WRX101

I've got an 03 WRX with 54k miles on the clock. I've found recently that when driving in 5th gear in the turbo excellerating fairly hard that all of a sudden I get a big loss of power as though someone just put the brakes on. It mainly starts off in 5th gear but then as I continue to drive it begins to do it in all gears - a sudden loss of power in the turbo, it doesn't have that same crisp excelleration. I'm not very good when it comes to diagnosing these sorts of problems so if any of you could help I'd really appreciate it!

Cheers

Marx Mcrae

iTrader: (4)

Is your car standard, or has it got any performance ugrades on it, i.e Decat exhaust, induction kit, etc.
If it has got some mods on then it could just be the fuel cut defender kicking in as the car will be running slightly more boost, therefore needing more fuel than what the ecu is allowing.

WRX101

It has one of the cats removed and exhaust sytem on the mid section and replacement back box + dump valve and K&N panel filter. It has run fine for quite some time though with what's on the car at the moment.

Marx Mcrae

iTrader: (4)

When I had my first turbo 2000 i did the same mods that you have done and it ran fine for ages, then all of a sudden the fuel cut started kicking in.
Theres a couple of options really depending on if your wanting to do anything else to your car, such as removing the other cats etc.
1. You can fit a fuel cut defender, HKS do these as do Turbosmart, there usually about £100. Think the Turbosmart one is slightly cheaper though

2. If your planning some more mods the it would be best to get your standard ecu remapped with a Tek3 remap.

If you contack Scoobyclinic then they can supply the FCD and sort you out with the remap if you want it.

WRX101

Ok, cheers. How do these fuel cut defenders work? I was planning in the future to have it remapped but only at the same time as getting an uprated fuel pump etc. I'd prefer not to do anything too major to the engine yet if possible. Just want it running properly and quickly. But it's just not right when it does this, loose all your power and then it gives that feeling similar to when the turbo is really hot. Was this like what you had with your 2000 turbo then?

Marx Mcrae

iTrader: (4)

When it was happening with mine, I would be accelerating hard then all of a sudden it would be like someone had put there foot on the brakes and I would get jerked forwards

WRX101

Yep, sounds like the same thing. Which did you have done to fix the problem and how does a fuel cut defender work?

Marx Mcrae

iTrader: (4)

Basically I think it just bypasses the standard fuel cut off point.
Doesnt do anything that can cause damage to the car.
You just plug it into your ecu i think.
I actually never got round to doing either actually cos I decided to have a go at seeing which was harder... A tree or a subaru!! Needless to say the tree won by a mile!
Personally though if your planning on having a remap pretty soon then I would wait rather than spending another £100, otherwise I would have a FCD fitted

WRX101

Ah no that's unlucky mate. Thanks for your advice, I don't suppose disconecting the battery to reset some of the ecu settings would help? worth a try i guess lol.

Jasoon

Do you get a Engine warning light at all?

My first WRX did something similar and it turned out to be the boost solenoid control valve

petes21st

this was taken from another thread about a mooing noise
"Before you get carried away and replace the turbo have a look at the dump valve.My 97 uk wagon mooed constantly and I replaced the black plastic dump valve ,which on this model is under the N/S of the intercooler . The other symptom I got with it was a sudden cut out at full throttle on motorways ,ie in 4/5th gear .Since then it's been perfect
The valve was abou £70;00 at Subaru"

scooby steve-o

wot like!av just bought a 97 ipreza uk turbo traded in a nakered cally tubo rust for it an am wanting to fit fmic is it difficult to do or best left to a pro?? av look at kips how to looks tricky

WRX101

No engine warning light. I had the problem briefly before nearly a year ago but it went away on its own. I've been out in the car again today and there doesn't feel much 'pull' in the turbo, it seems to be doing it constantly now!