Today having got about ten miles from home my wrx turbo my96 wagon began spluttering almost as if running out of go go juice (half tank), on heading for home it got progressively worse the more throttle I applied the worse it got.
Have dissconected the battery today while replacing the spark plugs, the car starts as normal but after approx ten seconds the revs drop become uneven and lumpy, extremely low and it struggles to idle. ?? guess it could be a number of things, where do I start ?

 

check for clips and hoses are tight and check for leaks

 

initial guess - fuel pump failing..

Simon

 

Check air intake aswell, for any obstructions.

 

As JGM said - fuel pump on its way out or corroded electrical connector to the fuel pump

Mick.

 

Before the trouble started I attempted to take out the filter element from the Hks induction kit as it was looking old and rotten while attempting this I found it to beyond the cleaning stage and put it back, looking today I found that i had not put it back in intact and a part of the filter has discentergrated away mainly due to the condition !
I then put the filter back as best as I could leaving still a hole in the filter just not as big !
Accidently I then started the car with the Maf sensor disconnected and it ticked over ok just a little high reving, having reconnected the Maf sensor wires it seams to be a little better ticking over at 1,000 rpm maybe just under but mildly uneven.

I have ordered a new filter, arriving tomorrow, could the filter (failing to bits on touching it)cause that much of an issue ?

 

fuel pump,or maf on the way out. it happened to my 93 classic replaced maf
ran sweet after. or get the car to a garage to check fault codes.

 

air filter element bits in maf sensor or engine..

 

Without knowing too much about the maf sensor, could the bits just be blown off, if not is there any way of cleaning it? looking down the intake where it is located dose'nt seem much to them ?

Would like to think that not that much has come away from the filter and into the engine if some has will it clear itself and would that explan why it is better today ?

 

Was the filter dry when you put it back? Maf sensors don't like any sort of moisture, be it oil, water, or..... fairy liquid?
If you remove the maf tube with the sensor inside it you can clean it, but don't blow down it with it still connected.

 

Thank you for all your help, it was indeed the old hks air filter on the induction kit falling to bits and presumably interfering with the maf sensor.
Having used a compressed gas dry air spray to clean the maf sensor and clean out of the pipes followed by a new filter it is running as normal.

 

Glad to here it, thanks for keeping us updated