dcthemvp Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I have a 1996 subaru legacy gt 2.5 liter automatic that's been experiencing some mechanical issues lately. Since owning this car I've replaced the gas tank, starter, driver & passenger trans axle, driver hub, rotor, abs sensor, and all 4 brakes. The car has always ran great and the more work I've done the more confident I've felt owning the car, until recently. A couple months ago I replaced the starter after months of tapping on it to get it going. The sales lady didn't bother mentioning that she ordered me a refurbished starter when accepting my money. Oh well? I replaced the starter and no more tapping...problem seemed solved... Cool! Not just yet. Shortly after replacing the starter I noticed my car was overheating so I pulled over to immediately find my radiator hose split and steaming out all my coolant. So, I got a ride to oreily's, replaced the hose, and added antifreeze. Should be all good, right? Well, first thing I noticed is my CEL no longer was on despite always being on since I've owned it. I thought cool at first, however I immediately started experiencing mechanical issues. First I noticed my car wouldn't start after short trips. It was almost as if id have to wait 5-10 minutes before it would start. I immediately get upset assuming the refurbished starter is already failing me. So, I decide I'll buy a new one asap, until I experienced another issue. While at a stop light my car died and didn't want to start back up at first. Took about a minute of people honking at me and missing my light before it started back up. At this point I'm a little concerned as it's never done that before. I just cross my fingers and hope it never happens again. Well, it did, and quite often now. Almost once a day my car dies at a stop light and 9/10 times takes a few tries to start back up. What could be the cause? Could the radiator hose steaming everything be the culprit? Could the starter be the problem? It always starts cold no problem. Could it possibly be just a vacuum leak? Maybe fuel pump/filter? After extensive research all indications lead to AICV. So, my question is could the AICV make my car experience these issues and also while trying to start back up? Maybe it's a compound issue? My worst fear is that this is directly related to the radiator hose leak. The CEL disappearing and this immediately happening is awfully ironic to say the least. Coincidently about the same time as replacing starter, so it's hard to say. I just don't want to start guessing and wasting money. My gut tells me to start with cleaning AICV... Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcthemvp Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 I forgot to add ECU to the poll and also to mention that I've smelt a strong gas odor near the exhaust lately. Not sure if it's related to the premium gas I've recently switched to or the issues I'm experiencing. I assumed premium gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 While at a stop light my car died and didn't want to start back up at first. Took about a minute of people honking at me and missing my light before it started back up does the starter engage and turn over the engine but the engine does not fire? or does the starter do nothing when you turn the key? when the hose broke, did the engine over heat? gauge up to the read? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcthemvp Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 does the starter engage and turn over the engine but the engine does not fire? or does the starter do nothing when you turn the key? when the hose broke, did the engine over heat? gauge up to the read? Yea, the starter engages the engine to turn over, but does not fire. And yes, it overheated before I noticed the gage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Yea, the starter engages the engine to turn over, but does not fire. And yes, it overheated before I noticed the gage. since the started turns the engine, it is not the starter. at this age it could be several things, bad cam sensor, bad crank sensor, maybe a bad coolant temp sensor, bad timing, just to name a few. stalling out at a stop light would suggest something quits working. so my guess would be either cam or crank sensor. the cam triggers the fuel, the crank tirggers the spark. buy a spray can of starting ether. the next time it will not start, soray some in to the plastic intake tube not a lot but a few short shots. a small vac hose attached to the throttle body would be a good place. (you want to spray this after the MAF, you do not want to damage the maf.) then try and start it. if fuel is the issue it will fire and likely die again. this would suggest the cam sensor. if fuel is not the issue it will not fire. then we look further. spark is a little harder to determine. it is easy to pull a plug wire to see if you have spark, but even then the spark may not be strong enough to do the job. if spark is the issue, it could be the sensor, the coil or the igniter. off hand i do not know which is more likely to fail intermittently. do you have a CEL, or trouble codes? if yes what are they? get the actual Pxxxx number and report here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcthemvp Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 CEL quit working Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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