1995SubaruImpreza Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Hi, I have a 1995 Subaru Impreza 1.8L AWD with 400300kms and it is dying a slow a painful death... I was hoping someone could give me some insight into my poor little car's problems seeing I know nothing about cars. 1st thing is that when I am stopped the RPM's drop to nearly 0 and the car shakes and jolts like it is going to stall although it never does. My mechanic cleaned out the throttle body thinking that might be the problem and it resolved the issues for a couple of hours. I also had the fuel filter and air filter changed 2nd I have two tempatures in my car Hot and Hotter when I put the vent on it is pure hot air that comes out and when I turn my heat on as you would expect it gets even hotter. When I have the fan and everythign turned off oyu can still feel hot air comming into the car through the vents although it appears the fan is not running. My Tempature gauge is always normal so I dont think that the car is overheating. And 3rd the best one yet I just learned today that I have a leak coming from my gas tank, my mechanic thinks that is could be a leak in the seam of the gas tank or a problem with the sending unit but won't know till he looks at it further. Anyone have any ideas? Also I called Subaru about the cost of a gas tank and sending unit Gas tank: 728.29cdn Sending unit 179.17cdn Is the sending unit the same thing as the gas pump? The guy at Subaru lead me to believe that is was...??? Also I have been trying to find an After market gas tank, does anyone know if they exsist Thanks in advance for any help!!! Desparate to keep my car alive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 a skilled mechanic can find a way to plug that gas tank. but if it's leaking due to rust might be best to replace anyway. won't know till they look at it. or as a last resort, replace it with a used one. in the states it wouldn't be hard to find a good used one for cheap. sending unit and fuel pump are completely different. as for the idling. does the check engine light ever come on? first thing that comes to mind on any EJ motor like yours is the ignition. these motors are very sensitive to good functioning ingnition so make sure your plugs and wires are good. does it run, drive and shift fine? is it just the idling that's the issue? check TPS and throttle cable and there should be something that controls the idle - i can't recall how the EJ does that since i haven't seen that problem yet. also - a vacuum leak may cause your condition as well....look for a cracked intake hose or disconnected/cracked hose elsewhere. spraying starter fluid around the hoses will show you the leak, the engine will rev up if the fluid gets sucked in. while you're doing that, be sure to squirt the intake manifold gaskets as they can leak as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 if the check engine light has ever came on, you need to read the codes and see what it's throwing. follow up and let us know. these guys have two gas tanks for your vehicle for only $75 and they're in Ontario..>ROCK ON!!!!!: 1-519-621-3240 1-800-265-9817 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Check vacuum lines and if they're all attached, it might be a toasted MAF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1995SubaruImpreza Posted October 10, 2006 Author Share Posted October 10, 2006 My check engine light has never come on. It always starts fine, I have had the vaccumm lines checked they all seem secure. My car is an automatic it seems to switch gears fine no problems once I get going. The way the gas tank is leaking my mechanic seems to think that it is at the seam, or it is the fuel pressure sender. The reason I asked if the pump and sender were the same was because the guy at subaru said it is part of the pump. The car has not been fully inspected yet it is going in on tuesday to have the gas tank dropped out of it. If I am not getting the check engine light but should I still have it hooked up to see if it is getting any error codes? Also if there is a problem with the sender could this be causing the low idling and jerking problem? or is that a totally sperate issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1995SubaruImpreza Posted October 10, 2006 Author Share Posted October 10, 2006 if the check engine light has ever came on, you need to read the codes and see what it's throwing. follow up and let us know. these guys have two gas tanks for your vehicle for only $75 and they're in Ontario..>ROCK ON!!!!!: 1-519-621-3240 1-800-265-9817 Thanks so much!!! that will come in very handy!!!!!! and the first number is close by!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 is the fuel leaking all the time, only when the car is running or you don't know? is it leaks when you're driving, then it's likely affecting the supply of fuel to the engine and could cause idling that bad...but it would have to be a terrible leak. i've seen fuel pumps spewing gas everywhere but the vehicles would still start, idle and run okay. by the sounds of it being at the seam or fuel sender related i'd say it's probably not related to your idling, but you'll know more once someone looks at it. should be obvious once you nail down the exact source of the leak. you can try pulling codes or diagnostic, but probably won't find anything. a very important question...has there been any recent work done to the vehicle? how old are the ignition components? plugs, wires? air filter? i'd install new plugs and wires (Subaru only on the wires) and then the coil pack if those items don't fix it. then get back to us. ignition issues cause a majority of the rough idle, rough start issues that come my way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1995SubaruImpreza Posted October 12, 2006 Author Share Posted October 12, 2006 And the list gets longer.... The work that was done in and around the same time that the rough idling started was; a ball joint was replaced on the passenger side I had an oil change done, and had oil stabilizer put in for the first time, and I had the spark plugs changed. As for ignition parts being changed nothing has ever been changed. I have had the fuel filter changed and the air filter about 2 weeks ago. I inherited the car from my Dad, he has had it since new and not done anything with it, except oil changes. As per my mechanics request I have gone through most of the gas (I have about 1/4 of a tank) I am unable to tell if the gas tank is still leaking because it is rainy out so everything is wet. starting last night I have been getting a loss of power in the car. Last night wil going up a fairly large him (to incredibly steep) I could not get the car to do more than 40kms, I then too it to a really steep hill just to test it out and it climbed it fine. On my way to work this morning after being stopped at a red light on flat ground it just did not want to pick up speed for but a few seconds later it was okay again. Another seperate issue I am having is my ABS light keeps coming on, it will be ok for an undetermined amount of time and then for no apparent reason it will come on and stay on until the car is turned off and then it will be ok for a while again. Is there a way to reset it or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1995SubaruImpreza Posted October 13, 2006 Author Share Posted October 13, 2006 And the list gets longer.... The work that was done in and around the same time that the rough idling started was; a ball joint was replaced on the passenger side I had an oil change done, and had oil stabilizer put in for the first time, and I had the spark plugs changed. As for ignition parts being changed nothing has ever been changed. I have had the fuel filter changed and the air filter about 2 weeks ago. I inherited the car from my Dad, he has had it since new and not done anything with it, except oil changes. As per my mechanics request I have gone through most of the gas (I have about 1/4 of a tank) I am unable to tell if the gas tank is still leaking because it is rainy out so everything is wet. starting last night I have been getting a loss of power in the car. Last night wil going up a fairly large him (to incredibly steep) I could not get the car to do more than 40kms, I then too it to a really steep hill just to test it out and it climbed it fine. On my way to work this morning after being stopped at a red light on flat ground it just did not want to pick up speed for but a few seconds later it was okay again. Having the spark plug wires changed today (fingers crossed that will help) Another seperate issue I am having is my ABS light keeps coming on, it will be ok for an undetermined amount of time and then for no apparent reason it will come on and stay on until the car is turned off and then it will be ok for a while again. Is there a way to reset it or something? is the fuel leaking all the time, only when the car is running or you don't know? is it leaks when you're driving, then it's likely affecting the supply of fuel to the engine and could cause idling that bad...but it would have to be a terrible leak. i've seen fuel pumps spewing gas everywhere but the vehicles would still start, idle and run okay. by the sounds of it being at the seam or fuel sender related i'd say it's probably not related to your idling, but you'll know more once someone looks at it. should be obvious once you nail down the exact source of the leak. you can try pulling codes or diagnostic, but probably won't find anything. a very important question...has there been any recent work done to the vehicle? how old are the ignition components? plugs, wires? air filter? i'd install new plugs and wires (Subaru only on the wires) and then the coil pack if those items don't fix it. then get back to us. ignition issues cause a majority of the rough idle, rough start issues that come my way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Boncyk Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 The ABS light can also be triggered if the break fluid in your master cylinder reservoir is low. Check the fluid level. The light will come on more often when the weather is cooler, since the break fluid will expand when warm, and contract when cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HondaH8er Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Have you considered a new engine? That engine has a lot of miles (400k km = 248k miles) on it, and it might just be tired out to the point of no return. I'd say get that $75 gas tank, put that in, and drop an EJ22 (2.2L) in there; you'll get a little more power, they should be able to be had for pretty cheap, and it should be a direct plug-and-play swap, very straight forward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lekmedm Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Your Dad never did any maintenance except oil changes?!?!?! ...and you're at 400k km...? Changing the spark plugs was an excellent idea, but those ignition wires need to go, too! If your problem persists, replacing the coil pack may be in order as previously mentioned. BTW, has the timing belt ever been changed? What about the tranny fluid and the oil in the front and rear diffs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1995SubaruImpreza Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 Your Dad never did any maintenance except oil changes?!?!?! ...and you're at 400k km...? Changing the spark plugs was an excellent idea, but those ignition wires need to go, too! If your problem persists, replacing the coil pack may be in order as previously mentioned. BTW, has the timing belt ever been changed? What about the tranny fluid and the oil in the front and rear diffs? Changed the spark plug wires, car is runing great! Transmission fluid hasn't been changed in at least 300,000kms I am afraid to change it now, I have been advised it is best not to. I don't know about the front and rear difs. The timing belt I don't think has ever been changed but I do not know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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