97 legacy outback awd bad on gas ?

Hello all. i have just bought a 97 legacy outback awd wagon, Its automatic. the original motor is a 2.5L , but the person i bought the car from had changed the motor as the old one was no good. so it now has a 2.2l instead of the 2.5l.

it shifts hard into second. which i am curious about ? i was told its normal for these cars ?

I put 30 bucks worth of fuel in it. and i got 100klms.... my fathers 91 gmc with a 350 v8 dont burn that much !

im not hard on the pedal, and i dont even do over 100klms on hour lol

it has had a tune up already by the previous owner.

only thing i can think of is maybe he didnt change the old ECU / Computer ? and its running the 2.5l computer ? is it possible ?

The car runs good, no knocks or bangs, starts great.

anyone got some ideas or ? Thanks

Yeah something is off because that's only like 7 or 8 mpg. Was the ecu changed to the 2.2 engine when the swap was done? That's more than likely the issue.

Usually I get 19-21 mpg city and 26-30 mpg highway depending on my driving style, hills, wind etc. This is with a 99 LGT with a auto trans. Remember they won't get higher mpgs because of the AWD.

yea i drive it like a granny, i mean i dont let the rpms go over 3000, The motor is a 2.2l from a 95 legacy sedan. The ECU as i found out from the previous owner last night is the 2.5l ECU , he didnt change the computer as he was told he did not need too. But to me if your putting a smaller engine you should change the ECU because the computer is maped to send a certain amount of fuel for the 2.5l, Not the 2.2l.. That must be the problem,

I know its AWD so it will burn more then my civic. 30 bucks in my civic will get me 300 klms I know the Subaru wont be that good, i figured 30 bucks would get me at least 200klms not 100klms :/

Any ideas how much a 95 2.2l computer / ECU would cost me ??

do you have any trouble codes?

is the check engine light on?

have the codes read.

in the US most auto parts chain stores will read them for free.

(where are you located?)

does the ''check engine'' light come on with all the other dash lights just before you start the car?

it is a little more than a tune up,

but depending on the miles,

you may need to clean your IAC, EGR, and /or the throttle body.

even if this is not the cause, clean is better than dirty.

(the cars in the asia / europe markets may not have these items, idk.)

other things that cause fuel consumption,

oxygen sensors

knock sensor (this would cause a loss of power.)

plugs?

timing ?

the ecu is probably NOT the issue.

when you swap the engine to a 2.2L, you DO NOT need to swap the ECU.

and i'm not sure i would trust everything the seller said,

unless they are a friend.

i bought the car from a buddy of mine. He told me you dont have to change the computer to swap the 2.2L but to me that doesnt make sense, because the computer is mapped for a 2.5l not 2.2l so it would be getting to much fuel,

(i have had hondas for years this is my first Subaru)

when i turn the key over before i start it the Engine light comes on with all he other lights,

When i start the car the engine light does not come on. i Work at partsource, i have scanned it and there are no engine trouble codes...

The car runs great too, it idles perfect, starts great, but when its running i can smell fuel, BUT there are no puddles and not a drop of fuel on the ground anywhere, its not leaking it, the smell is from the exhuast its running to rich.

The engine has about 280000 klms on it

they all run rich when cold,

until they warm up they run in open loop.

a basic operating spec to guarantee it will start and run.

once it heats up it should fine tune the fuel air ratio.

if you are willing to do some investigating,

pull the plugs and see how they look.

if one is different,

you may have a bad injector.

this is not common, but the check is free.

but i would concentrate on other more common stuff first.

but any checking and cleaning is going to help,

and it does not have to be expensive.

while checking, look at the timing.

it too is free.

the MAF is an item that can cause mystery problems.

i have a 97 GT with a 96 ej22 in it.

my fuel econmy is not great.

not as good as others claim to have.

but my engine has 170k miles (almost 300k klm).

i suspect my problem is a dirty IAC.

do you know what year the ej22 is?

Hello;

Check the coolant sensor on the crossover, this would be a two pin sensor. O2 and Maf sensor also needs checking. Also check the filler neck on your gas tank. A plugged exhaust system is another culprit. My muffler (replaced) was partially blocked and a spirited drive on the hiway finished cleaning out the rest of the gunk. Steven.

the motor is an EJ22 from a 1995 legacy sedan, Yea im going to start pulling things and checking them out, cleaning parts and im going to run a bottle of seafoam through it also.

Also is it normal for second gear to shift hard ?

the map sensor that runs in the Airbox is for the 2.5L, should it have the 2,2l map sensor ? or is the 2.5l map sensor ok to run like the computer / ECU ?

Sorry for all the questions fella's i am a noob with Subaru's this is my first one, and it has a swap. so im just trying to rule out parts and issues

there is a map like device but...

in these cars it is really a MAF set up.

it is located in the intake plenum just after the air filter box.

the pat number for the maf is the same for the ej22 and the ej25.

if you clean it be sure to use "MAF cleaner'' .

it shifts hard into second. which i am curious about ? i was told its normal for these cars ?

Mine does the same thing. When I inquired about it here I was told the same as you...normal for the car.

http://legacygt.com/forums/Pulled these beautys out of the Suby today, ngks' bkr6egp, Which are not the right plugs for the 2.2L i put bkr5e11 ngk's just regular plugs back into it, changed the air filter and fuel filter and 1 bottle of seafoam HOPEFULLY this makes it a ton better :) it runs smoother and is much more peppy ! which is always a good sign

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q559/crxsi88/IMG_0806_zps42b23e58.jpg

http://legacygt.com/forums/http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q559/crxsi88/IMG_0805_zpsd7203ddd.jpg

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q559/crxsi88/IMG_0804_zps2c0a96b7.jpg

http://legacygt.com/forums/<a href=http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/crxsi88/media/IMG_0804_zps2c0a96b7.jpg.html target=_blank>http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q559/crxsi88/IMG_0804_zps2c0a96b7.jpg

^ same here, the ej22 ECU running the ej25 nets me around the same

+1 for the ECU not being the issue

Mine does the same thing. When I inquired about it here I was told the same as you...normal for the car.

There's a dropping resistor on the passenger side strut tower under the hood, make sure it's there, connected, clean connection, good wires etc etc. it does something to regulate the pressure in the trans, without it, or if it's bad, it's full pressure in the trans all the time.

My old wag was an auto and my resistor was bad. Swapped in a junkyard one, shifted so much nicer. But man that auto can hunt and shift so early!

There's a dropping resistor on the passenger side strut tower under the hood, make sure it's there, connected, clean connection, good wires etc etc. it does something to regulate the pressure in the trans, without it, or if it's bad, it's full pressure in the trans all the time.

 

My old wag was an auto and my resistor was bad. Swapped in a junkyard one, shifted so much nicer. But man that auto can hunt and shift so early!

Thanks! I'll definitely look into this. I just went out and performed a quick check but didn't spend a whole lot of time on it as it's raining now. I'll look more closely once the weather clears. Any chance you could take a picture and upload it?

Does this resistor affect just the 1 -> 2 shift or all shifts? I'm experiencing hard shifts on the 1 -> 2 shift only. Everything else is smooth. Occasionally the 1 -> 2 shift will be smooth but the majority of time it's hard.

yea i hope the plug change fixes the issue ! it runs reallllllly good now, smoooooth, so will see !

Dropping Resistor, ill be looking into that, i Cant seem to get it at partsource. Is there anothe name for it ? and or is it just a dealer part ??

i live in Canada

It can feel like just the 1-2 shift is harsh even though 2-3 and 3-4 are harder than they are supposed to be. I don't have an auto car anymore, and I won't be able to get to a junkyard for at least a week. I found a couple of pics online, they're not really detailed but gives you an idea of where. If you have an ohm meter, they should read between 9-15 ohms, if it's out of that range it's bad.

447, it should be called something like a "line pressure dropping resistor". It will probably be really hard to find aftermarket, I couldn't, so I went to a yard and got one. If you guys are desperate and they're expensive from the dealer, I could try and hunt for some, I'll check they're resistance first, but it will be at least a week before I can get back to the wrecking yard, wife and I are taking a much deserved vacation lol!

Subaru-dropping-resistor-location1.jpg

From a sooby service guide

http://static17.scoobyenthusiast.com/img04/Subaru-dropping-resistor-location1.jpg

that is one ratchet looking lightbar..

i've never heard of that being called a dropping resistor before this thread

have you ever seafoamed the motor? that always gained back 2-4mpg on some friend's cars ive done..

may be worth a shot, id do it before you change the plugs because it will foul the ones in the motor

that is one ratchet looking lightbar..

 

i've never heard of that being called a dropping resistor before this thread

Good grief, you're right! I hadn't even noticed the bar...

I think that's what they refer to it as in the service guide, I don't remember for certain though.