1995 Subaru Legacy starting problems

E

errksnerk

My legacy is having issues! It often will not start. It turns over
but there is no clicking noise. I also sometimes smell gas and
getting poor gas mileage as well. If it will not start i let it sit
and after 30 minutes or so it will start again. If the motor is cold
it usually starts. Also, when i come to a stop sign it idles way down
( 200-300) RPM’s. I have to give it gas when stopped to keep it from
stalling, and if it dies at this point it is difficult to get it to
start again. I am a college student with a limited income please
help! Advise i have gotten so far is: Crankshaft (crank angle)
position sensor, leaky injector, and bad ground. I don’t know where
to start, please help.

starving college student
 
errksnerk said:
My legacy is having issues! It often will not start. It turns over
but there is no clicking noise. I also sometimes smell gas and
getting poor gas mileage as well. If it will not start i let it sit
and after 30 minutes or so it will start again. If the motor is cold
it usually starts. Also, when i come to a stop sign it idles way down
( 200-300) RPM’s. I have to give it gas when stopped to keep it from
stalling, and if it dies at this point it is difficult to get it to
start again. I am a college student with a limited income please
help! Advise i have gotten so far is: Crankshaft (crank angle)
position sensor, leaky injector, and bad ground. I don’t know where
to start, please help.

starving college student

I would add a bad MAF, bad oxygen sensor and possibly bad engine temp
sensor (keeping the ECU in a 'rich' mode) to the list.

Is the check engine light on? Can you get the codes read?

Also, post your city/area as someone here may know of a reputavble
mechanic/dealership located nearby.

Carl
 
Provide me with an email address and I will send you the diagnostic
tables from the subaru service manual. l e x m i a @ juno.com without
the spaces. Reference SUBARU in the subject line or I may consider your
message as spam
 
I live in Reno Nevada. The check engine light is on. Should i go to a
dealership or will any mechanic do
 
errksnerk said:
I live in Reno Nevada. The check engine light is on. Should i go to a
dealership or will any mechanic do?


Someone here may be familiar with your area. I am not.
But, if you have an Autozone or perhaps other parts dealer - they will
sometimes read and/or clear codes(they expect you will buy a part from
them). Or, pay a friendly mechanic $10-%15 to do it for you.
Best procedure - if possible, get the codes read, WRITE THEM DOWN
ACCURATELY and post them here. try to get them to clear the codes.
Likely, the light will come back on. THEN get them read again, and post.
It is not uncommon to have an older car or a 'bad gas experience' set an
occasional misfire code. We will be looking for a more specific code -
hopefully pointing to a cheap sensor that would be inexpensive to replace.

Please note, Walmart, pepBoys ,A'zone and even harbor Freight and Ebay
sell OBDII readers. I THINK your car is OBDII. ANYONE???

If it isn't, there's another way to get the codes. check
www.troublecodes.net

Carl
 
Someone here may be familiar with your area. I am not.
But, if you have an Autozone or perhaps other parts dealer - they will
sometimes read and/or clear codes(they expect you will buy a part from
them). Or, pay a friendly mechanic $10-%15 to do it for you.
Best procedure - if possible, get the codes read, WRITE THEM DOWN
ACCURATELY and post them here. try to get them to clear the codes.
Likely, the light will come back on. THEN get them read again, and post.
It is not uncommon to have an older car or a 'bad gas experience' set an
occasional misfire code. We will be looking for a more specific code -
hopefully pointing to a cheap sensor that would be inexpensive to replace.

Please note, Walmart, pepBoys ,A'zone  and even harbor Freight and Ebay
sell OBDII readers. I THINK your car is OBDII. ANYONE???

If it isn't, there's another way to get the codes. checkwww.troublecodes.net

Carl

I have a 1995 Legacy and it is OBDII
 
Hey thanks for the reply! I got the codes read but the check engine
light has not came back on yet. I don’t know which part of the code
is useful so I’ll post everything that the machine said: J1850 Iso
9141 Keyword 2000. Once the light comes back on i will get it
checked and post again. Thank you for help


Eri
 
Hey thanks for the reply!  I got the codes read but the check engine
light has not came back on yet.  I don’t know which part of the code
is useful so I’ll post everything that the machine said:  J1850   Iso
9141  Keyword 2000.   Once the light comes back on i will get it
checked and post again.  Thank you for help

Erik

: > errksnerk wrote:

 >
 > > I live in Reno Nevada.  The check engine light is on. Should
 > i go to a
 > > dealership or will any mechanic do?
 > >
 > > "Carl 1 Lucky Texan" wrote:
 > >  > errksnerk wrote:
 > >  >
 > >  > > My legacy is having issues!  It often will not start.
 > It
 > >  > turns over
 > >  > > but  there is no clicking noise.  I also sometimes
 > smell gas
 > >  > and
 > >  > > getting poor gas mileage as well.   If it will not
 > start i
 > >  > let it sit
 > >  > > and after 30 minutes or so it will start again.  If the
 > >  > motor is cold
 > >  > > it usually starts.  Also, when i come to a stop sign it
 > >  > idles way down
 > >  > > ( 200-300) RPM’s. I have to give it gas when stopped to
 > keep
 > >  > it from
 > >  > > stalling, and if it dies at this point it is difficult
 > to
 > >  > get it to
 > >  > > start again.  I am a college student with a limited
 > income
 > >  > please
 > >  > > help!  Advise i have gotten so far is: Crankshaft
 > (crank
 > >  > angle)
 > >  > > position sensor, leaky injector, and bad ground.  I
 > don’t
 > >  > know where
 > >  > > to start, please help.
 > >  > >
 > >  > > starving college student
 > >  > >
 > >  >
 > >  > I would add a bad MAF, bad oxygen sensor and possibly bad
 > >  > engine temp
 > >  > sensor (keeping the ECU in a 'rich' mode) to the list.
 > >  >
 > >  > Is the check engine light on? Can you get the codes read?
 > >  >
 > >  > Also, post your city/area as someone here may know of a
 > >  > reputavble
 > >  > mechanic/dealership located nearby.
 > >  >
 > >  > Carl
 > >  >
 > >  >
 > >  > --
 > >  > to reply, change  ( .not)  to  ( .net)
 > >
 >
 >
 > Someone here may be familiar with your area. I am not.
 > But, if you have an Autozone or perhaps other parts dealer -
 > they will
 > sometimes read and/or clear codes(they expect you will buy a
 > part from
 > them). Or, pay a friendly mechanic $10-%15 to do it for you.
 > Best procedure - if possible, get the codes read, WRITE THEM
 > DOWN
 > ACCURATELY and post them here. try to get them to clear the
 > codes.
 > Likely, the light will come back on. THEN get them read again,
 > and post.
 > It is not uncommon to have an older car or a 'bad gas
 > experience' set an
 > occasional misfire code. We will be looking for a more
 > specific code -
 > hopefully pointing to a cheap sensor that would be inexpensive
 > to replace.
 >
 > Please note, Walmart, pepBoys ,A'zone  and even harbor Freight
 > and Ebay
 > sell OBDII readers. I THINK your car is OBDII. ANYONE???
 >
 > If it isn't, there's another way to get the codes. check
 >www.troublecodes.net
 >
 > Carl
 >
 >
 > --
 > to reply, change  ( .not)  to  ( .net)

I don't see where those numbers mean anything according to Wikipedia.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OBD-II#OBD-II
 
errksnerk said:
Hey thanks for the reply! I got the codes read but the check engine
light has not came back on yet. I don’t know which part of the code
is useful so I’ll post everything that the machine said: J1850 Iso
9141 Keyword 2000. Once the light comes back on i will get it
checked and post again. Thank you for help


Erik


The numbers you posted do not seem to be thr right format/range. Take a
look at the OBDII section (bottom set) here;
http://www.troublecodes.net/Subaru/

for an idea of what we're looking for.


Does the car still have the problems you mentioned or is it running
better? Sometimes clearing the code will reset to the factory map and a
car might run better for a while.


Carl
 
www.troublecodes.net indicates that code "J1850" is a communication
error. This could mean anything from the code reader used has a
malfunction, there’s a bad connection to the code reader, your battery
voltage is too low, there’s a bad connection out of your Subaru’s ECM
(Engine Control Module), or maybe even internal issues with the ECM.
You should try a different code reader, though, and then clean the
connectors with electronic cleaner before trying another ECM (it’s
important to follow the directions on the cleaner). Good luck
 
OK I got it read again. Two items: P0340, Cam sensor and P0115, ECT.
Where should I start? Auto zone said that the Camshaft Position
Sensor is around $40 should i buy this and replace mine? Or should I
look into the ECT first? Are either hard to replace? Any and all help
would be appreciated. Thanks

Eri
 
errksnerk said:
OK I got it read again. Two items: P0340, Cam sensor and P0115, ECT.
Where should I start? Auto zone said that the Camshaft Position
Sensor is around $40 should i buy this and replace mine? Or should I
look into the ECT first? Are either hard to replace? Any and all help
would be appreciated. Thanks

I'm not Fuzzy but will jump in with a comment.The ECT is 'probably' the
problem. It is keeping the fuel system in 'choke' mode which explains
the poor running and gas/fuel smell.

While you should also investigate the cam angle sensor, it is a 'backup'
check for the crank angle sensor in case of timing belt slippage(IIRC).
Probably should be repaired but 'probably' is not causing the poor
running conditions. I suppose they could BOTH be masking part of each
others problem.
If I were you, I'd try to just get both done. If it is IMPERATIVE to
'try' to save every penny, I'd do the temp sensor first. (pretty sure
this is NOT the gauge sensor, it is the Engine Temp sensor).

Hope someone else can offer more definite advice.
Good job getting the codes read and posted for us!

Carl
 
Hi All, given that this is a really old post, I'd like to piggy back given it has a good following if that is ok....
Can some of you take a look at my post of a similar nature. I could really use some help!

2008 Subaru Legacy (naturally aspirated) dies when letting off the clutch (in gear and in neutral)

I would let this car go but the engine died a couple of year ago and we did a swap for $5,000 because we owed money on it. So we are stuck with it now. It also had a clutch done a year or two before that.

Here's what happened:
My husband got out of work around 2 am and went to start his car. The outside temps were in the 20s but it started up without a problem. When he went to release the clutch the car died. It started again fine but when he released the clutch (this time the car was in neutral) the engine died again. He had the car towed to our mechanic who has diagnosed it as a bad transmission. He says it will cost $1,500 to swap the tranny out with a used on that has 170,000 miles on it (no thanks!) I told him that I want to take it home and deal with it at a later time because its too much money right now. I asked him if he was able to drive it out of his garage bay or if he had to push it and he said he was able to drive it out. He said that he managed to get it "unstuck" to drive it out of the garage bay... wtf does that mean? Is that a thing??

I am a skeptical person, but I trust this mechanic more than others. He is always busy and doesn't need the work to be making up issues, however I also feel that he may be making things sound worse than they are so it's either worth his time or I get the car out of his hair. I want to attempt to drive it home (10 minutes down the road from his shop) . If it doesn't make it home, I will have it towed back to his shop and start searching for a better deal on a replacement transmission. If it does make it home I want to try a couple of different things I read about online (see next paragraph) Then drive it up and down the street everyday for a month or so to see if the problem reoccurs before really taking it out on the road.

My question is, why would the engine die without engaging the transmission if it was transmission related?? I've read a whole bunch of different similar scenarios suggesting cleaning the MAF and looking at the IAC. I plan to look at the air filter and put some fuel system cleaner in it in the gas tank. I don't know how any of this would matter if it's not being put under load when it dies though... I mean it dies in neutral for f*cks sake. How can I eliminate the transmission as the source of the problem? I think that is my first step...
Thanks all!
 

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