help!!need urgent help

[Guest]

1996 gravel express(wrx) turbo, yes its auto

well ive had enough and really almost ready to well you know

let me explain, i brought this car, seemed to have no issues, replaced the radiator , and then well started having problems,

let me state first, there are no engine faults or codes coming up

i have replaced the fuel filter, afm and and cleaned the throttle body.

i dont know what else to do, i dont have money growing on a tree to replace everything

issues:

note;this only happens when the engine is cold and hasnt been running for a while, and it also doesnt happen all the time.

problem- when i start the car the car starts (sometimes it starts then dies straight away) all good, engine sounds a bit rough as cold, let it warm a wee bit,

then i take off, as im driving down the road or even taking off, doenst matter what speed im doing the engine will act like it just wants to stop. i lose power then engine clunks, then it comes right.

its getting a bit dangerous.

so when it happens ive tried puting accelerator pedal flat nothing happens,

also sometimes when its cold ill give it some revs, but ill notice that the revs actually drop for a tiny sec before going up, wierd eh,

oh yeah and it runs really rough when cold,

please i hope someone can help, i dont know what to do next or even were to start looking, im new to a subaru and dont know my way around the engine, some ideas or someone that could help me in chch for some beers would be good.

ive been told maybe its the coils. could be moisture? im thinking sensor but with no fault codes, wouldnt know what ones or were they are. afm again? i dunno

[Guest]

The cold thing happens to me to bro. Idles like its being strangled for about 5 seconds then its sweet. Not having the other problems tho. Is the AFM you changed a new item or second hand? Ive heard its something to do with the car reading the temp of the coolant wrong when first starting up. Not sure if that is at all true.

Ive put good injector cleaner through also cleaned my AFM with the right stuff and still not getting anywhere.

Help?

[Guest boostcut]

if its happening when cold or hasnt been running for a while it could be a leaking or sticky injector???? have you checked for vacuum leaks, ie spray carbclean around manifold gaskets, vac hoses etc...

[Guest]

not to sound like a newb but why would you spray carb clean there? Im guessing so we can see if there is an airleak? But why carb cleaner?

[Guest boostcut]

because it will be sucked in by the suposed vacuum leak and cause the motor to run richer and make it idle diffrently.... or you can use brake clean... they both work the same.

[Swindog]

Id be looking at the o2 sensor.

[Guest boostcut]

 Swindog said:

Id be looking at the o2 sensor.

why would that make it missfire in the morning? they are a heated 02 sensor and dont start working until they are over 150 degrees or something

[scooby-wrx]

I don't think it would be the 02 sensor, but anything is possible... I just replaced mine after a constant miss and its perfect now....

Does any smoke come out of the exhaust when it basically cuts out...? I had a similar problem with my last WRX, but black smoke poured out of the exhaust! I'd turn it off and back on and it was good again! That turned out to be my Air Flow Meter...! Good luck mate, I know how you feel, I have endless problems too!

[Guest]

O2 ignored when cold

ECU only use's input from coolant and cam/crank (6 tooth crank sprocket) or later models with 32? tooth crank sprocket only use coolant and crank sensors for intial start. AFM input used when airflow sufficient with rpm

Coolant temp sensor input at crank is used for approx first 2min of running before sampling of sensor happens in real time

Many of you will have poor start and it will get worse at this time of year due to colder weather and improve again in Summer ( long way away yet )

I have done tests on this and found many coolant sensors are incorrectly calibrated and read incorrect when cold, and new sensors not much better

I have supplied and fitted many "by pass" units which allows for increased enrichment during inital warm up phase with great results

Willing to supply to members if anyone keen send me a PM

Cheers Rick

[Guest]

 scooby-wrx said:

I don't think it would be the 02 sensor, but anything is possible... I just replaced mine after a constant miss and its perfect now....

Does any smoke come out of the exhaust when it basically cuts out...? I had a similar problem with my last WRX, but black smoke poured out of the exhaust! I'd turn it off and back on and it was good again! That turned out to be my Air Flow Meter...! Good luck mate, I know how you feel, I have endless problems too!

no smoke comes out eh, yeah not to sure to start with 02 or the crank sensor first, ive replaced with a new one, ran alright for a week then played up eh, think need to buy a new one, any idea were to get new ones?, im also keen to try find a original airbox,

[Guest]

 boostcut said:

if its happening when cold or hasnt been running for a while it could be a leaking or sticky injector???? have you checked for vacuum leaks, ie spray carbclean around manifold gaskets, vac hoses etc...

again have thought of the injectors, prob is every mechanic has a different opinion on what to try, pitty i can do this myself, anyone in chch what help me out?

havent checked for vacum leak yet as i thought id have the problem all the time , not just when cold

[Guest]

 Ichi Ban said:

O2 ignored when cold

ECU only use's input from coolant and cam/crank (6 tooth crank sprocket) or later models with 32? tooth crank sprocket only use coolant and crank sensors for intial start. AFM input used when airflow sufficient with rpm

Coolant temp sensor input at crank is used for approx first 2min of running before sampling of sensor happens in real time

Many of you will have poor start and it will get worse at this time of year due to colder weather and improve again in Summer ( long way away yet )

I have done tests on this and found many coolant sensors are incorrectly calibrated and read incorrect when cold, and new sensors not much better

I have supplied and fitted many "by pass" units which allows for increased enrichment during inital warm up phase with great results

Willing to supply to members if anyone keen send me a PM

Cheers Rick

hard to understand but thanks for your help

(Coolant temp sensor input at crank is used for approx first 2min of running before sampling of sensor happens in real time) so is this the crack sensor or is there more than one?

so what do you reckon could be my problem

with the car driving first 2 mins when cold, driving along at 50kph then just goes clunk, like pretty much enging stops for split second, car shudders then comes right again

[Guest]

um, very very rarely mine will do this and almost always its just that the car has been stationary for a long time in a cold temp.

It used to happen when id drive a short way then leave it all day and go back to it.

Fire the car up and give it 5 minutes to warm up then go.

You wont have a problem.

[Old Skool Subbie]

It maybe the Coolant temp sensor thingy?

Dad had prob with 1 on his impreza. Was very hard to start and ran like crap when it did run.

had simlar probs like you had described.

Had new one put in and it ran mint ever since.

Some thing simlar happened with my old XT6. but that time it was the wires where corroded going to it. i solded some wires on to it and put new plug on to it and it ran great after that.

[Guest]

 Rossmnz said:

um, very very rarely mine will do this and almost always its just that the car has been stationary for a long time in a cold temp.

It used to happen when id drive a short way then leave it all day and go back to it.

Fire the car up and give it 5 minutes to warm up then go.

You wont have a problem.

prob is i dont wanna wait around every time, so its every day after work and before work this happens, would like to actually find out what it is, not just wait for 5 mins everytime

thanks though

[willz52]

i had the same problem with my legacy. it was auto.

this it was an auto thing aye... never got it fixed but if you take off from an intersection etc used to have the same problems with it clunking then kicking in.

used to do it on occasion even when it was warmed up

also used to have a problem wen the whole thing would just die if you were driving it and replaced the computer and that fixed that problem...

dont know the fix because i ended up selling the legacy and now have Sti

sorry to hear about it but i know what its like!