legacycentral bbs

I am absoultely at my wits end guys. I have been trying to get my car to start for the last 2+ months. This post is my last resort. If I can't get it running in the next week I will have to part with it.

Background
Its a '92 Subaru Legacy Sport Sedan Turbo. I have owned it for about 15 months. I drove it with an automatic until last March when the tranny died. By early May I had it up an running again with a 5-spd from my '98 RS. Just as I was getting the kink's worked out of the tranny swapped.. the following occured....

The Incident
Late last May I was driving on the interstate. When I got off the highway.. the car became difficult to drive. At first I thought it was the clutch.. but then I noticed the temp gauge. I pulled over just in time for the antifreeze to make a smoke show.

Though the root of problem was far from obvious, its desruction was tremendous. The water pump apparently seized up. The water pump of course is in line with the timing belt. With the pump siezed up the car overheated. Since the pump wasn't spinning, it was also creating a ton of friction on the belt. First the timing belt frayed and wrapped around the idlers and tensioners in the timing chain.. then it finally broke after one idler was completely destroyed. I have pictures.. but I haven't put them on my website yet. Its madness.

The Remedy
Here's what I've done so far in attempt to get it running again.

Installed
- New Water Pump
- New Thermostat
- New Idlers and Tensioners in the timing chain
- New Timing Belt
- New Crank (teeth on current one was chewed up from flying bits)

Performed
- Timing Belt timed (correctly!)
- ECU reset
- Checked for spark. I have spark at the coil. Coil okay.
- Crank sensor voltage check yeilds a wiggle on the analog voltmeter (is a wiggle enough?)
- Cam sensor not checked (not needed to run according to Subaru Tech)
- Compression check is perfect on all four!
- Ignition Igniter okay

Current Status
I'm exhuasted and frustrated with this car. I have some sort of disease which prevents me from giving up though. Its horrible.

Currently the car will crank over and try to start but it just will not fire. It seems like one in every 4 strokes it will try to fire.. an incomplete combustion.

Please throw some ideas at me.. I'll try anything to save this car. I have so much sweat equity in this car (especially with the tranny swap) , I hate to get rid of it.

Thanks!

James, I may be way off on this one, but it seems distinctly possible that the valves met the pistons when the timing belt stopped rotating properly. If I'm right (and I'm happy to be wrong!) then we're talking major grief.

The guy I bought my Legacy off replaced it with an Audi A8 4.2 and his timing belt snapped two days ago. He's been presented with a bill for £2000 (approx $3000) to fix the damage.

Hope I'm wrong... Anyone else got experience with this?

The EJ22 & EJ22T motors are non-interference.

Have you checked spark at the plugs? Rested a plug on the block, see if it sparks? After cranking for a while, and you pull the plugs are they wet? Do they smell of gas?

have you checked fuel pressure with a gauge?

Are you absolutely positively sure you put the timing belt on correctly?

On your tranny swap? Did you go with a 3.90 ratio or 4.111?

A wiggle is all a simple analog voltmeter can show from a working crank angle sensor.

I think your mechanic may have had it backwards, though... the ECU should be able to run without a crank angle sensor if the cam angle sensor is working. You may as well check the cam angle sensor anyhow.

Have you tried to check if all your fuel injectors are pulsing? You could use a stethoscope to listen to the injectors. They should make a small clicking sound when they open and close.

Dumb questions -- you don't have any blown fuses, do you? Your Check Engine light comes on with all the other warning lights when you turn the key to the "ON" position, right? And you've tried cranking it for a long time (like 5 to 10 seconds) just in case it somehow takes that long to catch? When you checked for spark at the coil, did you check all four coil towers? You didn't somehow remove a grounding strap while doing the repairs and forget to replace it? And your battery is up to this task (i.e. not dead from all the failed cranking?)

It also couldn't hurt to try reading any trouble codes the ECU may have in its memory, even though the ECU doesn't remember ever having run an engine.

Okay, on the timing issue, did you stick a compression gauge in the #1 cylinder to make sure it was at TDC? It's entirely possible to have all the marks facing "the right way" and not be on timing.

If it cranks, you shouldn't have too many electrical problems.

I vote to check your timing once more...

Thanks for the quick responses!...

Dr. Nick
- That was one of the first things I thought of too.. but apparently it is a non-interference engine.. so it is not a concern.

Legacy777
- I did a spark test just as you described.. and it passed. To make sure it was getting gas I poured some gas down the intake. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Still no combustion. I have not checked the fuel pressure. My fuel pump could have gone bad too. Yes.. the timing belt is on right. I'm getting 150 pounds of compression.. which indicates perfect timing.

vrg3
- My mechanic could be backwards.. he's a Subaru Tech.. but I did check the cam sensor too.. and it is good. I haven't checked the injectors. I should also check my fuses. When I try to start it..sometimes I'll let it crank for 30 seconds. No go. My battery is brand new.. and I've been hitting it with a charger once in a while. I should check the trouble codes again.

subyluvr2212
- Timing is good. I'm getting 150 lbs of compression.

I guess my next step is to check the trouble codes and look for blown fuses. I'll grab a can of ether too.. if it doesn't start with a little ether.. who knows what is wrong. Thanks for the input. If anyone thinks of anything else.. let me know! I'll let you know what happens.

Yeah, let us know what happens when you check all the fuses and the check engine light. I'm thinking that, unless you determine your injectors are bad, it has got to be an electrical/electronic problem.

Were you checking sensor signals at the ECU connector under the dash, or at the harness connector under the hood? You should do it at the ECU connector to make sure it's actually getting the signal. It could be a wiring problem, after all.

Cool - I'm really glad to be wrong in this case! I didn't realise that the 2.2s are non-interference. I have a 2-litre Turbo (UK spec - 197bhp) - is that non-interference too?

Don't want to distract from getting XeviousR's Suby running again so please limit this to one response!

Cheers.