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1999 Type RA to 1999 Wagon Swap

1K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  SoCoNoHa 
#1 ·
I have a EJ 207 I brought home from Japan out of my old STI type RA. My eventual goal is to get it into my new 1999 wagon. I don't know anything about the US models of GC/GF8 so I'll be learning as I go. Starting off slow and fixing things as I find them; using problems as an excuse to upgrade!

Here's my starting point:

No visible rust, some key marks in the paint around the body and hood. Car runs ROUGH! the previous owner said it was recently rebuilt, this will be the first thing I address as this will be my daily driver for a while. Interior is in decent shape and i have some JDM trim pieces I'll be swapping in to make it nice while I procure the rest of what I'm after. The windows all have scrape marks in the glass for some reason too.

Pics below, Wish me luck!




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#2 ·
Welcome! Looks like a solid starting point. Scratches in the door glass are from the dust wipers that are mounted inside the door on either side of the glass. They can either be replaced with new, or if they aren't too far gone you can remove and clean the dirt and grime.

Here's a thread on it. Unfortunately most of the pictures won't show up.

 
#3 ·
First up.

The fuel system seems to lose pressure after I refill the car? I have to crank it and hit the gas pedal for a bit after getting gas. And the system as a whole seems to be failing more and more as time goes on.

While cold: use of the gas pedal can almost kill the engine. After letting it idle for a couple minutes the gas pedal will raise the RPM, but with an extremely sluggish response and the car will continue to behave this way the entire time it is driven.

The car also now sputters at all times while driving, accelerating and while cruising at a constant speed, but never while idling. While sputtering it also backfires.

I decided to rip into the fuel system and fix whatever I can find. I have replaced the fuel filter so far, and pulled out the pump assembly to find a portion of it broken (Pics Below). A plastic box holding what I assume is a sensor of some sort was broken and dangling in the tank... maybe fuel temp? I personally don't see how this would cause the problems I'm having but I'm going to replace the assembly anyway. The fuel pump is a Deatschwerks DW200 pump which i don't think is bad, but i may replace it with an OEM equivalent anyway since I have one on hand.

I've poked around the forums for similar problems and found info about the purge valve or the charcoal canister maybe causing the hard to start after refuel issue, and maybe even the sputtering. As soon as I button up the fuel tank I'll look there next.







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#6 ·
I replaced the solenoid/vent above the canister and it has made no difference. I have found quite a few threads where the emissions system was the culprit of my issues; so i will try to look into this further. I also replaced the fuel pump assembly/fuel filter, but I left the DeatschWerks pump in the car. I'll probably try to throw an OEM equivalent in to eliminate the possibility of the pump.

Finally I found a few unplugged connectors under the dash, I have no clue where they might go to. I think one coming of the break pedal assembly was possibly for cruise control. I reconnected one green plug, and it cause a relay to click on and off with the key in the on position. which caused the fuel pump to prime over and over without moving the key.... I then went to check if the factory ECU was in the car and it was. but there's a couple broken wires on those ECU harnesses, I will upload pictures of all this tomorrow.

I almost forgot, my OBD port doesn't seem to work, and the check engine light has gone out. I plug my code reader into the car and it will not turn on... Otherwise I would have started troubleshooting with the codes.
https://www.deatschwerks.com/
 
#7 ·
To rule out the fuel pump on my power loss/ stuttering issue I threw in an OEM replacement, Seemed to make the car better but I think the real reason was due to the ECU being without power for a couple weeks. After driving it for two days the check engine light illuminated and the power loss came back. This leads me to believe the guy I bought the car from was resetting the ECU in order to drive it/sell it.

I have since changed the upstream and downstream O2 sensors, the car definitely runs a bit better after about a week, but not 100%. It still feels like it has a mean missfire, and it stalls when coasting and while at red lights unless I keep it alive with throttle. Potentially dangerous situation to lose brakes and power steering. I am still unable to pull codes from the ECU, the reader will not power on unless I hold the plug at an angle. This is either a problem with the port or the reader is just a cheap POS that doesn't fit properly. I will have to finish looking into this otherwise I'm troubleshooting in the dark.

The throttle is also completely unresponsive while the car is "cold". using the pedal almost kills the car, and holding the pedal in less than an inch when the car is warm gets the engine up to a much higher RPM than I feel it should. it revs and revs and revs..... I can't even see what RPM it gets to though because the Tachometer is INOP. same with the Speedo...

Next I suppose I'll check spark/timing, and look into a few more sensors.
 
#8 ·
So two weeks ago I changed the MAF for a model without the hot wire. I also changed the PCV valve (Easiest thing i've done in my whole life). The stalling issue is gone, I assume the PCV was the culprit but the MAF can always be cleaned and I've seen them go bad frequently on my friends cars. The car still does not run quite right, it backfires ALOT like two people firing pistols at a gun range when I'm compression braking. and there's a very specific operating temp that is runs well at. The throttle response is the absolute worst part about this car. If i let the clutch out too quickly the car will simply idle in gear and the throttle wont get the car going at all, which forces me to burn the clutch just to get it in gear. On that note the clutch adjustment is horrible too. When the car is cold the throttle does nothing but bog down the engine.... Since the symptoms coincide with temperature I ordered an engine temp sensor (or coolant temp sensor?) along with a knock sensor, and a TPS. hopefully I can solve the throttle issue with these and simply help tune up the car in the process.

The car still has trouble starting after filling the tank, so I ordered the vapor canister purge valve.

I have quite a few JDM parts coming that I managed to track down from my RA i parted out in Japan, so the overall look of the car will be changing soon too. Once I get my hands on a JDM front bumper mount I'll be able to throw on my 22b bumper. And I found a WRX drivetrain my friend is bringing back for me so I can justify starting the engine build.

I'm unsure if anyone even reads this, but if so I am looking for a similar wheel setup to a set of GC8 V6 STI TE37’s. I had a set on my last car but am interested in something a bit newer. If anyone has recommendations please let me know!
 
#9 ·
Ohhhh the small green connectors under the dash are for either a diagnostics mode or a reflash mode or something along those lines. You'll definitely want to find a wiring diagram for your car, I've had good luck just googling for it.
 
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