legacycentral bbs

Hey there, I'm new here. I just bought a '90 legacy and a few moments after driving it off the lot the check engine light came on and it was suddenly driving really weak. When I got home, I discovered one of the wires had come unplugged. So yesterday I replaced all the plugs and wires. One of the wires I bought was no good though (wouldn't go in all the way) so I just used one of the wires that was already on it. I don't know what I did wrong, or whether or not the plugs and wires were the problem, I just need some help. Whenever I floor it, it acts retarted, like it doesn't know I'm flooring it. It almost feels like someone learning to drive a clutch (jerks forward and backward) Anything else it could be, or maybe something I did wrong when replacing the plugs and wires? Help is appreciated, thanks.

*bump*(and update) When sitting still (not in gear) and flooring it, it hesitates between 1000 and 2000 rpms. Once it gets past 2, it's fine. Also, if you hold it right at 1000 it runs rough and almost shakes the car. Don't know if that means anything, just throwin it out there.

Try doing some things like replace air filter, fuel filter, seafoam in tank, cleaning out the throttle body, changing spark plugs. Just some small things you can try out and see if it helps.

Sounds like knock sensor or MAF troubles.

Hey thanks. Help me out here, I'm kinda stupid....what's a knock sensor, and MAF? And what do they do? I'm gonna get a hayne's repair manual and my bro's gonna help me with it, but any input is helpful. Also somewhat of a strange symptom is if it sits for a while (Dunno if it's cause it's allowed to cool or what) it acts a little less stupid (not fully the way it really should though) for a few minutes. But it only takes a few minutes and it's back to full retardedness.

More likely the MAF sensor then. Check out the codes here check here to find out how.

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/subaru.html

Click notes and tips. then click engine related.

Hey thanks! That's a really helpful site. Hopefully, I can figure this out myself and spare myself a big mechanics bill. I'll chime back in to let y'all know what it was.

Hey again, haven't fixed the problem yet, but I'm getting error codes 22, 24 and 33. It means there's something wrong with the knock sensor, air control valve, and speed sensor. Just givin more info, thanks again

Glad my site was helpful.

I'd recommend resetting the ECU, drive the car, and see what codes come back. It's unusually to have all those things be bad. Usually you get an erroneous code or two, depending on the true fault.

check for loose crank bolt? that'll throw it all outta wach. given enough rpm, it gets better.

Hey thanks both of you guys. So here's the deal, I'm kind of a dumbass. When I first bought the car, one of the plug wires kept coming unplugged, so I replaced the plugs and wires. So when I checked the ECU, and saw codes 14 and 16 (injector #1 and #3) I thought it was talking about the spark plug problems from before (dumb I know)!! Anyway, I talked to my brother who talked to the mechanic he works with and that guy says bad fuel injectors would explain why I'm getting horrible mileage (20-22mpg) and performance and also why those other things are getting error codes. What do you guys think? I'm gonna go ahead and replace the injectors once I have the money, but I'm not quite sure how to do it. I have a chiltons manual, but that says things like "properly relieve fuel pressure" and doesn't explain how. Once again, input is very appreciated.

20-22 isnt neccesarily that bad of milage, sorry.

I get that all day long around town. As soon as I get on the freeway and do a road trip, milage jumps up to 25-30....

I doubt its an injector, but there is still a chance of course....

It is for me. I'm not a town driver. We're talkin 20mpg highway. Not good. My old legacy pushed 26 most of them time. Why wouldn't it be the injectors?

Clear the ECU of codes, drive the car, and see what codes come back. I'd also recommend you check the wiring, and make sure it has continuity back to the ECU. I find it a little odd that both injectors one side of the engine would be bad.

Well, I erased the codes, and so far all that's coming back is 22 (knock sensor) I have a wobbly crank pulley (waiting for the good one in the mail) , so that may be affecting the knock sensor, but could that really affect the loss of power in the low end? Any ideas guys? Thanks

K so I looked at my knock sensor and the rubber or plastic or whatever is cracked. Does that mean it needs replaced?

Yes, you need to replace the knock sensor, and yes a bad knock sensor can affect the engine's power.

Also, injectors rarely break - which is why we are suspect when someone says "I need new injectors."

Okay, thank you guys. I'll update once I get the KS replaced, looks like it'll be pretty fun (not) Thanks again.