I have a 1989 Subaru Justy (lucky me)! I don’t want to invest more than $100 bucks in the problem because the car has a laundry list of issues. Basically, we’ve been “driving it until it dies” and I fear it may be dying.
It is idling out at stop lights. It first happened about a week ago and now it is happening almost every time I drive. It only happens when the car is cold. The car will start right back up in Park, but when put it in to drive again, it sometimes dies again.
Please help my Justy live one more day!
Please tell us about its maintenance history–at least over the past couple of years.
When were spark plugs, plug wires, air filter, and fuel filter last replaced?
We purchased it from craigslist with no records. All we’ve done is and engine flush, replaced the oil filter, spark plugs and air filter at 157,000 (it now has 163,000 miles)
I do know that it has issues with the pressure sensor, torque signal system, and has a lot of wear on the timing belt.
“We purchased it from craigslist with no records. Has a lot of wear on the timing belt”
You might just as well drive this car until the engine self-destructs–which could be tomorrow.
If the timing belt is overdue for replacement on a car that has a book value of only $200 or so, you should probably not spend anything on repairing it.