need help. was running, died, wont start

[hendy]

Being new to the subaru world I need advice. 93 Legacy, EJ22, auto

Started car this morning, let it idle a couple minutes, started to put in gear and she gave a sputter and died. Now she will not start. Digging around the engine I have found: has fuel pressure, plenty of spark, timing belt intact, oil is good, all fuses good, mouse skeleton under air filter. I disconnected the intake from throttle body to inspect, found when trying to crank it forces air and a fairly dense white smoke out. Anyone have any useful ideas?

Some history on it. Bought Oct of 2011, engine bay was spotless, has a minimal oil leak at valve cover, routinely serviced, timing belt replaced shortly before I purchased, in 6 months has had zero running issues although it did break the belt to the a/c approx 2 weeks ago. Considering it is my daily driver and was my only driveable car I need to fix it asap. All advice is greatly appreciated.

[hendy]

After looking through countless subaru forums I decided to give the CEL a test. Both black connectors together, key in on position and not running, CEL is at constant flash. Safe to assume no fault or it doesn't want to tell me, right? If cam or crank sensor were bad it would show the code? I'm at a complete loss on ideas, need any suggestions please

[BoostedSubie]

I just recently had a cam sensor go out and it didn't show up in any codes. It would only fire cylinders 1 and 2. Have you checked spark on all four cylinders?

[hendy]

Well, I got deconstructive with drivers side of engine. Pulled timing cover off and noticed some rubber particles in the cover, the D side has slack in belt and P side is tight

[Legacy777]

My guess is your timing belt tensioner is bad and your belt has slipped a tooth causing the engine not to run. Get a new tensioner, align the timing marks, put the belt back on, and you should be good to go.

[hendy]

Yeah I'm figuring the same has happened which is not good. New tensioner here is $181 and I might have $18 if I'm lucky lol. Just freakin wonderful

[Legacy777]

You may be able to find a "used" one here on the board from someone that is still in decent condition.

[hendy]

Won't hurt to try. Any suggestions for an smooth way to remove crank pulley? I'm highly limited on any supplies. Have sockets and such but no real quality tools at hand and no transportation to get the good ones

[Legacy777]

Do you have a 1/2" breaker bar? You'll need that or a good quality 1/2" ratchet and a cheater bar to loosen the pulley. You'll need to remove the plug on the back of the bell housing to keep the motor from moving.

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... P_2488.JPG
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... P_2486.JPG

Stock a pry bar or something in the gaps on the flex plate, which should keep the motor from moving. Other option that people have done is get the breaker bar resting on the frame rail and give the starter a quick turnover to loosen the pulley bolt. I'm not a huge fan of this method because of the fact things can go wrong....but it does work.

[hendy]

The breaker bar I have, the 1/2 drive socket is a negative. Seems the idea for the flex plate requires intake manifold removal. Granted the starter bump idea is a redneck way to do it, I'm a Chevy mechanic so that's my specialty haha. Just crunched for time trying to get back to driveable yet keep it reliable

[Legacy777]

You can get access to the flex plate plug without removing the manifold. It may be tight, but it can be done.

[hendy]

You can get access to the flex plate plug without removing the manifold. It may be tight, but it can be done.

The starter bump worked smooth as silk. Used 7/8" impact socket, breaker bar with a closed end wrench to secure against frame, cross starter contacts with screwdriver. Now the good news, may not be a costly fix. Bad news there is now a bolt broke off in block from the tensioner piece in the belt system. Would post picture if I could find how

[Legacy777]

You need to host the picture on a server. Photobucket, image shack, etc can all do that. If you want, email me the pic and I'll host on my server.

If it's one of the bolts holding the tensioner, that piece is not the block, but just a metal bracket that bolts to the block. You can replace that piece. Here's a pic of the bare block

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... G_2648.JPG
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... G_2655.JPG

Pic of the bracket installed

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... G_2704.JPG

[hendy]

Well after the problem happening at 6:30am. searching for possible problems, any advice, and digging through the majority of the car to pinpoint the problem which was found around 1pm. Scrounging for tools, diagrams, a ride to the parts store, and plenty bloody knuckles latermy smurf lives again around 1am. Not too shabby for a hillbilly knowin nothing about these cars workin solo off 1 hour of sleep. Too much bs for a simple $4 bolt though. Thanks for all the help folks.

[Legacy777]

Glad to hear you got it going again!

[hendy]

Thanks. How long it will last is the big question. I reused the old belt, though it was installed at 120k if you got the pictures I emailed all the black behind the pulleys was shavings from that belt riding against the case. Going to swap belts as soon as I can afford all 3 (fb, vbelt, and ac) and valve cover gaskets since they have a nice leak too. And when I've got a couple days free to do them. The ticking sound is now gone also, throwing CE code 35 for the purge solenoid now though

[Legacy777]

Yeah I got the pics, and yes the belt doesn't look in the best of shape.

[hendy]

Seems I'm winding up with too many projects now. The now daily driver tune-ups, finish building stroker engine and cage install on Z28, and slowly restore the eclipse ('02 lol) that's been in my barn the last 4 years.

Any tips on better fuel economy? The Legacy is at 23mpg mostly highway while I was pulling 21 out of a 613rwhp Camaro (3.46 gears and a real light foot of course)

[Legacy777]

You should be getting better mileage than that on the highway. I would think mid-to-upper 20's at least. How's your tire pressures? Is the auto trans running ok?

[hendy]

Trans is great. Smooth shifts, no slipping, no hesitation. Tires I usually run at 34psi, 32 depending on condition. Granted I did run across a dead mouse (skeleton) in the airbox just under the filter, the filter was as clean as it was new 5k ago. I'm planning when it goes back down for redoing the belts to change the plug wires (plugs done last night), fuel filter(s?), clean the injectors, and a fresh oil change. Anything else I could do? Any good aftermarket mods that would improve mpg?

[Legacy777]

I'd start with the normal routine maintenance items first. Plug wires may help. Check or replace the PCV valve.

You can try resetting the ECU to clear any learned fuel trims which may be causing the mileage to suffer. Pull the EGI/TCU fuse for an hour or so, or disconnect the battery for an hour or so.