Quick Question

[Jester808]

Hey guys. I just picked up a '93 Turbo Legacy Wagon to daily while my other '93 Legacy Wagon gets swapped. I bought the Car and drove it home just fine (about 45 miles) but noticed it was getting harder to start each time. Turns out it was the battery. After buying a new one the Car started up great but then died immediatly. It still does that, it'll start up great and idle to 1200rpm, sit there for a second, then die. At 230k miles, I expect to rebuild this motor, but I'd like to know what's causing it to do this first. What do you guys think? MAF?

[ericem]

Is the check engine light on? After it dies it restarts without a boost? What is the battery voltage with it running. Could be many things, low fuel, fuel pump, plugs, wires, MAF, coolant temp MAYBE i doubt it , major vacuum leak.

[Jester808]

Yeah, it's kind of annoying as I suspect it to be one of many things. The previous owner did not take very good care of it. I am pondering the idea of just buying all the sensors and regular tune-up items since I expect to do that anyway.

Oddly enough, the CEL is not on and it does restart right away without a boost. I do not know the battery voltage however while it does run for the short period. All the lights come on in the dash normally at start-up, then go away normally after I start the Car.

[Jester808]

Little bit of an update.

The Car was low on gas and I decided to take it up to the Gas Station that is right at the entrance of my neighborhood, only about 150 yards away. I started it up and it didn't die this time, but it has a very low and rough idle. I have also noticed an intermittent knocking/rattling that becomes more consistent and steady as the Revs increase.

[Legacy777]

Were you able to let the engine warm up to "normal operating temp"? If so, did the way the engine run change at all?

How does the air filter look? What about the fluids? Is there plenty of engine oil?

[Jester808]

I was able to get it to normal operating temperature, I let it idle for a bit when it didn't die just to hear everything out, and it remains to be the same. When I first got it home I changed the Oil and Oil Filter, then after I changed the Battery, I changed the Air Filter and cleaned the Airbox up a bit aswell as the MAF Piping with a Lint Free Cloth and some MAF Cleaner. All were in pretty horrible shape.

[Jester808]

My Legacy is all fixed now! A huge thanks to Legacy777 for stopping by and doing all the work to get it running in top condition! The rattling was due to poor Alternator Bearings, so we ended up just buying a new Alternator.

The best part of everything was the fact that Josh new right off the bat what was up and had it fixed within 30 minutes of being there, however, he spent the next 4 hours going over the entire car with me, ferrying me to 3 Auto Parts Stores several times looking for the Alternator in stock, giving me the rundown of the car, all the tips and tricks, even spending the time and giving me a Tutorial on the Cars ECU and the Program he was using to check everything out! It was crazy, the level of kindness, professionalism, and dedication to helping someone out that he didn't know was extraordinary. To top it all off, he didn't ask for a thing in return. They really don't make people like Legacy777 anymore.

Thanks again man!!!

[Legacy777]

You're welcome Alex.

Glad we were able to get the car running well without too much problems. It's good to have another first gen legacy owner in Houston