legacycentral bbs

I have this serious vibration going on with my '91 Subaru Legacy L.

First, I connected the two green cables underneath the steering column in an attempt to ascertain what was causing the vibration and the code 35 came up. I looked in my repair manual and discovered that the code was for the purge control solenoid valve.

A couple of weeks later I took my Legacy to an auto mechanic and he pretty much told me what I already knew. Engine code 35.

My first question is whether this would cause the heavy vibrations and poor idling that I experience with my Legacy when the car is put in drive or reverse. The vibration increases and the idle gets lower when other vehicle accessories such as air conditioning or headlights are turned on.

My guess is that it really isn't the purge control solenoid valve and more of a problem with timing than anything else. Please advise.

Regards,
Daniel

Hi Daniel & welcome to the board.

It's hard to say whether the canister purge solenoid could be causing your problem, but in order to properly diagnose the problem, you should start with the codes in the computer. I'd recommend clearing the codes, drive the car, and see what comes back. The black connectors are what puts the computer into read memory mode.

There's more info on checking the codes on my site

www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/engine.html

Hey Dan and welcome!

I had a similar problem wich eventually led to hesitation and misfiring. It was a fouled spark plug and a bad coolant temp sensor. The code I pulled from the ECU was for a bad TPS!
So just go through the regualr checks, compression, spark, fuel...check for vaccum leaks and gasket leaks. I hope you figure it out soon. good luck man.

"late addition"

Code 35 caused me the same problems for me, especially at idle and or when coasting down with no acceleration. BlackBart can hook you up with a new valve if you decide not to delete. I did not bother to remove my intake runners, i just clipped the new valve to one of the plug wires.