Subaru Problems

candii06, Dec 6, 7:54pm
Hi guys, have a nz new 1.8 litre carburated 1991 Subaru Legacy 4wd 5 speed manual wagon. it is the basic model with manual windows, no aircon, vinyl interior etc.has clocked 365,000kms problem free for the first owner (grandad) & me but has got a few issues id like to fix.

Firstly when the weather is cold the car takes a lot of cranking to start. e.g. about 2 - 4 mins of cranking then it fires into life and drives perfect. car starts instantly when warm. Has been doing this for about a year now. what could be causing this!

Second issue is one that i inherited when i got the car 70,000 kms ago. The car has a selectable 2wd/4wd button on the gearstick along with seperate a hi/lo ratio stick. when "4WD" is engaged the cars wheels start locking up and car almost becomes undrivable, the car only drives properly in the "2WD" mode. press the "4WD" button again and it wont disengage back to 2WD like its suppose to. the only way to do this is to put the car in reverse and turn steering on full lock, accelerate slightly then the "4WD" will disengage. what could potentially be causing this!

sorry for the long post but yeah. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thegravelracer, Dec 6, 7:58pm
i might be wrong but when you disengage a 4wd arent you supposed to reverse for a meter or so to disengage it properly!

candii06, Dec 6, 8:01pm
im not too sure. im not the most car savvy person you see. haha :) if your suppose to reverse to disengage the 4wd then thats working fine then. but is it suppose to lock up and start shuddering when 4wd is engaged!

hijacka, Dec 6, 11:00pm
First problem will be fuel pump.

Not to sure about the second problem maybe the rear diff ratio doesn't match the tranny or the rear diff is blown!

sheepey, Dec 7, 1:18am
Maybeit doesn't have the same sized wheels/tyres all round!

candii06, Dec 7, 3:12am
right il look into the fuel pump as yeh it does seem that maybe the fuel is taking too long to get to the engine!

Re the diff: yes im guessin that when it is blown the car will struggle to move foward or back. checked tyres & rims. rims are factory suby ones & the tyres all match. myt hav to take it in to a tranny & diff specialist. thanks for all the suggestions :)

dunwoody, May 14, 9:10am
Just a suggestion. If you want to know anything about a Subaru ask the people at Waiuku car spares. They specilise in wreckingSubarus and know all the tricks about them and are only to willing to help you out with any problem. My mate has the same car as you and has no problem 2 or 4 wheel drive.