2.2 legacy hesitates until warm

[djay]

98 Legacy 2.2 auto awd (of course) has been hesitating slightly until warm.
The hesitation is slight but noticeable especially when I'm accellerating
(but not nailing it). Do you guys have a checklist of sorts for things I
could try?

Thanks,

Djay

 

[Brett Williams]

98 Legacy 2.2 auto awd (of course) has been hesitating slightly until
warm. The hesitation is slight but noticeable especially when I'm
accellerating (but not nailing it). Do you guys have a checklist of
sorts for things I could try?

Thanks,

Djay

Djay,
I was having the same problem with my 99 OutBack. One bottle of injector
cleaner and problem solved. I do not remember what brand I used and dirty
injectors is only one of many things that can cause this but it is a good
cheap place to start. Depending on the nature of the clogged injector, you
could have to run another bottle of cleaner though with the next tank of
fuel. Mine was from a batch of dirty fuel with a little diesel mixed in.

Brett W.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

98 Legacy 2.2 auto awd (of course) has been hesitating slightly until warm.
The hesitation is slight but noticeable especially when I'm accellerating
(but not nailing it). Do you guys have a checklist of sorts for things I
could try?

Thanks,

Djay

Engine Temp Sensor (not coolant sensor for the gauge) could be bad -
though most folks report the failure to be such that, cold operation is
good, but car runs rich when warm. I mention it in case the other
suggestion is not helpful.

Carl

 

[Chicobiker]

My 03 OBS started doing that a few months ago. It was so bad the car
would practically stall for the first minute. Eventually, the dealer
just cleaned the ignition wire contacts and greased them up. Problem
went away.

But not completely. Every now and then I get a very subtle feeling of
hesitation or power surging. It's hard to reproduce. Something like
when I am coasting at a steady speed with somewhat high RPMs, such as
following a slower car up a highway on-ramp. I can feel ever so slight
power fluctuations.

I recently tried a few tanks of higher Octane gas and it seems that
feeling came back after I went back to regular gas.

Anyway, I bet this one might be hard to figure out. Good luck.

Chicobiker