that I have been in. It was hard for either the OP or me to reproduce any noises, and even when he did I had to listen carefully (quieter than the sound of the heater blower on high) and I could not feel any accompanying vibrations. My best guess is a resonant noise (as opposed to physical contact), either intake/exhaust flow or something loose vibrating.

I normally defer to Miles, who has much more everyday experience than me, but I do not think he is correct on this. The firewall location is correct for SPFI, but I am reasonably sure that all of the turbo sedans and wagons are inside the passenger compartment. My 88 Turbo wagon does not have the connectors at the firewall. On the other hand, Miles is usually right... Anyway, if they are where I think they should be, they would not be under the dash on a 90 Loyale unless it was a turbo. The single-wire green connectors are not attached to each other, but they are probably taped and stuffed against a larger harness.

The heads are different between the MPFI/turbo and all of the rest. There are also minor differences in the block (extra PCV connection and threaded boss for knock sensor), but as Miles said, other short-blocks should work. MPFI/turbo heads crack INTO the exhaust port/pipe, not externally where you can see without pulling the exhaust manifold. Check the spots that Miles mentioned for leaks. The cooling hoses to the turbo are especially vulnerable, as they are exposed to extremely high temps; they become brittle and crack/crumble easily. Before condemning the pump, do some testing first. If you want to stay clean, connect the green diagnostic connectors that live between the lower dash trim and the steering column. With the ignition on, these should cause the fuel pump to cycle on and off every few seconds. If the pump doesn't come on, go back to the pump (in front of right rear fender well, disconnect the wiring connector, and run battery to one wire and ground to the other (On the side of the wiring that attaches to the pump). A working pump should run.

While your finding out how to check other things, locate the 2 green, single-wire connectors located under the steering column and above the lower dash trim panel. Connect them, turn on the ignition, and listen for the pump cycling every few seconds or so.

Yeah, she just had a lot of commitments today, plus a 50 mile drive through near-nowhere to get home later tonight. It sounds like something at least limpable. I will get her to have it scanned tomorrow... after our first day with the students back. Thanks again for indulging my asking rather than taking the time to research.

Thanks for the info. Time was too limited to do much more than get a general idea of how serious the problem is.

My time is short, so really hoping for a quick response. This is my Teacher's car, and she is concerned over what it means. '09 Legacy sedan, automatic transmission: Driving in to work, when suddenly the cruise light starts flashing, the CEL comes on and so does some icon of a swervy car. No obvious drivability problems. My initial guess was that the alternator had failed, but she said that it was only these 3 lights acting differently. Second guess was something like a VSS signal failing. Ideally, she would go have the codes pulled, but her schedule makes this pretty impractical. Anybody recognize these symptoms?

Throwout bearings (in my experience) tend to make a bad-bearing sound (duh!) when they have an issue. Bright tinkling/ringing seems unlikely from it. I responded to your PM.