i just bought a 1997 wrx ra lightweight and i have no boost. I drive it and it runs like a sack of spanners; then floor the pedal and instead of getting thrown into the backseat i watch the boost gauge shake its guts out
, i know nothing about subaru as i have only just got it, but what would the causes be??
hope the turbo isnt knackered. ??

 

Can of worms....you say it runs like a sack of spanners, are you referring to the engine here? I watch the boost gauge shake.....is that the needle or the housing unit?

Could be thousands of things; though specifically:
1. Engine knackered
2. Many or most of the sensors down
3. Turbo shafted; completely
4. Simple over boosting

Get it into a specialist......

 

the needle shakes like hell.

it looks to me like the wastegate is stuck or something going off what was said in another thread. i was just driving down the road calmly because it was cold (the engine) when at running temperature i pulled out of a junction and gave it gas. as i was half way across the junction there was much coughing and spluttering then power restored, then the boost was cutting off at 0.5bar and now when i start it the boost gauge doesnt move and it sounds rough, the engine, shakes the whole car.

 

Sounds like Maf sensor Blown .
Accounts for Rough idle

Cars gone into limp home mode.
Won't boost

FFS. don't boot it.

 

dumb question - it IS running on four cylinders yeah?
if its violently shaking the car at idle- get it recovered to a garage (WITHOUT DRIVING IT) pronto in case your cambelt has jumped a tooth!!!?

this is purely beacuse you mention it shaked really badly when you start it..
its a long shot, but worthwhile ruling it out

bottom line- like Xtreme says- get to a specialist pronto! (but ffs, DONT drive it there as you might make any damage worse !!! )

 

why what would happen i booted it, not that i have of course!!

how much are maff sensors??

and what would happen if driving it anywhere??

sorry about the questions, im new to scoobs. i presume it is actually running on all four cylinders, but it is gutless, no power at all

 

Well it isn;t the wastegate. FACT!.
If you boot it and the MAF. is blown.
ECU fuels accordingly and feeds in less fuel .
The harder you go.The less it fuels (Causing Meltdown. POLO! No2 piston. I.E. Can cost a mint to replace.

MAF sensors on your car (Could include housing? @£250).

Should be able to drive it. (Off boost please.)

 

do you suggest i get a new maf sensor and try that then?

and leave the turbo alone and wastegate?

will the maf sensor cause all this rough idling and no boost?

 

New to Scoobies???; step back & let a specialist look at it......you may end up with an expensive blown engine if you ignore the advice on here.......

 

No. Changing random parts without a clue what you're doing is likely to cause more problems than it solves. In any case, even if the MAF sensor has blown, changing it sounds unlikely to help, as, if the engine's literally shaking the car when you try and start it, it sounds like the engine itself is now damaged and needs looking at.

If you bought it from a dealer you should be giving them a ring and getting them out to have a look. If you bought it privately you should, as the others suggest, be getting a specialist out to look at it.

Either way, don't even start the engine until it's been looked at.

 

GM. What are you rattlin' on about ( Don't even start it).

Thought you new about these cars?

Feckin' Bollocks.

If it starts OK but idles erratically (It's the MAF)

won't Boost beyond XYZ. (It's the MAF)

MAF won't show on CEL codes

A Miriad of other things maybes.(Save my ****?)

As a skunk
STeve
Edited To say
Why buy a Scooby?

 

LOL @ Steve.. calm down fella!
its not idling erratically from his description- its S H A K I N G the car!!!

if it was my car- I would listen to GM and NOT start the engine at ALL.

I've already been here with a cambelt failure. lucky for me i didnt drive it and saved my engine- (but it cost me a packet to fix it)

 

Have you checked for vac pipes leaking/ hanging off...?? make sure all the pipes to and from the air filter/turbo/ intercooler are all on correctly... check oil level... boost solonoid e.t.c.

Dan

 

Chrome. Ma Freend If it's Maf ?

It shakes the car.

You can drive it (Forever?) .

Just don't use Boost!!!
Steve.(Close to comatose Now!!!)

Darn! Can't believe what I've said to others?

 

when *my* MAF died, it *DIDNT* shake the car-
idle hunted badly, but no shaking..

The shaking violently @ idle was my cambelt jumping teeth

personally- I wouldnt drive one inch further til it got to a specialist to find what the hell is going on..- (AA Relay to nearest well regarded tuner? )

even if you drive it further (offboost) it still MIGHT trigger a failure.. thats the risk you would be taking.

 

Big "if", though, isn't it Steve? Are you prepared to pay the guy's damage bill if you're wrong?

If it's not the MAF sensor (and personally I think there's more to it than that), driving the car could make whatever damage there is worse. Advising the guy to continue to drive around when you don't know the state of the engine is, IME, more than a little irresponsible.

At end of day neither of us know what the hell it is, but IME a knackered MAF sensor won't make the car shake, it'll just make it idle rough. The failure mode xiw described doesn't sound like a MAF failure anyway.

My advice remains as above, in that the car should be looked at by someone with experience before the engine is started. In these circumstances it's much better to be cautious than the owner of a blown engine.

 

well i was naughty this morning and started it, starts fine no hesitation idles reasnable then after about 30 secs it starts hunting, the revs up and down, all scoobs shake slightly on tick over cos of the engine dont they. im starting to think its not me turbo as there is no smoke and it was boosting fine, no bang etc. so you think i should try the maf sensor??
subaru said i should be ok to drive it no boost of course! - to them, but i drove it home in that state and it was ok to mine 1/2 journey not good! if there was going to be major damage it would of already been done wouldnt it?

 

i also get a red light on the dash, not the check engine light, but the red one which looks like a pipe into a tank and the out the other side with what looks like heat waves or something coming off the top of that, any ideas?