Looking for a bit of advice here folks. This is my first Subaru and i'm having a small issue with it:

When the car is stone cold it fires no problem, but seems a bit lumpy possibly running on three. It's away byt the time i've warmed it up and driven off.

When the car is hot it starts perfectly.

When the car has been left for 30mins plus it really struggles to start. It always does, but it's really slow.

Oh yeah, it's a 1998 Sti Type R.

Was going to try a set of plugs and check the coil packs if it has (?)

Also, i was told it's running on 10w/60 which i think is too extreme for the car. Should i change this?


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Apart from this, the car is great!

 

If the starter motor is slow turning over it could be the battery or starter motor itself ( battery doubtful if car starts from cold), also you could check the water temp sensor connections, as these can affect starting.

There no coils packs on each spark plug.

 

Starter seems fine as it turns over no problem, just struggles to fire.

Thought about a temp sensor as it would be affecting the mixture for firing.

Will have a look.

Cheers

JK

 

Possibly sounding like a crank or cam sensor issue. Both sensors can cause issues - crank sensor moreso.

Generally they play up at random. But notably worse when hot after being left for a short while, so restarting whilst still warm. It generally doesn't want to fire up.

It usually gets worse to the point the car won't start at all, and churn over until the battery is flat. But after being left for a few hours so its cold, it restarts as if nothing has happened (after the battery has been recharged/jumped).

 

Would this show up as a fault if i got it stuck on the diagnostic machine at a dealer?

Noticed it's has a crank sensor before but that was a while ago. AWD replaced it about 4/5 years ago. And it's had a new engine since then.

JK

 

possible low compression??? valve issue or similar? go for the basics.. plugs and ecu check to start with

 

I assume the engine would be OK. It's only got 15k on it and there doesn't appear to be any adverse signs. Engine was a brand new unit from Subaru Japan in 2006.

Good shout, i'll just check the basics but I'm also leaning towards the Crank sensor now

JK