powderhogg01 Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Hey guys, I have picked up a '93 subaru legacy. When I purchased the car it ran a bit rough but seemed in decent shape. It has been a little over 2 months and the vehicle is getting worse. Here is whats going on.. When you go to accelerate up a hill or in the morning, even with the foot mashed to the floor the power take off is not there, the vehicle barely moves at all. when you come to a stop it will sputter and occasionally it even stalls out completely. When this happens it starts right back up, but the power take off issue remains. I just learned how to get codes from the vehicle and I will do that next and report what is going on, however in the mean time I was hoping some of you guys have seen or heard this issue and may point me into the right direction. I first thought the issue was transmission related, but I am no longer leaning on that side of the fence, this morning when I left my house to drive up the hill to my work the car started fine, had a rough idle.. very low at times, then when I had the accelerated all the way depressed it barely moved. the engine was not revving or anything, just a very low idle and light forward movement.(you could walk faster then the car was willing to go)during this no lights or sny of the sort came on, it was as though the vehicle had entered limp mode. So today I am going to change the plugs, pvc valve, fuel filter, and the air filter.this is a non turbo legacy. I bought the car a a safer alternative for what my girlfriend was driving as I live in a mountain area which has a lot of bad snowy nights. I can not give her the car to drive around until its running well and I know its not going to leave her stranded.. as winter is fast approaching I need to get this fixed and fast. If I can answer any other questions in regards to the car and its no power issue please let me know, I am an experienced mechanic, but have very little experience dealing with subarus, at this point I wish I would have bought the jeep I was looking at, as I know jeeps..thanks in advanced my subaru friends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 knock sensor, slipped timing belt, clogged cat/exhaust but, there could be many other items - post any/all codes you get from the system. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhogg01 Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 I am new to the flash style codes, but will do it a few time to insure I am getting the same results. Hoping for a simple fix, and not something terminal.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) any stored codes will repeat in sequence until you turn the key off, so no real need to do multiple times, but if it makes you feel better, go for it - always good to practice! As Texan said, there are a multitude of things that could be causing your problem - codes, if any, would help point us in the right direction to solving the problem Edited November 12, 2014 by heartless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedotsnow Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 CHECK ALL your pcv system!!! a minor vacuum leak can cause wierd operations from throwing off lambda or stochiomitry. and its usually a cheap fix with a hose clamp but sometimes the super small ones need replacing too... main clue you might see oil seepage at any point that leaks, common places are the valve cover breathers, crank vent, pcv and all the hoses in-between, even the secondary vacuum systems can casue problems if there are slight leaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Sounds like the iacv is sticking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhogg01 Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 (edited) I did the mentioned fixes. changed the plugs, replaced the fuel filter and the pcv valve, I also cleaned the throttle body a bit where I could reach without rmoving it. I think I will pick up the gaskets and pull the TB off and give it a proper cleaning. I noticed a big difference. The car now has ok acceleration and seemed to do a lot better on the big hill near my house. I have been driving my other vehicle as a storm has us burried in snow. I will do the code reading when it warms back up a little bit. I noticed broken 3 way connect from the pcv valve, so I will replace that before I drive it more. I checked the transmission fluid, it was a thin gross brownish red color and smelled slightly burned... It also had too much of it, I removed the excess and the issue of no power seems to be fixed. thanks for the suggestions, hang with me for those codes. Edited November 13, 2014 by powderhogg01 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 hoping you checked the trans fluid while idling. many people miss that. You might consider a SeaFoam treatment - at least some, or Techron, in the a tankful fo gas. Can help clean injectors/remove carbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhogg01 Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 yes the vehicle was warmed up and in idle, in the neutral position. there will be a few days until I can get those codes. I considered running the seafoam treatment, however I think I will hold of for now. I will do that, then pull the TB and iacv and give that whole section a real thorough cleaning. I picked up some MAF cleaning, but I am holding off on it, as the maf looked fairly clean on the inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now