1987 XT Turbo Rescue

[stewartkb]

Posted this over on the XT Forum as well - I have been on the hunt for an XT6 AWD, and STILL am. However, I thought I would share this 1987 XT Turbo 2-wheel drive that I picked up yesterday (it was too nice to pass up and practically in my backyard). 88,000 miles. Full maintenance records. Really clean interior, seems it was well taken care of. The previous owner disclosed it has cold start issues, which I verified, but once warm it idled fine. It performed flawlessly on my test drive, which was quite extensive 20+ minutes of issue free driving and testing all the bells and whistles - however on my way home it began to stall constantly and lose power when pressing on the accelerator (I'm wondering if this is related to the starting issue?). After getting home I noticed turning on cruise or headlights will trigger the car to die as well; the outside temperature gauge appears to be inop.

 

It has been sitting, so once I get the chance I will try the basics (fresh fuel, fuel filter, fuses, etc). Have any of you experienced similar issues? I'd like to drive her until I find an XT6. Regardless of outcome, it was about the rescue of the car  Thanks for looking.

 

[naru]

Might just be a plugged fuel filter.

 

Any codes?

 

I`d be looking at the wiring harness connectors too.

[edian727]

if you keep looking for a xt6 you'll find one. good luck . I love mine. Lots of work and some hard to find parts. Nice xt btw. I always buy 2 fuel filters and keep a 5 gallons of fuel on me. i change the fuel filter fill it up with gas, run it dry, change filter and fill-up with the gas i have on hand. always worked like a charm. im betting it'll be a fuel filter. gas goes bad relatively fast and it still burns just leaves lots of crap in your filter and honestly the whole system. i do have lots of wiring issues in my xt6 so its a good idea to look that over, too.

[crazyhorse001]

Could be a dying alt or a bad battery connection. Both gave me drivablity issues on my xt4 n/a. It would stall and sputter. A bad battery took out my alternator.

[stewartkb]

Thank you for the replies. I put the battery on the charger, it was practically discharged. I pulled and cleaned all of the grounds under the hood that I could find. Checked all electrical connections (some are very thick with grease). Replaced the fuel filter - while unplugging the fuel pump to relieve pressure I noticed it had a gooey gas smelling substance underneath it on the mounting plate - so I pulled the pump to inspect it further assuming it was leaking. It looked fine, just dirty, but the end connecting the larger fuel tank hose was pretty gunked up. Scraped away the build up and reconnected everything, unfortunately I need to get a new hose tomorrow because it's slightly leaking where the buildup was. No biggie.

 

Tried to turn the car over, still won't start. Remembered to check the computer - Only code it's giving me is 12 (which appears to be the starter switch or circuit). Got this little piece of advice on the XT Forum:

 

Just remembered something. On my 85 there was a grounding wire on the passenger-side of the engine, grounded through one of the intake manifold bolts. Learned through experience the engine will not run without this ground.

 

I go outside and find this ground, I didn't even realize it was there. Visually it appeared fairly dirty. Pulled it out and realized it was pretty bad. Cleaned it up with a wire brush and some scuffing pads and wrenched it back down. 

 

 

Turned the car over. It started right up. Tested it about 5 more times, started up no problem. Tested headlights, turned on cruise, car continued to run just fine. I am not going to actually test it on the road until I replace that fuel line. I am HOPING this is the root of all evil. I will keep you all posted. Tune up goodies soon to be on order from Rock Auto.

Edited November 14, 2016 by stewartkb

[crazyhorse001]

Good catch! I'm always happy to see an xt saved

[stewartkb]

Got a bit more done today - changed the oil, new air filter and windshield wiper (so cool I only have to buy one) - While pulling the air box off I discovered I separated a sensor that must have already been damaged and the car will not idle now. Any ideas on the exact name of this sensor? My best guess is it's the Air Intake / Charge Temperature Sensor? Thanks!

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by stewartkb

[nncoolg]

Knock sensor.

Bypass it with a resistor.

[stewartkb]

Knock sensor.

Bypass it with a resistor.

 

Thanks for the help. Ouch yeah, $75.00 for the cheap one on Rock Auto. No one locally even has them in their system.

Edited November 17, 2016 by stewartkb

[stewartkb]

Because I am not familiar with the resistor procedure I went ahead and ordered a new sensor... Only it has one post instead of two. It is identical to the old one besides that - Meaning I would need a new plug as well to fit it. Any thoughts on this if I tried it? From what I've read, one wire is a ground, whereas the single pin grounds via the body?

 

Edited November 18, 2016 by stewartkb

[stewartkb]

Actually just discovered the knock sensor on my 87' is listed under the 86' model, go figure. So I will be returning and ordering the right one. 

Edited November 18, 2016 by stewartkb

[idosubaru]

thanks for posting that - probably helpful to someone in the future.   i think i'm accustomed to seeing one posters too and i've seen mostly 87+ EA/ER engines. 

 

so it looks like there's an 86 and earlier variant and 87+ probably?

 

slap the part numbers up here if it's easy. 

 

 

 

you want me to check for a used one?

[stewartkb]

Yeah of course - These are on Rock Auto (cheaper than anywhere else I could find). It appears so, unless my car was repaired at some point in time and they used an 86' a donor? OR it was just an early 87 perhaps? I will have to go through the stack of maintenance records and check it.

 

 

 I appreciate it, I have the new one on the way already, BUT I do need a new socket for it to splice into the wiring harness as mine is trashed. It broke off while moving it out of the way to get to the sensor. I checked around online and locally for one that might match, but no luck. Also, any idea of a part number/replacement for this broken hose? Thanks

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by stewartkb

[naru]

Hose is 8075 15402

[crazyhorse001]

87 is a split year. Before 1/87 is the same as 86. After that its the same as 88.

[crazyhorse001]

87 is a split year. Before 1/87 is the same as 86. After that its the same as 88.

[stewartkb]

Hose is 8075 15402

 

Looking all over and I cannot find it! Is there a specific company or maybe a link? Thanks so much!

 

87 is a split year. Before 1/87 is the same as 86. After that its the same as 88.

 

Ahhh that explains it. Thank you for clarifying.

[naru]

Looking all over and I cannot find it! Is there a specific company or maybe a link? Thanks so much!

 

Ummm.....Subaru

http://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru__XT/HOSE-BMPINATURBO/49288107/807515402.html

[stewartkb]

Ummm.....Subaru

http://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru__XT/HOSE-BMPINATURBO/49288107/807515402.html

 

Awesome thank you for clarifying, I did not realize it was a dealer only part.

[stewartkb]

New knock sensor in. Discovered I popped a hose off when I replaced the air filter, which may have contributed to the issue. She's up and running. Noticed some random spikes of high idling, but not too concerned at this point. Also noticed a clicking sound coming from the driver side dash while driving, but can't seem to locate the source. Got some snow tires put on just in time, it's starting to come down pretty hard tonight. 

[robm]

There are half a dozen relays under the dash where you hear that clicking.  I believe they normally just energize when the car is running, they don't click on and off.    I could be wrong, and XT's maybe have different relays there (I am used to Loyales).

 

Any weird effects when they click?  Does the fan go out and come back, or the headlights, or ?

 

Does it happen when the heat is on?  (These relays get heat-related flakiness when old.)

[crazyhorse001]

Check the diagnostic connectors under the back window at the ecu. It may be in test mode still

[stewartkb]

Sorry for the late replies! It has been busy around here, especially with the weather. I was concerned yesterday with how wet my engine bay got from the trek to town and back; practically plowing snow, but the spaceship does amazing for FWD. She is also starting to idle higher and higher in the morning (upwards of 1500-2K RPM). That being said, often times after an hour or two of warming up and running around the idle will sit steady between 550-750. Guess it's time to figure that one out..

 

 

 

There are half a dozen relays under the dash where you hear that clicking.  I believe they normally just energize when the car is running, they don't click on and off.    I could be wrong, and XT's maybe have different relays there (I am used to Loyales).

 

Any weird effects when they click?  Does the fan go out and come back, or the headlights, or ?

 

Does it happen when the heat is on?  (These relays get heat-related flakiness when old.)

 

It appears to be consistent with speed. The faster I go the more it clicks, and eventually at low speeds it's not audible. I will try to get some audio clips.

 

Check the diagnostic connectors under the back window at the ecu. It may be in test mode still

 

Green connectors in the trunk are disconnected and white ones as well under the hood.

[stewartkb]

So here are some videos of the developing issues; first video shows the RPM spikes when I activate and deactivate the heater - Second video shows the spikes while driving; also when coming to a stop, the idle will bounce around and it will sometimes die on me (at certain times though it seems like the numbers just bounce, but the actual idle doesn't). It has progressively gotten worse in symptoms over the last month.

 

First: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Q14wJB4zc1UU9mX2kzVkZmdmM/view?usp=sharing

 

 

Second: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Q14wJB4zc1X25UcTF5RGtGYUU/view?usp=sharing

 

On the brighter side here is some eye candy:

 

Edited January 23, 2017 by stewartkb

[rdweninger]

The clicking sounds like a front axle (CV joint).  Check your axle boots for tears.   Clean, re-grease and re-boot if needed.    Aftermarket axles suck.

The idle issue sounds like it could be the Coolant Temp Sensor.   There are instructions on this forum on how to check with a multimeter.   Buy a multimeter if you do not already own one.

Nice XT ....   I don't have one of those ... for some reason.