Is this 'camshaft' problem an easy fix?

[93Leg-c]

The ad on this bj indicates a problem with the camshaft (although that doesn't make sense to me). Is this an easy fix or could it be difficult and time-consuming to diagnose and/or fix? Could it be the cam sensor? tcu? ecu? transmission itself? any other possibilities?

If it seems like an easy fix I may try to buy the car for temporary transportation.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... %3AIT&rd=1

[Manarius]

Smells to me like a timing issue. If it were to be tuned correctly...that would be a great car. However, if it's currently mis-timed...I don't know how you'll be able to get it back to correct timing.

[professor]

the body looks pretty good so I would worry about the tranny more than the engine. the engine is probably an easy fix

[93Leg-c]

Okay, I emailed the seller of the car and he responded. A packrat got into the engine bay and chewed up the wiring. He took it to a mechanic who replaced all the wiring but the car still lunges when driven. The Subaru dealer was not able to diagnose it either. It happened this past November and until then the car was working fine. Since the car lunges all the time, it hasn't been driven very much. He left it with the mechanic to part out but the mechanic is too busy to do anything with the car so the owner is selling it whole rather than part it out.

So, if the wiring was replaced but the car still lunges, does that perhaps indicate that something is still shorting out somewhere? Does anyone have any idea what it might be? (I know this is an unfair question when you cannot personally be with the car but I thought I'd ask.)

Professor, with the above information about the packrat and wires being chewed, could it still be a tranny issue?

[93Leg-c]

Oh yeah, should this be moved to the "Electrical" forum?

[professor]

the wiring probably is screwed up. I'm not sure I'd want to mess with it myself if it was seriously chewed up

i was just pointing out that all auto trannys should be considered suspect at that age and mileage, especially when you can't judge yourself.

I'm sure you could get an entire engine wiring harness off of someone on this site, to help with repairs, for nearly nothing.

[Matt Monson]

I've got an engine wiring harness for that car. But personally I would pass on it. Hold out for the turbo you say you want. An auto NA with that kind of mileage is barely worth the $500 they are asking. Hell, I see turbos with the same mileage, and condition for $1000 on a regular basis.

If it is a supply and demand issue, Denver isn't too far from you. Check out the Denver Post online as well as Auto Trader. Coming up here to pick up a car wouldn't be that hard...

[Bheinen74]

it could just be a dirty MAF or a throttle position sensor. If it only has a problem after 3000 RPM. hmm, but it could be with timing etc, body looks clean and would be rust free from AZ