Bucking Justy

My manual 1990 Subaru Justy has only 80K, but suddenly started bucking, jerking, and hesitating... as if it's engine is really cold... even when it's warmed up. As a driver, it feels like trying to get water out of a kinked hose... I need to tease the accelerator to get power. Fuel efficency down about 10%, too. Thanks!

Reply to
bndscncor
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Suspect ignition issue first - plugs, wires, etc. The Justy is only a 3 cylinder engine so loosing one will really be noticed, unlike loosing one cylinder on a V8.

Reply to
Pete C.

Thanks, my husband looked at the plugs and wires, and they looked clean... but a mechanic at a picnic said you can't tell by looking. You're right 2 outta 3 IS bad when you're talking engines!

Reply to
bndscncor

One test for a bad wire is to open the hood in the dark with th engine running and spray mist the wires with water. If you have a bad plug wire, it will show sparks all over.

On a 90 with a 'dead' gas pedal, I also would be looking at the fuel filter unless it is one of those permanent in tank ones.

A blocked air filter will also cause bucking and no power and a loss in gas mileage.

One other test is to crack the gas cap open and see if it runs better. If so, the air filter for the gas tank vent could be blocked. I don't know where that is on yours though.

Mike

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Reply to
Mike Romain

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