Questions and Answers

Subaru Wagon Hard/No Start Q. Hello Vincent, I currently have a: 1988 Subaru GL-10 Wagon 1.8 liter turbo FI Automatic Transmission 210,000 miles

I purchased this wagon about a year ago with about 200,000 miles on it. And with most cars with that mileage, there are the few leaks and minor fixes to be made. Well I recently experience the subaru not wanting to start, almost leaving me stranded at the local mall. The engine would turn over, but would not start. I had to treat it like a flooded carbureted vehicle and hold the gas pedal down to get it to start. It got me home, but wouldn't start after that.

Yesterday I replaced those leaky valve cover gaskets, the spark plugs, and cap and rotor. And to my surprise the car started right up with no hesitation. It was a little rough, but smoothed out in no time. I set the timing as the repair manual said and I was able to drive it around all afternoon with no problems stoping the engine and restarting it. I parked the car back in the driveway and proceeded to work on another project.

Later that evening, about three hours after I parked it, I tried to start the car and the car would not start unless i held the gas pedal down. I check for spark, fuel (fuel pressure), and air and the engine is getting all three. I let the car set overnight to see if it was a heat issue, but in the morning the car would not start, this time at all.

I disconnected the battery terminal for several minutes to see if it was a sensor issue, and when I reconnected it. The car started, but not without some difficulty. Once it is running, the engine seems to run fine, engine light on, but running fine.

I am at a sort of impasse here of where to go. My gut feeling is it is a sensor problem, but which ones could it be if it is that I am not sure. But I also know of how critical small things like vacuum lines are on this car, and although I've check the connections and lines I am wondering if something small like that would be holding me up.

Thank you very much for your help.
Jake

A. As with any no start problem, the first thing to do is to see if it lost spark or fuel. What I suspect is happening here is he injectors are leaking down into the cylinders thus flooding the engine. The way to test for this is to put a fuel pressure gauge on it, pinch off the feed and return lines and watch the fuel pressure gauge. If it drops then you know you have leaking injectors.