1994 Subaru Impreza was running okay. Had 1/4 tank of gas so stopped to get gas. Drove 40 miles, stopped and started car at least 3 times w/o problem. Driving down the road, stepped on accelerator, car had died. Will not start. Bad gas??
Maybe not. Can you be more specific about how it acted before the engine died? Did the engine just suddenly drop dead like someone pulling the plug on an appliance, or did it sputter and struggle for a bit? Also, when you try to crank it now does it sputter or cough or do nothing?
nothing noticable, didn’t even know it had died until stepped on accelerator. Turns over well. Tried the screwdriver & ground to engine but I have never done it before. I could not see a spark so I called the local parts store you told me it could be a number of things like a detector for crank location ( I think )which would keep it from sparking or even the timing belt. Coil would have to be ordered and non-returnable so looking for better starting point.
When was the last time you replaced the timing belt? How many miles on the vehicle?
Actually, it’s a friend’s car. She’s had it for about a year and I’m sure she has done as little as possible but the fuel pump had to be replaced and she tried the fuel filter yesterday. I would say she drives 130 miles round trip 5 days a week therefore has little money to put into it. Yikes, she just told me it has 300K on the odometer. Time for a new car, I’d guess.
Yikes, 300K on a car that sees limited maintenance…I’m guessing the timing belt went south, or one of the belt tensioner pulleys seized. If they have a repair manual locate the section how to access the timing belt and see if it broke. If the belt broke-game over. I don’t believe that car has an interference engine (parts collide when the belt breaks), but the fix won’t be cheap.
Sorry for the delayed response, visitors dropped in. Thanks for your help. I know the timing belt on those interference engines bends engine parts,as this same gal had a talon that the timing belt broke on, rendering it not worth fixing (over 200K on it). For someone who doesn’t seem to do much scheduled maintenance she seems to get high mileage out of her cars. Maybe it’s the highway driving. Thanks again for the recommendations. Connie