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Subaru Impreza Engine Problems

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Comments

  • queenvaveequeenvavee Member Posts: 1
    This car went onto limp mode. The ECU was throwing a code so we replaced the sensor that was causing the code. Reset the ECU, the car goes for a bit as normal and then goes into limp mode again. The guy who owned it said that he thought it needed a transmission. But how could that be if the tranny works for that short time? This is 2.2 automatic.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,747
    To start, what is the code that is coming up?
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • bill125bill125 Member Posts: 3
    My wrx sti was had an under car accident and afterwards all the oil came out. So now theres no oil in the engine. please give me an idea on how much it will cost to repair this and is it worth it to keep the car.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Depends on how long you ran it with no oil and if there is internal damage. If it's just an oil pan it's about $100 for the part.

    But I think you should sell me your car cheap :) hee hee

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I guess they have to find where the oil leak came from. Sounds pretty serious, though.

    Insurance ought to cover even engine damage suffered in a collision.
  • doofus54doofus54 Member Posts: 21
    My daughter owns a '96 Impreza with a recent problem.
    The car runs fine when cold, but at operating temp it stumbles badly accelerating from a stop. Like a carb(if it had one)with a bad accelerator pump. A delicate foot is the the only way to make a decent getaway. Has new plugs, wires,fuel filter, all the cheap things I can do. Any one have any clues? thanks.
    Also, a question. I am new to Subaru, and I was wondering if any one can tell me what they use instead of a distributor, and where it is.thanks
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Both answers are: ignition coil.

    After the plugs and wires, try that. Should be similar to my '98 Forester, so it's on top of the engine, where the spark plug wires connect. Mine was $80 from 1stsubaruparts.com, and you only need one for all cylinders.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Yup was going to say that or a MAF. During the stumbling does the CEL come on? I just picked up a '95 Impreza L 2.2AWD for my dad and the speedo cable/connection is broken. Over 4k on heavy acceleration it will also stumble, I believe it's due to the ECU reading no mph and kicking in a rev limiter.

    -mike
  • doofus54doofus54 Member Posts: 21
    I wasn't clear on my question about the lack of a distributor. What I really wanted to find out was the location of the device that triggers the coils. Thanks alot for the info on my problem.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    It's smack dab on top of the engine, the wires go into it from the plugs. That unit is fired from the ECU via wiring harnessess.

    -mike
  • doofus54doofus54 Member Posts: 21
    The coil worked!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Sweet!

    Hey, my advice was actually useful to somebody! LOL :D
  • doofus54doofus54 Member Posts: 21
    I'm a newbie to soobie and with the ignition problem I WAS having I did some thinking on the engine and may be came up with a diadnosis for your mis-firing problem. Here goes:
    The ECU probably takes a tach pulse from a sensor on the right cam pulley, mixes it with a signal from the speedo, compares speed to rpm and spits out the correct ignition timing for the situation. Without the speed signal, it doesn't know what to do and defaults to a failsafe mode, possibly TDC, wich would explain the mis-fire at high RPM.
    It's already fixed I'm sure, but I just thought I'd give you my two cents. Did I dazzle you with brilliance, or baffle you with bull****? please forgive me.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Yup sounds about right. I need to get the speedo fixed though.

    -mike
  • killermoatskillermoats Member Posts: 1
    I have had my 99 impreza for about 6 months and am loving it. Since i have had it, it seems to lack some power. It feels like it dosent grab and go untill about 3k rpm from 2nd gear up. First gear seems fine most of the time. I changed the gas that i was putting in to a higher grade with no changes after 3+ tanks. When i had my oil changed they said i had a rear separator plate leaking. What effect would this have? In the last few weeks the idle has not been steady. once warmed up, and then sitting idleing, the idle will drop down to 400-500rpm near stalling the engine. Again, cause and effect i do not know. I feel this is all tied together, but this is my first subaru.

    The power loss is not constant so it has been hard for me to diagnose. Nor has it been a big enough power loss that i have wanted to put the money to get it checked out.

    Note: it has the 2.2L engine.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Our Mazda 626 V6 was sluggish and a fuel system service cleared it up.

    It's spark or fuel, as they say, so if that doesn't help then for spark I'd look to the plugs, plug wires, and ignition coil, in that order specifically.
  • slowndesslowndes Member Posts: 2
    hi, can anyone help?????

    my car is jumping, the garage does not have a clue, it failed the mot on omissions,it it like one minute it has no power, then it has too much, won't stay on idle for too long either...

    no splits in hoses, filters ok

    thanks Sara
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Can you provide a bit more info?

    Is it a WRX? Outback Sport? Impreza 2.5i?

    That will tell us the engine.

    Does it throw a Check-Engine Light? If so do you have the codes?
  • slowndesslowndes Member Posts: 2
    hi thanks for getting back, it is a wrx non turbo model, no engine check light lit

    it has now been fixed. The garage (which specialised in these cars) did not have a clue ( it has been in the garage for 7 days), diagnostics brought up nothing; it was the "af filter" in the carb....

    apparently it runs like a dream now mmm will see when i pick it up next week
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Glad to hear is was resolved. :shades:
  • erniemanernieman Member Posts: 3
    hi i have a 1996 ej20 wrx and i found two vacum hoses broke off there is a jet inside one to limit the boost for the waste gate can i take it out
    thanks for any help
  • erniemanernieman Member Posts: 3
    hi i have a 1996 wrx ej 20 engine there was a wire broke off it has a jet in it can i take it out for more boost

    THANKS FOR ANY HELP
  • erniemanernieman Member Posts: 3
  • madhtrmadhtr Member Posts: 5
    Yep, I took it in for the first oil change at 3000 miles, the guy left the cap lying upside down on the battery, and I didnt discover it until 280 miles later. Amazingly, it appears that no oil was blown out, the engine is still clean, there's only a slight dark circle on the hood insulation where the oil cap is. My question is this ... could anything have been damaged anyway? like vaccum systems, pcv valves and so forth? I don't want to ask the dealer yet, I'm afraid they might lie to me:)

    TY:)
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,747
    I doubt it would cause any short-term problems. Internal engine pressure would be all funky (compared to normal) while the cap was off, though.

    Definitely note it with the shop, though! Being a new car, you want this thing to be noted "just in case." And, the dealer might be so responsible as to even announce it to the shop crew so the next unsuspecting customer does not suffer the same oversight.

    I am leery about shops any more. If, for some odd reason, I actually have my car in a shop, I am sure to pop the hood and dip the fluids. Takes about two minutes of time, but if something is off I can note it before the car even leaves their property.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • madhtrmadhtr Member Posts: 5
    great advice! Ok, that's what I'll do. And from now on I will do a visual inspection myself :)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I'm not sure how much pressure there would be in the cylinder heads, but probably not much. I'm surprised no oil splashed out, though.

    I agree the problems should be documented, but you'll probably see no ill effects.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    There shouldn't be any appreciable pressure held by the cap. It's merely there to prevent splashing.

    -mike
  • sschribersschriber Member Posts: 89
    I'm looking at a 99 impreza L for my daughter. During the test drive one of the rear bearings sounded shot. I've heard there is a TSB out there and that the rear bearings can be troublesome. Any comments?

    Also, the current owner mentioned that the plugs were frequently fouling and had to be replaced every 8,000 miles or so. Looking at the maintenance receipts, the plugs and wires were being replace every 4 or 5 months. Any ideas? Thanks.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    A 99L is a great find, especially if it's a stick. Bearing isn't bad, about $200 to fix and it shouldn't go again. Also the fouling of the plugs could be due to a valve cover gasket.

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Just make sure you replace both sides, and ask them to use the newer Legacy bearing design. It will address that issue.

    Those engines are virtually indescructible if taken care of.
  • sschribersschriber Member Posts: 89
    Legacy bearings in the Impreza?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yup. Apparently they used a strurdier design that was still compatible.

    I replaced the rear wheel bearings on my Forester with ones from the Legacy.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The Legacy used barrel bearings instead of ball bearings, this gives them more support IIRC.

    -mike
  • sschribersschriber Member Posts: 89
    The gasket was replaced last year as was the catalytic converter. There is no loss of oil between changes. Could the mixture be running rich? Is this adjustable with this engine?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    It could be running rich, but it isn't adjustable, other than to try to reset the ECU. It could also be running rich due to a vaccum leak somewhere or the MAF/MAP being bad.

    -mike
  • jonmbjonmb Member Posts: 3
    My '97 Impreza has been stuttering lately. When accelerating gently from a start, it starts to go, pauses, starts to go, pauses, and then goes normally (this lasts for a brief second or two). If I accelerate with a more moderate amount of gas, it takes off (pretty quickly!) with no stutter.

    I'm not sure if this is a engine problem or what. I know I'm do for a tune-up and oil change soon. Could this be a clog somewhere? Maybe the fuel filter?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Spark or fuel, as they say.

    I would change, in order:

    spark plugs
    spark plug wires
    fuel filter
    ignition coil

    Bet that fixes it. If not get the fuel injection system serviced.
  • jonmbjonmb Member Posts: 3
    Thanks. I'm sure it's time for all of those things to be replaced.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    If they are all original then absolutely.

    The spark plug wires on my Miata barely last 30k miles.
  • jonmbjonmb Member Posts: 3
    I sure hope they're not all original. I bought the car at 120k miles. It has about 137k now, and I'm not sure when the last owner changed them. He took good care of it though, so I imagine it wasn't too many miles ago.

    I'm thinking about buying a Miata one day.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    When I buy used cars I change all the fluids, plugs, wires, filters, etc., just to establish a "baseline". I want to know how old all the wear and tear items are.

    Don't think I've kept a car to 137k miles but if I did the list of things to replace would be a bit longer.

    On my Miata, I bought it with just 26k miles, though it was 8 years. Previous owner showed me a receipt for the 30k service, done early due to the age.

    Guess what? They had forgotten the rear diff fluid. I know because the trans fluid (for the front diff) was clean and new, and the stuff that drained out of the rear diff looked like clowdy, melted chocolate. Fortunately the limited-slip function still works - guess I got lucky.
  • doofus54doofus54 Member Posts: 21
    if you have a really good friend with a car with the same engine, ask them if you can borrow their ignition coil for a test.i had a similar problem, and the mounting point of the coil on the manifold soaking up all that heat must shorten its life. and since its actually two coils, probably only one failed and the symptoms can imitate other possibilities. you don't want to buy one and not cure the problem. hope this helps.
  • modeselectmodeselect Member Posts: 5
    hi everyone i bought a stil last week, and it was pretty fun to drive with it. and i driving crazy in it, but this morning i was driving to school and it is snowing, i hit the sidewalk, and the ABS sign comes on, and the tire seems okay, but the rims are messup, and on my first gear driving i hit 2000rpm, it said redline... anyone know what happen? do i need an alligment or somethin?
    also i have a HKS blow off valves init. do u think it will affect my warranty if i take it back to dealer? please help
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    You may need an alignment.

    A bigger issue is that the STI has "summer tires," which means NO SNOW driving, but it sounds like you just learned that lesson, albeit the hard way...

    Bob
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Time to call Tire Rack for a wheel/tire package for the snowy season.

    The gumball-soft tread on the STI summer tires just are not made for snow, not at all. They get rock hard at freezing temps.
  • modeselectmodeselect Member Posts: 5
    but why on the first gear it hit red line on 2000rpm? and if i take back to dealer and the blow off valve affect my warrenty?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Red line at 2000rpm? Not sure what you mean.

    Do you mean VDC cut in and cut off the throttle? At red line there is a fuel cut off, so VDC kicking in might feel similar, but it's not the same thing.

    Or did you mean redline at 20 mph? Or something else?

    I imagine you just had wild wheelspin on all 4 tires.

    You literally have no traction at all with summer tires in the snow.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    but why on the first gear it hit red line on 2000rpm?

    Do you mean 20 mph, as juice asked? If it redlined at 20 mph your tires were spinning faster than the car was travelling. It's those summer tires with no snow traction that's the problem.

    and if i take back to dealer and the blow off valve affect my warrenty?

    Only if it somehow affects something the stock valve would have done, but that's just a guess.

    Bob
  • modeselectmodeselect Member Posts: 5
    what i mean is when on first gear and on 2000rpm, the red point on the middle and below RPM. usually that comes out when i hit like 7000rpm , that way i have to shift up.
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