gbianchi Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Hey all posting for a friend, he's not one of us YET! Heres what he says Its a 90 legacy wagon Maybe you can help me diagnose this problem with the legacy. Starts perfect but soon idle fluctuates some, then dies. If I am fast I can put it into gear, then punch it through a gear or two then it loses power and eventually stalls out. Each time I can restart the engine right away, and the symptoms start again. I have replaced the fuel filter, and I have cleaned the MAF with alcohol. [it did not look a bit dirty, but I cleaned it anyway.] Also I get a smell,,,,,,not sure what it is,,,,,like emissions,,,,similar to catalytic converter smell???? That only smells when I rev the motor a few seconds before it loses power and dies. If you have any ideas please, please let me know because we are in a great bind with this car down. And I said.... Hey Bill, Gregg here, never had that happen to me but, it sounds like it could be the fuel pump, there are not alot of things that can cause this type of trouble. You have covered 2 of the likely issues with the MAF and filter,the MAF failing can cause your problem they don't fail often but can cause weird issues, check all of the hoses that run to the intake for break/leakage as unmetered air can cause trouble, , the smell is a new one to me????? Sorry to hear bout Subaru troubles, I will post your letter on USMB and see what the masses have to say, good luck Gregg Lets help him outa this great bind, thanks..........G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 actually - just had a MAF failure on my 1990 legacy - I also thought it was a fuel delivery issue at first, but it was not Car did not throw a CEL for quite a while after this issue started either - but it did finally, which led me to the MAF simple check for fuel pump (located on passenger side, behind rear seat back, under carpeting - oval shaped access plate) 1. Make sure it is getting power - large colored wire on the plug (i think it is blue w/yellow stripe) - will need two people for this one - one to use the meter, one to crank engine over. 2. a simple, inline fuel pressure guage will verify fuel pressure is sufficient - it MUST be an inline type tho - Harbor Freight sells on that works fine for this. I installed between fuel filter and hard lines on the motor. Fuel pressure should be between 26-30 psi if both of those check out good - i would seriously look into the MAF. If you check my thread about it (air flow sensor problem?) you will see the testing procedures used to verify proper operation. I can also get you more info if you need it as i have a FSM for this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capn_r Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Possibly you have a plugged catalytic converter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbianchi Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 thanks guys passing this info along.................G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbianchi Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 just to ty this one up, it was the MAF, replaced with used one all is well, back to driving and smiling. Thanks to all, cheers.................G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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