Hi there. MY 95 WRX import died on me today on the way home. I was doing 40mph happy as you like and then the 'check engine' light came on and it started to loose power. I gave it some gas, and it carried on for about half a mile before dying completely!

Got it home on a flatbed and tried to start it. The starter sounds like it's not kicking in and I get a whine from the starter, so the engine doesn't even sound like it's trying to start. I can hear the fuel pump coming on when ignition is turned to so it's not that. Tried to see if there were any ECU faults and got 3 of them.

45 = Pressure sensor / Pressure solenoid
31 = Throttle sensor
11 = Crankshaft position sensor

Are these on the same bit of loom, or is it possible that all 3 have gone at the same time. Obviously, I've no idea if any of them were there before today as had no reason to check them till now...

Any advice would be great as I can't even start the car now!

Thanks
Dave

 

Replace the crankshaft sensor as that is normally a problem for non starters.

 

As above Crankshaft sensor failed would mean the motor wont start I would replace this first the other two will mainly just give trouble when running.

It also sounds like the starter motor is giving trouble and would be a separate issue to the car dying. If this is whining like you say without turning the motor over its time for a new starter.

 

Thanks for thoughts guys... I'll get over to Subaru today for the sensor. Does seem a little odd that the starter has packed up at the same time that it stalled tho...

Can the starter be 'hit' with a hammer like in the old days to give it a kick id the solenoid is sticking or similar...?

 

I've just been out there again (in the freezing cold...!) and in the light now, I can see that when I crank it over, the belts at the front are turning - hence the starter is fine which is good. The whinning sound appears to be the engine itself and there isn't even a remote sound like it wants to firee or compress. Is that normal when the crankshaft sensor is at fault to get no attempt at starting at all? Cheers Dave

 

if its turning over but no compression sounds like cambelt may have snapped

 

I agree with tommowrx. Take one of the cam covers off near side one is favorite. Three 10a/f bolts.

 

ok have taken cam belt cover off - nearside as suggested... The belt is not tight on the pulleys which I am presuming means it has snapped... :-(

HELP...!!!?! Does a snapped belt on a scooby mean a rebuild is required or new valves at least...? Or do I get away with just a new belt...?

Thanks for advice - has saved me buying a crankshaft sensor which I may not need!!!

 

from what i know they hit the valves sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it looks like engine out heads off a few new valves not a cheap job im affraid

you could always put a new belt on then do a compression test

 

Is it worth trying a belt to see if it will run before having the engine out...?

 

was just going to say that or as i said do a compression test that way you dont have to put everything back together to start her

 

A slipped cambelt would cause a fault code on the crank/cam sensor, as the valve timing will be out. And there will be a missmatch in timing signal between the cam and crank sensor - thus the code.


This is an interferance engine, so valves do get bent.

Please don't do what many people do and try their luck by fitting a new belt and trying to run the engine - chances are it'll seem to run fine. But what happens is the valve stems are slightly bent and straighten as it is pulled back into the guide by the spring. This causes the guide to wear, the valve to incorrectly seat, and also the wrost case fatigue of the valve stem by the constant bending/unbending - where eventually one may snap. And that will wreck your entire engine - mashing pistons, bending rods, scraping the bores and ruining the cylinder head(s).

A recon of the cylinder heads is cheaper than a new engine.

Although it does require the engine to be removed. And it being a old car you may want to consider having the bottom end (pistons and main/big end bearings) inspected for wear -as you don't want pay the cost/time of pulling out and stripping down the engine again to fix a knocking bottom end. This would be especially wise if the maintanence and usage history of the car is unknown.

 

But still not cheap...!!! Does it not make a diffenerence by the fact that I was only going 40 mph in 5th so revs were low...? I really can't afford to have to pull the engine out and have the heads rebuilt... :-(

 

I had a similar problem where my tensioning pulley bolt sheared, the belt cut through the cam covers but luckily no other damage was done. The belt was obviously very slack but didnt jump.

I would try a new CAM belt first - you've got nothing to lose!

They are not very easy to fit, I ended up getting one of my mates to help put the new belt back on.

Try Grahame Goode racing. I paid about £45 delivered. These come with alignment marks which helps alot.

Good luck.

 

The only time I can see no damage occur is if the belt snap and comes off completely before the engine was rotated. All the cams spin round under the valve spring tension so all the valves remained closed and out of harm's way. This is the only time no damage can occur (i.e cranking with no cambelt fitted).

You can also get away with timing out by one tooth, possible 2 or three depending which direction it slips. But it slipping to the point the engine doesn't run - highly doubtful.

To be sure you need to remove all the belt covers and check how far out the timing marks are. If they align, then your problem is elsewhere - but you saying the belt appears to be loose seem to suggest otherwise

Also the inlet and exhaust valves can also clash against each other.

Put it this way, valves get bent in these engine just by having a worn/failed big end bearing allowing the piston to go a bit too high and hitting a valve, we're talking barely a millimetre here; thats how close things are.

 

Just taken all the covers off and the belt has deffo snapped... :-( Can't tell whether pulley's have moved or not. It's not looking good... I think I'm gonna get new belt and try it on. Do you think it'll be driveable then to a garage to get it sorted properly...?

 

just sell it to me for panel bits for my scooby ;o)

 

mine snapped last year as the top n/s cam pulley which is bakelite shattered.I must have been lucky as a new belt and tensioner and away it went,had nop more problems till last month which could be related but a blown piston is quite common on my 99 sti engines,try it and do compression test before starting it

 

If any doubts, ask Dave at Api in relation to the ticking time bomb when replacing a broken belt without inspecting valves

 

Sorry all you optimists, cam belt off means bent valves every time.

Save time, yank the engine out now.

David APi

 

i must just have been lucky then,its a piston/rod/ringland combo that killed mine last month,had the heads and valves checked while they were off and everything is fine....same cant be said for the bottom end

 

exvaux, what are your lottery numbers - can I borrow them ??

I always advise anyone that is doing a 'home ' repair of their engine to take the valves out of the heads and spin them in a drill chuck.

They have such silly little thin stems and STi ones are hollow too, don't forget, that the valve spring will always pull the valve head into the seat and make it look OK. UNLESS of course, it is a big impact in which case you can see it easily.

If a valve is bent and gets missed, then the constant bending and straightening motion as it pulls back into the seat and then releases means that sooner later the head will snap off. Try bending and straightening a spoon 2000 times a minute [ 4000 engine revs ] and see how long before you have two halves of a spoon...........

David APi

 

nope you cant but if my numbers do come up youll be getting a very big cheque from me anyways when the engine did start playing up a few months ago i thought it could have been related to the belt but engine was stripped down 2 weeks ago as it had 0 psi on cyl 4 and low on cyl 3 turns out it was internal block problems,heads were checked and pressure tested and were ok