96 EJ22 losses spark once engine is warm?

[RallyKeith]

I just swapped a 96 EJ22 in place of a dead EJ25 in a 98 Legacy Outback.  Dropped the engine in and it started just fine. Then after a few minutes the idle started to droop and come back up until after a minute or two it stalled. Wouldn't restart and when I pulled a plug wire and checked for spark I had no spark. Interestingly about 1 second after I stopped cranking I would get one spark on the plug. So I swapped the coils pack and no difference. Once the engine cooled down it start up and ran again. I didn't let it run long. What could this be? My first thoughts are bad crank or cam position sensor.

 

Thanks,

Keith

[naru]

Swap ignitors if you have another.

[1 Lucky Texan]

and swap crank angle sensor if the above doesn't work.

[RallyKeith]

I'm less inclined to believe it's the ignitor since that part didn't change between motors, but the coil pack did so I guess that could have somehow damaged it. I should also mention that the crank sensor is corroded in the emboss so badly that we weren't able to get it out last night. We sprayed it with PB blaster and plan to come back to it no matter what.

[Bushwick]

Crank sensor will come out with vice grips if needed. It's plastic, so don't waste time with penetrating oil. It's just stuck and needs to be twisted to break the seal. A screwdriver acting as a lever against a bolt tab can help, but no promise the sensor will be OK after.

 

Get your ohm/volt meter out and check the cam and crank sensors with the engine cold. Compare the values to oem. If one (or both) sensors are off, replace. If both values are OK with cold engine, run it until the engine cuts, then retest both sensors again. I know with Saab it's usually a bad crank sensor.

[RallyKeith]

Crank sensor will come out with vice grips if needed. It's plastic, so don't waste time with penetrating oil. It's just stuck and needs to be twisted to break the seal. A screwdriver acting as a lever against a bolt tab can help, but no promise the sensor will be OK after.

 

Get your ohm/volt meter out and check the cam and crank sensors with the engine cold. Compare the values to oem. If one (or both) sensors are off, replace. If both values are OK with cold engine, run it until the engine cuts, then retest both sensors again. I know with Saab it's usually a bad crank sensor.

 

Both the crank and cam sensors have metal bodies. The only part that is plastic is the mount and connector. See: http://www.rockauto.com/getimage/getimage.php?imagekey=40355&imageurl=http%3A//www.rockauto.com/info/SMP/PC159photo%20primary.jpg

[RallyKeith]

FWIW Crank sensor fixed the problem. I swapped out the Cam sensor right away with the old motor to be safe. 

[Bushwick]

Both the crank and cam sensors have metal bodies. The only part that is plastic is the mount and connector. See: http://www.rockauto.com/getimage/getimage.php?imagekey=40355&imageurl=http%3A//www.rockauto.com/info/SMP/PC159photo%20primary.jpg

 I only pulled the Legacy's once and thought the base was plastic sleeved as well..... In any case, if it tests bad, you can still twist with vice grips or pry against the plastic tab to break the seal.