Reinstalling EJ22 N/A. Engine starts, runs, and DIES...Help!

[J_S]

My 2.2 (95 Legacy L, MT) was leaking oil from the usual spots so I finally decided to pull it. I took it to a trusted mechanic and had him replace all the seals (except head gasket... it was not leaking), timing belt, and water pump. I reinstalled the engine last night, hooked everything up. I took pictures and color taped hoses and wires to keep the connections straight. I thought I had them correct but something must be wrong... he's what happened: (I'm new to this so feel free to laugh and bear with me..)

First try - CLICK. Nothing. Hmm... Some sleuthing revealed that I connected the starter groundwire to the solenoid terminal. Oops. Reconnected starter groundwire to the engine block.

Second try - Cranks, starts then VRRRMMMM all the way to red line. I quickly kill the ignition. Throttle body was stuck wide open. Shit. Readjust the accelerator cable to ensure the throttle opens and closes freely.

Third try - Cranks, starts, squeals like hell (very very loud), moves to high idle then stalls. No sputtering, just dies. Try again. Same thing. Try this time but give it some gas. This I'm able to bring the RPMs up for a few seconds then it stalls again.

So two problems maybe? The squealing and the stalling. Or are they related? I examine the belts (they were reused since they were in good condition) to check for tension and notice the alternator pulley is hotter than hell! All the other pulleys are cool. The alternator itself feels cool. The alternator is brand new from O'Reilly's. Could it be the new alternator has bad bearings? I pulled the alternator off and I'm going to exchange it for another one today since it's new. I won't even mess with testing it, just ask for a new one. But I'm not so sure this will solve the problem.

A friend said he observed a sucking sound (but he's not positive b/c the squealing was so loud) in the vicinity of the PCV valve (the valve was replaced with the engine reinstall), so I hooked a vacuum gauge up to it. Vacuum gauage read about 17mmHg and steady from the time the engine cranks until it dies so I'm guessing there isn't a vacuum leak. Just to be sure I reinstalled the PCV valve with teflon tape and screw clamped all the hoses in this area. Tried it again. Same thing.


FYI - I did install a new fuel filter but I'm pretty sure I reconnected all the fuel lines correctly. Anyone have any ideas what can be causing this???? I'm fresh out of ideas and very frustrated! There is no CEL. Is it worth trying to borrow a scanner to see if I'm getting trouble codes from one of the sensors?

Thanks so much for any feedback!!!!

P.S.- Transmission is in neutral, doesn't seem to matter whether I keep the clutch depressed or not after startup. Yes, there's oil in it. There's coolant too, but it still needs to be topped off after the thermostat opens. Etc.

[Binford]

Random thoughts and suggestions here:

Did you re-install the entire plastic intake? Everything needs to be hooked up if it's not.

Double check fuel lines-top line goes to the fuel filter. Can't really mix up the other two since they're different sizes.

Have you tried starting it without the alternator belt? I would. Also, it's easy to over-tighten the belts if your not familiar with how they should feel. Wild guess here, but I think you probably over-tightened it. No offense, just a gut feeling.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Hope it helps!

[J_S]

Thanks for the suggestions! It turned out the 1" IACV hose was disconnected from the airduct. I threw a new alternator on just because I could and tightened the belts down more. No squealing this time. I'll never know for sure if it was the bearings or the belts, but I'm guessing I didn't have the belt tight enough. Funny thing is last time I installed belts I had them too tight so I think I left them loose this time out of fear of overtightening them. Curious if anyone knows what the specified belt tension in pounds (not deflection) is? Are there even specs for this or does Subaru only measure deflection?


Anyways, the car was doing great until I dropped a tool across the alternator terminal and intake manifold and fried the fusible link. D'oh! I guess that's what it's there for though. Starts fine with a pair of alligator clips and wire to complete the circuit. I'm picking up a new fusible link today. Heat's not working yet, but I've only taken it through two cooling and heating cycles. Probably still an air bubble trapped in there. But the engine is running smooooth!

[Legacy777]

There's supposed to be a rubber boot over the pos terminal on the alternator. I would suggest trying to get a replacement if you don't have one.

Regarding the heat and air bubble, there is a bleeder screw on the passenger side of the radiator. This needs to be opened to properly bleed the air out of the system.