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diagnosing from 2,000 miles away.... stalling


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My daughter is in Cedar City, Utah, I'm in WV trying to get some ideas on what's up with Roo... her 95 Impreza, AWD, 2.2L, auto, about 155k. Very simply put, the car is dying at intersections.

 

Just before she left to drive across the country, we did a major tune up... wires, plugs, belts, filters, etc. Most all of the basics should be new. Problem first appeared as sluggishness over the Rockys. I thought the thin air might be causing an issue. Coming down the other side of the Rockys, the issues went away.... but now that she's in Cedar City, it is stalling occasionally at intersections.

 

Cedar City, by the way, sits at 5840 feet elevation. By comparison, the car has been operated between 1200 and 2400 feet elevation for most of the last 4 years. I'd be more comfortable with her driving back in Sept. if the problem were fixed first.

 

What would you suggest to try first? Mass airflow? Any tests she might conduct to get a little more info? No CEL's are on, but she hasn't pulled any codes, either. Anyone know of any good, trustworthy mechanics in the Cedar City area?

 

Thanks!

Mike

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To bad you did not post last week, I was in Saint George UT, just down the road.

 

Sounds like the IAC to me. No codes but when they stick it can cause high or low idle.

 

Dose it have a 1.8 or 2.2 engine?

 

If she puts it in N does it still die?

 

What's the RPM when it idles?

 

Should be lots of USMB members in UT.

 

Larry

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To bad you did not post last week, I was in Saint George UT, just down the road.

 

Sounds like the IAC to me. No codes but when they stick it can cause high or low idle.

 

Dose it have a 1.8 or 2.2 engine?

 

If she puts it in N does it still die?

 

What's the RPM when it idles?

 

Should be lots of USMB members in UT.

 

Larry

 

 

Also, the coolant temp sensor (CTS) will ditate the function of the IAC. Sometimes the older soobs need one after a while. Try wiggling the connecotor or cleanining it with a electrical contact cleaning spray.

 

IT will be located behind the intake on the passenger side, with a reddish-brown plug. It is easy to change being the last on the list of what has already been tuned up.

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My daughter is in Cedar City, Utah, I'm in WV trying to get some ideas on what's up with Roo... her 95 Impreza, AWD, 2.2L, auto, about 155k. Very simply put, the car is dying at intersections.

 

Just before she left to drive across the country, we did a major tune up... wires, plugs, belts, filters, etc. Most all of the basics should be new. Problem first appeared as sluggishness over the Rockys. I thought the thin air might be causing an issue. Coming down the other side of the Rockys, the issues went away.... but now that she's in Cedar City, it is stalling occasionally at intersections.

 

Cedar City, by the way, sits at 5840 feet elevation. By comparison, the car has been operated between 1200 and 2400 feet elevation for most of the last 4 years. I'd be more comfortable with her driving back in Sept. if the problem were fixed first.

 

What would you suggest to try first? Mass airflow? Any tests she might conduct to get a little more info? No CEL's are on, but she hasn't pulled any codes, either. Anyone know of any good, trustworthy mechanics in the Cedar City area?

 

Thanks!

Mike

 

Hace the ECU scanned for codes just for giggles. Has it ever been hard to start and if so when, When it stalls does it stumble or just sort of run out of steam.

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I had a similar issue of stalling and did a LOT of searching on here to diagnose.

 

My suggestion is to run some seafoam through the IAC. That is the simplest, cheapest, and most likely fix for the problem.

 

Of course when I did mine I had to go the route of new fuel filter, new fuel pump and blow $100+ before I decided to try the simple solution!...lol....While I was at it I replaced the pcv valve. Makes sense since if the IAC is gunked up the pcv likely is also and the pcv valve is only $2.00 at the parts store.

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So I got some more info on the stalling issue. The car idles at about 1,000 rpm. She turned on the ac and it died. Once. The next time, it kept running and I had her test it few times. It idles nicely at 1,000 and then when the ac switch is pushed, it drops to a steady 500 and does not return to 1k.

 

This is the 2.2 engine. Not sure if it dies in neutral, as it only dies now and then, not at every light.

 

So does that sound like the IAC?

 

Thanks for the help!

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I like to remove the IACV from the car for cleaning--one electrical connector, two small hoses and, IIRC, three small bolts. Then you can watch the gunk flow out as you clean it!

 

You're supposed to use a new gasket when you put it back in (although I must confess, I re-used the old one!)

 

Here's an old discussion for what it's worth:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40494&highlight=iacv+clean

 

Good luck Mike, hope it solves the problem for her.

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The easiest way to do it and what worked for me was to get a small tube/hose that reaches to bottom of the can of Seafoam. Figure about 2 ft. long.

 

Take the IAC hose loose where it attaches to the intake. Plug the hole left in the intake and put your thumb over the end of the IAC hose. Get your little tube arranged in the bottle of Seafoam. Have someone get in the car and start up with instructions to keep run the throttle just enough so that the engine does not die.

 

With the engine running put the small tube in the IAC hose and the vacum will suck it up like a 10 year old on a milkshake.

 

For more details just read the instructions on the bottle of Seafoam.....and make sure you do this process in a nice open area!!

 

Mine was stalling intermittently and was getting worse. This procedure fixed it up just fine. No hint of a stall since.

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