EJ20t Struggling at high RPM

[Guest]

hey everyone,

ive owned my 1990 Legacy GT for a while now and 2 days ago i noticed a slight knock after starting the car up. i checked the oil and it was just above the E mark and then toped it up. i drove it carefuly for a while hoping the tapping sound would go away after a while i put my foot down a little to notice theres no power. I thought id try draining a little oil out since when i toped it up i overfilled it a little but with no improvements. it has power up until 3000rpm then ull have pretty much nothing and itll be all sound no go. any help or ideas would be great.

thanks

[funkytown]

take a stab using the search function and have a look how to reset your ecu, and b to find CEL codes.

your decription is real vague, so imvaguely guessing its running low boost on limp mode, you dont have a boost gauge to tell you what boost its running.

edit: sorry implied in my comments - limp mode has a result of low boost to protect the engine. and low boost therefore = crappy acceleration. But agree what BC says below.

[dubbedup]

stab in the dark here.....boost comes on causing slipping clutch???

[BC5RA]

It sounds like limp mode, possibly caused by excessive lifter noise, triggering the Knock sensor.

[DRFVDR]

 BC5RA said:

It sounds like limp mode, possibly caused by excessive lifter noise, triggering the Knock sensor.

+1

Or it is an actual knock u hearing (ie big end bearing) = engine Toast

do a ECu reset (disconnect battery for a few hours )

try again if it still knocking take to mechanic and prepare to cry

[BC5RA]

I wouldn't describe sticky lifters as a knock..

[Guest boostin]

Or is it not boosting at all and has a seized turbo??

[pullmyleg]

Sounds like big end to me.

[log1call]

Knock sensors causing retarded timing don't cause such a huge loss of performance do they?

I'm in favour of the turbo being toast from oil shortage. Easy to check for. Wip a pipe off and check for play or oil in the turbo. Check if it's spinning and if it's pumping.

Check for trouble codes as well though.

[Guest]

Ok I got from that: symptoms slight knock, tapping sound, power up until 3000rpm and no engine light flashing

Tapping sound or knock or both? 1. "2 days ago I noticed a slight knock after starting the car up." 2. "I drove it carefully for a while hoping the tapping sound would go away after a while"

Did they end up going away after a while you didn’t say?

Can you here the turbo spooling at all? 3. “It has power up until 3000rpm then all have pretty much nothing and till be all sound no go”

The car is old so could just be slight piston slap at cold start

Tapping well again its old

It’s the spooling part I want to know

And any noise during

[Guest the_return_of_the_jedi]

whats the bet theres oil everywhere through the turbo. id say the seals have gone and ur engines just about dead.

time for a rebuild/ recond engine

[log1call]

Gee Jedi... That's subtle!

[zarnah]

 the_return_of_the_jedi said:

whats the bet theres oil everywhere through the turbo. id say the seals have gone and ur engines just about dead.and a tsunami is going to bowl your house over and wash away your kids, and you will have bad luck for the rest of your life

time for a rebuild/ recond engine

fixed* (jedi was holding back a bit in his original post)

[Guest the_return_of_the_jedi]

lol, i couldnt find a pic to descibe it...

hmmm

maybe this one?

no wait thats matdaymons deforester

[log1call]

Ah yeah, and there is that white smoke.

[Guest]

ok well i reset the ECU the other day by disconecting the battery over night and the next morning i tried to start it it started up for about a second then died and now all it does is turn over. ill try to explain the best i can about what it was doing before the not starting problem, it sounded like more of a tapping sound to knocking, it didnt sound like the engine was fukd. driving it was fine until u get past ruffly 3500rpm and then takes ruffly 5 seconds to get thru each 1000rpm from there. you can still hear the turbo spool and i dont think it was blowing any smoke, ill still check the turbo and see how that looks. theres been some very strange problems, it always felt really reliable up until now.

to me its about a $2500 car, what would be my best option if it is a dead engine? im still in hope its not though.

thanks alot for the replys

[kamineko]

you need someone clued up to have a look at it.

members here are keen to help but realistically your never going to get a solution, only guesswork

[Guest]

yeah thats true, i'm in christchurch area if anyone knows of someone with good subaru knowledge who would come check it out for some extra cash ;D

[Andrew NR]

My 92 Legacy GT had really noisy lifters not long ago and it refused to boost correctly, it had no power from 2500 rpm. I checked in some lifter cleaner and 20 minutes later it was quiet and I had full boost back.

[Guest]

Thanks andrew, i really hope mine is as simple as that. Can someone please tell me where the ECU is located? ive lookd under the carpet on the passenger side but cant find it

[Bazza-NZ]

 mofo said:

Thanks andrew, i really hope mine is as simple as that. Can someone please tell me where the ECU is located? ive lookd under the carpet on the passenger side but cant find it

What years and model?

Early Subaru's had it sitting on the divers side (mounted just above the bonnet release) and might be where you will find yours..

otherwise just following the biggest bunch or wires and you'll find it sooner or later

[webup]

 mofo said:

yeah thats true, i'm in christchurch area if anyone knows of someone with good subaru knowledge who would come check it out for some extra cash ;D

Contact Richard from SAS in Bromley

pm me if you want details and phone number

[Guest]

have found the ecu and have checked the codes which im getting 5+ different codes

23 Mass Air Flow Sensor Circuit

21 Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor

13 Camshaft Position Sensor

22 Knock Sensor

24 Idle Control System Malfunction

i'm guessing its just one of these? or maybe even none?

the car isnt starting and its getting fuel/spark.

cheers webup - ill pm you

[Bazza-NZ]

 mofo said:

have found the ecu and have checked the codes which im getting 5+ different codes

23 Mass Air Flow Sensor Circuit

21 Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor

13 Camshaft Position Sensor

22 Knock Sensor

24 Idle Control System Malfunction

i'm guessing its just one of these? or maybe even none?

the car isnt starting and its getting fuel/spark.

cheers webup - ill pm you

13 - camshaft could/would stop you car from starting

21 - Coolant sensor - also could be a reason for not stuffing but replace camshaft sensor first

22- Knock sensor could be the reason your car is struggling at high RPM (knock detection)

23, 24 go to together, best to eliminate by finding someone with an AFM to see if that removes the other one (quite often does on early models)

Camshaft sensor is my bet why you car isn't starting as its required to start. replace that and leave the bat disconnected overnight then try in the morning, see what codes come back up then re-post

[Guest boostin]

Maybe you have a poor connection in one of the big multi plugs??