Loss of power issues

[Imprezafan93]

Doing a 1990 legacy swap
Donor:91 ss

I swapped the gas tanks, both subframes, all knuckles, cv's differential, trans, engine, and full engine/trans harness, along with dash, hard wired shifter connectors to appropriate harness, and wired fuel pump relay.

Did a no no with the torque converter, i guess i didmt have the torque converter seated all the way, there was about a 1/4" gap when i went to mate the engine, i used the two bolts and nuts to 'suck it up' but i dont know if i in fact damaged the trans pump or torque converter.

I put some fluids in, and am a little low on atf in the trans, i want to clarify a couple things with you guys before i move forward.

Alot of the vacuum lines are damaged so i have alot blocked off, just got the turbo inlet in today so im gonna put that on right now, and that should help

My biggest issue is as follows:after putting fluids in i went to back it out of the driveway and see how it wa running, and it didnt make enough power to make it out of the driveway, (it is a somewhat steep incline) even though it shifts into every gear and moves forward and back on flat. When i reached the steepest part of the drveway, it stopped moving backward, held where it was, and started revving. Is this associated with limp mode, or low trans fluid?

How can i tell if i damaged the trans pump or torque converter?

[Imprezafan93]

UPDATE:installed turbo inlet and plumbed all the lines. Pulled codes 13,44,49. 13 is cam angle sensor
44 is duty solenoid valve or wastegate
49 is wrong MAF?
Also the torque converter oopsie doesnt seem to have affected the transmission, i could feel fluid running in the lines to the cooler so i THINK the pump is ok..it shifts well

Ok so for 13-i think i have the cam sensor pinned wrong at the connector. I broke the connector on accident and thought i wired it correctly, if anybody can tell me the correct order via theirs that would save me a headache because i cant seem to find any info on it. I apologize if i missed something obvious. On the ecu side of connector when looking from the wire side with the clip up top i have tan, black, and red?

For 44, not really sure where that came from. I have it plumbed correctly from my diagram, but the line going to the intake resonator wasnt connected when i pulled this code (not sure if that would cause a code?) But its plumbed now just havent cleared codes.

For 49 this kind of blew me away too-not sure why its saying i have the wrong/bad air flow sensor? If was working fine before the swap. Ill go through the testing procedure tomorrow and see if i can pinpoint it.

Car was able to make it out of the driveway after intake situation was sorted out, i was able to drive it up the road for a second but it still acts like it needs to rev pretty high to make any power and i felt the fuel cut when i was doing ~35mph at 2,500-3,000 rpm's all of a sudden the pedal was just dead, its as if the car shut off momentarily.

Can these codes cause a limp mode condition? Im thinking the maf is the big no no right now but combined with a faulty cps maybe thats the issue? I want to get this thing driving so i can start having fun with it and upgrading but i cant do that if its driving like doo doo..any and all help is appreciated, thanks in advance

Side note-where does the biggest ground cable from batter ground to? The one thats ran with the starter cable-its currently grounded to the engine block just at an empty bolt hole that was there, i couldnt seem to remember where i disconnected it from, if you guys could take a peek at that as well that would be huge for me.

THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE

[Legacy777]

I suspect the issue is transmission related not engine related. If the engine is revving then it is working. If it's not moving as expected it's transmission related.

When you did the swap what did you do about the wiring at the ECU and specifically the MT/AT identifier pin?

[Imprezafan93]

I suspect the issue is transmission related not engine related. If the engine is revving then it is working. If it's not moving as expected it's transmission related.

When you did the swap what did you do about the wiring at the ECU and specifically the MT/AT identifier pin?

I dont know if i mentioned but when it was acting up like that i was a bit low on trans fluid, also my inlet elbow was all taped together and patched by previous owner, i have since replaced the inlet, got everything plumbed up good.
Car is making more power, driving better, only remaining issues are the error codes and the limp mode at 25mph. Its like i have a rev limiter like others have had issues with.

I have verified that the cam sensor wiring is correct and moved the main ground to the bracket where it is supposed to be

As far as wiring, i replaced the whole front harness, ecu, all the relays, everything except abs. All the importsnt wiring was brought from the legacy ss to donor car.

What is the pin you mentioned? After ive ran the car reliably for somr time and have done several maintenence items i plan on 5 speed swapping, is it as simple wiring wise as swapping a pin? I read a write up about the swap and i have all the parts necessary except transmission (shell was a 5sp and donor was an auto) but i dont remember reading alot about the wiring

[Imprezafan93]

I tested the maf, it is getting 5v and 12v and signal matches rpms, also did continuity on the ground, it is indeed a good ground.what am i missing here? I dont understand how this happened exactly. I tried another maf from a scrapyard and its not the correct one, it ran but poorly and worse. Too the car for a spin, it actually died while under a load at 35 mph.. took a few tries to start

[Legacy777]

There's something else going on here because these ECU's are pretty dumb and there is no "limp mode" that is going to restrict speed or power. Typically they just don't work properly due to bad input sensors/signals. Have you used a multimeter to check continuity from each sensor to the correct pin on the ECU?

There are various ECU I/O documents out there, but this one has a few things that aren't on some of the diagrams in the factory manual.

https://main.experiencetherave.com/suba ... CU_I-O.xls

I really recommend you go through each input and output on the ECU and check the wiring to the sensor and make sure everything is good.

[Imprezafan93]

There's something else going on here because these ECU's are pretty dumb and there is no "limp mode" that is going to restrict speed or power. Typically they just don't work properly due to bad input sensors/signals. Have you used a multimeter to check continuity from each sensor to the correct pin on the ECU?

There are various ECU I/O documents out there, but this one has a few things that aren't on some of the diagrams in the factory manual.

https://main.experiencetherave.com/suba ... CU_I-O.xls

I really recommend you go through each input and output on the ECU and check the wiring to the sensor and make sure everything is good.

Skip to bottom paragraph for short and sweet

I think i made a dumb dumb. All the times i said it was going into limp mode i was trying to clear the codes so both connectors were connected. And therefore it wasnt letting me floor it or something. So i cleared the codes and a new list came up other than aforementioned codes. Good thing too because it was sending me on the wrong trail..it wascodes from when i drove the wrecked car homr and started first time with maf disconnectd etc.. i checked continuity on all the 'faulty' sensors, they were all functionsl so i was baffled and about to call it quits and break it down into pieces again.

The new fault codes were for vss (speedo came undone) i believe that affecred my boost solenoid as well for some reason. Knock sensor(it was crackrd so i just replaced it with a spare and moved it when i was reaching for straws, i have since moved it back to oe spot)..nuetral switch and park switch. I will have to look deeper into those if you have any suggestions.

So in short i was diagnosing wrong fault codes, once i pulled the new codes it gave me numerous more leads and logically made sense. With both commectors unplugged the car pulls great, idles great, handles good, i even did my first donut in dirt and christened the car. Just about done i just have two more things bugging me aside from above:
The dang shift lock unit is bad or something, i have to use the shift unlock button to take it out of park every time
The radiator from the ss is too tall to fit in the legacy, so im confused on the coolant (return? ) line. Its non existent on the legacy l, and i need a return from my reservoir to radiator, also the legacy l has a second radiator cap, which ill probably just t in with the other to the overflow

[Legacy777]

The neutral and parking switch may be coming up because the shift lock unit is bad. I'd suggest getting that working, clear the codes again and see if those codes come back.

Regarding the radiator, to use the non-turbo radiator you just pull the lower rubber gasket off the radiator cap on the radiator and then hook up the line that would connect to the passenger side of the turbo radiator to the overflow line on the non-turbo radiator. I'm sure there is a diagram on here, but I can't seem to find it at the moment. You can peruse my swap photos if you'd like.

https://main.experiencetherave.com/subaru/images/ej22t/

[Imprezafan93]

The neutral and parking switch may be coming up because the shift lock unit is bad. I'd suggest getting that working, clear the codes again and see if those codes come back.

Regarding the radiator, to use the non-turbo radiator you just pull the lower rubber gasket off the radiator cap on the radiator and then hook up the line that would connect to the passenger side of the turbo radiator to the overflow line on the non-turbo radiator. I'm sure there is a diagram on here, but I can't seem to find it at the moment. You can peruse my swap photos if you'd like.

https://main.experiencetherave.com/subaru/images/ej22t/

Oh that would have been easier, i knew i was in the right direction!! I called a local subaru 'specislist' shop snd they seemed baffled by the question i asked on whether i could tee the line coming from the radiator nipple(the one right under cap) they then told me that it would be closed off and i need the hose to equalize pressure yada yada. I went to a local hydrualics fitting company and they set me up with a perfect fitting for a plug on the n/a radiator. Conveniently it is located just above the upper radiator hose, so i got a fitting and its working like a charm now. I just need to t the overflow lines now or drill a second hole in overflow res..

Btw i was at local junkyard grabbing a door panel and grabbed a shift lock unit, its also working like a charm now. Only two codes that refuse to clear for good are knock sensor and maf. I screwed with the knock sensor so ill be fixing that, i just didnt want to have to buy a maf. I tested it and its getting 12v 5v ground and signal thats related to load, i dont get it?

Buttonsd up interior and talked to my paint guy, the cars doing great and rather quick. I just need to fashion my intercooler now and turn the boost up, following next is wrx dohc or ej25d, dont knw yet.

Whats a safe level of boost for these, 12-14? Im going up to 12 no matter what, i dont see why it couldnt handle that with an intercooler..i also have 440's sitting in my garage and a wrx fuel pump

[Imprezafan93]

Thanks for the responses josh i believe is your name. Im happy i dodnt give it, it was several easy isdues anyways

[Legacy777]

You're welcome for the help.

Regarding the two codes, if the sensors check out ok then you should check the wiring.

Here is the MAF testing procedure

https://main.experiencetherave.com/suba ... sting1.jpg
https://main.experiencetherave.com/suba ... sting2.jpg

Here is the testing procedure for the knock sensor

https://main.experiencetherave.com/suba ... r_Diag.pdf