Kenneth1948 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 New to the board and new to the Marque. Just purchsed a 1990 Legacy. One family since new, approx 155k miles. Seems to run well above about 2000 rpm. Seems to have good power and acceleration but idles very rough. Maybe on 2 - cylinders and shakes around a lot at idle (hence the Harley analogy) also has an unusual exhaust note at idle (not the normal flat four sound) just like a Harley, it's the best description I can come up with short of attaching a sound byte. I will start checking it out this week end but wondered if anyone has a good check list. A starting point from experience. It supposedly had plugs and wires recently. Could be an injector(s)? Is there a common source of vacuum leaks (must be a big one)? Could it have a burned exhaust valve or wrong clearance? No smoke from the exhaust No knocks or taps (almost too quiet!) Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks, John aka Kenneth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 cheap spark plug wires can cause your problem. Subarus don't do well on cheap wires. You may want to pull a spark plug to see what shape it is in. I have seen "supposedly recently new plugs and wires," that weren't new, but old. It happens. You may want to add a can of Chevron Techron to a full gas tank. It is a great product to clean off deposits from injectors and elsewhere. can't imagine a vacuum leak. With a vac leak, car runs bad at idle and all other RPMs. Would also have poor power. No smoke is very good..........at least not burning oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtdash Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Hi, Welcome to the USMB. Spark plugs need to be NGK's BK6RE-11. And as noted above OEM/NGK wires are best. It definitely sounds like it's not 'hitting on all cylinders' below 2K RPM. Valve train is self-adjusting hydraulic, and 155K isn't much on an EJ22. Also, is the CEL light on? You can 'pull the codes' yourself - HERE. Lastly, I'd check the timing. You can look on here or on the Legacy Central bbs for how to verify timing belt is installed correctly. TD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 (edited) The old 2.2s don't care so much about plug wires. Unless they're the cheapest cheap wires someone could get their hands on, they're probably fine. Plugs should be standard copper though, and make sure they're gapped at .039 - .043". My immediate thought is the timing belt is off a tooth. If the timing belt is old it could have jumped. If it was replaced recently then maybe someone just timed it wrong. Its best to put a whole kit on it with the water pump and all the idlers. A kit costs about $125 on eBay. Edited April 12, 2013 by Fairtax4me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 burnt valve do comp test or jumped cam timing min 120 psi comp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbianchi Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 you can check each cylinder for action at idle by disconnecting plug wires one at a time, that will tell you which one(S) are not active, if you disconnect with no change that cylinder is not doing its thing, then check the plug at that cylinder, plug ok, injector suspect............G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth1948 Posted April 14, 2013 Author Share Posted April 14, 2013 No CEL 175, 175, 175, 180 psi Plugs new, wires near new. Idled like a sewing machine when I started it again cold. Don't know if that was due to fuel from compression tests or runs a little rich when cold. Still idles very rough when warm with strange exhaust note. Injectors look like they have not been touched for very long time. How do you get the injectors out? Tried to remove injector #1 and couldn't get it out without risking breaking something. Car looks like it may have sat unused for some time. I will go through the fuel system but suspect injectors. Thanks for the help so far. John aka Kenneth How to test injectors? 11 ohms resistance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 (edited) That's low compression I think Ivan said it best burnt valve do comp test or jumped cam timing min 120 psi comp Check the timing on the timing belt. Edited April 14, 2013 by mikaleda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 i put togther a engine yesterday had very low dynamic comp ratio like 100-120 psi this engine runs very rough at idle gets better when reved but still runs ok so that comp looks just fine. i do not suspect burnt valve but cam timing. I had some injctor problems with this new engine the customer had got me aftermarket injectors were way to big and overfeuled engine badly so had to reinstall facotry injectors. Anyway two injectors were bad had no pulse seized or broken what i did to find the bad ones was unplug one injector at a time and see witch one makes no change in engine rpms i had two bad ones and the screens were very dirty. I grab them with my hose pliers and gentaly twist back and foruth wile pulling but they do not come out easy. Also make sure you have bled of feul preshure or will fill the cly with gas i undo the bolts on feul line to rail and release feul preshure there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86 Wonder Wedge Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Check resistance on ECT sensor make sure within spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth1948 Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 Couple more items to add: 1. My daughter has been driving the car and reports an occasional strong smell of gasoline while driving. 2. Found a post on Legacy Central with similar symptoms: Runs OK cold Idles and runs rough when hot. Strong smell of gas Poor mpg (don't know what gas mileage I'm getting) Unfortunately and a common problem on bulletin boards, no information on what the final problem or remedy was. I still suspect injector or injectors on mine inconsistent in operation. Don't have an opportunity to work on it again until the weekend. Will try to publish cause and remedy when I get it figured out. John aka Kenneth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Timing belt off a tooth. Idles and runs fine cold until just about the time the temp gauge starts to move, then it starts misfiring. You have good power over 3000 rpm when warm. Misfires at idle and low rpm. Pull the timing covers and you'll likely find its a tooth off. Fuel smell is probably unburned gas because of the misfiring. Also possible it's a rusted out filler tube (very common). The filler tube issue is not related to the timing issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 check all rear tank feul lines both sides of tank have seen many rusted out feul lines also listen to injectors with long screwdriver for a click mabee are sticking open Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth1948 Posted July 7, 2013 Author Share Posted July 7, 2013 Belated conclusion to this string but took a while to finally get it fixed. A set of re-built injectors solved the problem. The car is running fine and idles smoothly. I hate a string without a conclusion even if it does take months! Thanks to all who contributed. John aka Kenneth 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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