Ask the Car People.SM


Subaru Legacy/Outback

11746 messages,  Last post on Dec 06, 2011 at 12:51 PM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Wagon

Messages Page 1141 of 1175

#11400 of 11746 Re: 1993 Subaru legacy... [xwesx] by acoronis

Oct 30, 2006 (12:20 pm)

Replying to: xwesx (Oct 30, 2006 11:57 am)
I parked, it was in park for about 5 seconds and then died. I had to have it towed, replaced the fuel filter because most people that listened to it said it sounded like it wasn't getting gas. It is still not working, because I am saving to get it fixed. But if I knew what was wrong, it would be a lot easier to estimate a cost to fix it. thanks for any help you can give!

#11401 of 11746 Re: 1993 Subaru legacy... [xwesx] by crosstheborder

Oct 30, 2006 (7:22 pm)

Replying to: xwesx (Oct 30, 2006 11:57 am)
This is the first time it happened, we drove it home, parked it, it sat for a day and a half and then would not start. We have since pulled out and checked the relays in the engine compartment, we did not put back new ones, the car then started. At this point, we have out fingers crossed that maybe one was loose. What would be your thought? Thanks for answering. T

#11402 of 11746 Re: 1993 Subaru legacy... [crosstheborder] by xwesx

Oct 31, 2006 (2:06 pm)

Replying to: crosstheborder (Oct 30, 2006 7:22 pm)
Oh boy. Well, both of your situations are different from what I thought might have been a similar issue to the one I once had. T, yours is quite a bit different in that it happened while the car was sitting for a while so it was not warm. The problem acronis described was at least while/just after the vehicle was used, but the fact that it still does not start means something more is wrong than my problem, but it still sounds similar.
 
Here goes: For acronis, I think it might be a mass airflow sensor failure - meaning it has just went kaput altogether. The part itself is about $350-400 new. I suggest this because my problem, reasonably isolated to the MAS (and has not happened again since it was replaced), showed the following symptoms: The car would stall occasionally while at an idle - sometimes in the driveway or a parking lot, sometimes at an intersection. When attempting to restart, the car would usually not start. I could crank it until the battery died, and nada. But, wait 5 minutes and try again. Sometimes it would start, sometimes not. If not, wait another 5 then try again... repeat until successful. The longest it ever took me was 25 minutes, or 6 attempts. The non-start problem was something different from the MAS, though. It persisted after the stalling problem was (assumedly) fixed and only disappeared after replacing the knock, crank, and camshaft sensors - though an actual failure by any of them was never recorded by a non-start event, so I do not know (with certainty) which was the actual source of the problem. I am inclined to think it was the camshaft sensor.
 
Basically, though, my understanding about these sensors is thus (perhaps Steve, Craig, or someone more knowledgable about them can chime in if I am off base here!): The timing sensors tell the car when to send spark to the plugs, so if there is a failure there, then no spark or mis-timed spark means no firing. For the MAS, it feeds back information about quantity of air/oxygen entering the intake, so misinformation or no information feedback will cause the car to run too rich or lean. At idle, this effect is most pronounced and can cause the car to stall.
 
There could be other problems here, like a fuel injection issue or feedback from one of the other systems, but I would think that if spark, fuel, and air were in the cylinders at the same time, it would at least stumble when trying to start. An easy way to check for fuel is to pull the fuel line off the output of the fuel filter and turn the ignition to the "on" position. Route the line to a container, of course, and have a helper to witness, as that fuel pump is going to spray fuel quickly and you only want to turn it on for a moment before shutting off. If there is no fuel, you know the issue is with the fuel pump!
 
Those are my thoughts, hopefully you can dig through them and find something helpful.
 
-Wes-

#11403 of 11746 Re: 1993 Subaru legacy... [xwesx] by fibber2

Nov 02, 2006 (8:23 am)

Replying to: xwesx (Oct 31, 2006 2:06 pm)
Hey Wes,
 
Good description of parts and function. The only thing I would add is that some systems (depending on year, sophistication) also have a separate idle-air circuit. When the throttle plate is fully closed (idle), this separate pathway meters a fixed amount of air around the MAS/MAP sensor, and sends an estimate of flow to the ECM, with additional feedback from the cat O2 sensor to fine tune it. I guess they figure that the MAS/MAP sensor accuracy at very low CFM is questionable, so provide a different measurement method.

#11404 of 11746 1999 Subaru Legacy Hesitation by sublegbri

Nov 14, 2006 (2:55 pm)

Hi,
My 1999 Subaru Legacy has us stumped. We get a hesitation during acceleration, sometimes a violent shake in 1st gear. (The car has yet to die during one of these episodes.) The hesitation is variable, ie there is no correlation between the hesitation and the time of day, weather, ect. The only correlation is that it generally runs fine when we take it our mechanic. The most frequent code we get is for the oxygen sensor. We have replaced the 1) throttle position sensor, 2) idle control valve, and 3) oxygen sensor.
 
Any thoughts??
 
Thanks

#11405 of 11746 Navigation decision by scottca

Nov 15, 2006 (1:04 pm)

Hi: Thinking about purchasing the 2007 LL Bean model in a couple of months & would like some advice from you experts on the navigation system option? Does anyone have the system & is it upgradable? What features do you find useful? Just can't decide if it's worth the extra money. Thanks Lawrence

#11406 of 11746 Red 2007 Cars by 90subbie

Nov 15, 2006 (3:05 pm)

Replying to: red927 (Sep 28, 2006 10:14 am)
I have a 90 Suburu Legacy (177K miles), so I have finally decided to add another car and of course I want another Suburu Legacy, but I want it in RED. I am extremely disappointed that there are no red 2007s.
 
Why would they have discontinued red? Who can I e-mail, call, beg, threaten, whatever to get it in red?
 
Now I'm wondering do I need to wait until the 2008s to see if they bring red back. I would rather not, because my poor 90 Legacy needs a break from long trips. I do have someone looking for a new 06 Legacy GT for me in red.
 
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

#11407 of 11746 Re: Red 2007 Cars [90subbie] by slazenger

Nov 16, 2006 (5:34 am)

Replying to: 90subbie (Nov 15, 2006 3:05 pm)
Well, you cannot do much... You have to pick a color from five colors they offer. Email SOA or call 1-800-SUBARU3 and let them know that you like red color. Regarding 2008, based on SOJ color palette, I highly doubt they will bring back red (unless SOA have a tonne of requests for red).

#11408 of 11746 Re: 1999 Subaru Legacy Hesitation [sublegbri] by ateixeira

Nov 16, 2006 (9:50 am)

Replying to: sublegbri (Nov 14, 2006 2:55 pm)
Spark or fuel, as they say. Gotta be one of those.
 
If you haven't already, try new spark plugs and spark plug wires. If they are original they are overdue for replacement. Beyond that, look at the ignition coil ($80 or so). Also try a fuel system cleaner like Techron.
 
-juice

#11409 of 11746 Re: Red 2007 Cars [slazenger] by xwesx

Nov 16, 2006 (12:00 pm)

Replying to: slazenger (Nov 16, 2006 5:34 am)
Yep. Subaru seems to be going with these washed out, bland colors... maybe they appeal more to the masses. I, too, prefer colors with vibrance - deep and glistening reds, greens, and blues.
 
This is actually one of the primary reasons I am steering away from Subaru for our next purchase. My wife is dead-set on one though, so who knows. Even though I am the one paying for it and working on it, I seem to have very little sway on her opinion.

Messages Page 1141 of 1175

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement