DIFFICULT question about a EJ22 problem:

[Animal25RS]

I have a '97 EJ22 with electrical problems (i think), i took it to evergreen subaru a week ago and their diagnosis is a little strange. They're telling me that if i buy a $350 alternator from them to replace my advanced auto parts alternator...it'll fix my engine problem. Would putting a "Subaru" alternator in place of a generic alternator fix a power issue? It doesn't make sense to me, because an alternator is just an alternator to me, i have no technical knowledge about them.

The problem I'm having with the obs is this: when driving, the obs starts to bog after a few mins of driving. The car is going 30mph, my fot hasn't moved but I'm startimg to lose momentum, i push the gas in a little more with no response; i have to floor it to get any response of power.

I've been told it a wiring issue or an alternator issue.

Please please...would someone with great knowledge and experience explain this to me!? Please.

 

[Chris]

Does it ever snap out of this issue? Does it have the check engine light on?

Bogging like this sounds like fuel delivery to me. There's an o-ring in the pump assy. that likes to leak and cause low fuel pressure, clogged filter, etc can cause low pressure or low flow.

But going back to the alternator theory. Is your battery charged? If you put a meter on it, you should have 13.8v or above for a healthy charging system.

I've driven my car with a charged battery and no alternator for quite some distance (completely failed alt). And it didn't have any problems at all. By the time I got home, the battery was actually down to around 10.5 volts, so it did get pretty low.

Can you ask them to put a brand new alternator in it and take it for a test ride, see if that actually fixes the problem? It's kind of silly to buy a brand new factory alternator without knowing for 100% sure that's the issue, I'd think they could diagnose that a bit better by putting a new one in there and test riding it.

 

[Matt]

electrical items generally cant be used as a test, at least not where i work....assuming the alt doesn't put out a constant 14v and occasionally starts loosing volts i would see how it would effect the way it runs. if you've got a good volt gauge hook it up and run the leads into the car so a pass. can watch it while you drive!!!

 

[Animal25RS]

Well i installed the new alternator that i bought from evergreen subaru a few days ago. It ran perfect for 20mins, but as soon as i passed 45mph..it started to bog out again. So, moving on to the next problem.

 

[jaKe]

Faults stored? Fuel filter? Pressure reading for fuel? Catalytic convertor condition? Air filter condition? Engine ground cable condition?

 

[Chris]

Does it always bog at a certain RPM? Ie, if you put it in 1st gear and run it hard up to redline, will it always bog at a certain RPM. Then if you do the same in 2nd, will it bog at the same RPM?

You could be in a few different gears at 45mph, so whatever RPM it's at when it's bogging. See if it'll do that in more than one gear.

 

[Legacy22GT]

Sounds like a vacuum or spark issue to me...

not sure if you've already tried, but check and reseat the spark plug wires.

I know it sounds weird, but i have a 96 ej22 in my 99 legacy, a while back i had issues when starting to accellerate in the low part of 2nd and 3rd gears.

ended up being an incorrectly routed vacuum hose and the plug wires needed to be replaced.

ran great after that.

 

[KamB]

My ej18 did this crap, all I did it.. Well a lot. But I think the difference was cleaning the MAF. it would bog bad and I fixed an idle problem but it would trip over itself when I punched it and randomly cough, stalling at stoplights. Just a guess. As I said I did a lot at one time ( i know... I know. Not recommended when dionosing a problem) so it may have been something totally different.