Problem staring 2000 Outback

[Miguelito]

Hi:
Have problem starting motor: Have to crank the starter various seconds
until it gets going, no difference if hot or cold. Once running
everything fine.
But if I crank starter, say one second, stop and try again then the
motor always starts up with no problem, ie: try one second, try
again=two seconds to start, if try to start from zero: 4/5 seconds.
I'm in Argentina, 1000 miles away from Subaru service. Local mechanic
says spark plug, fuel flow fine, has something to do with initial flow
of fuel to motor at startup. No computer errors of any sort.
Been like this since I purchased second hand a year ago but seems to
have gotten slightly worse.
Any idea what to check?
Thanks
Miguel

 

[.._..]

Weak fuel pump maybe? Have they tested fuel preasure after cold start?

Is the gas cap on tightly? (Subarus hate it when it is not)

Check the filter too, maybe they checked the flow before the filter....

Note, your symtoms are common in very cold (below 0 Celsius) weather, so if
you are up in the mountains and it is cold it might be part of the problem.

 

[AS]

It seems as if you had an engine ground problem.