Hello Everyone! I recently became the proud owner of a manual 1993 Subaru Sambar and although I love it it’s having a few issues, the most frustrating being the following: while driving the truck around it will repeatedly lurch, especially when giving it gas in 2nd and 3rd gears, it feels like the engine loses all power momentarily, making the truck lurch around. This is less pronounced in 5th gear at speed but I can feel the engine repeatedly lose power as I Go. It almost feels like it starts engine braking randomly even when I’m on the gas. I have seen people posting similar problems in other threads with varying results. I’d like to fix this without resorting to the parts canon so I’d like some pointers onto how to further diagnose this problem. my only clues so far are that it does not happen when the engine is cold and switching to AWD makes the lurching less noticeable. thanks for any help!
Manual transmission, carburetor. right now I am planning to replace the fuel filter and clean the carb if the problem persists. I also noticed that the battery and catalytic converter light comes on under high revs so I’ll change the serpentine belt and hope that the alternator isn’t the problem.
If those lights are coming on, then I would suspect an electrical issue.. either a dying battery and/or alternator, or perhaps something as simple as a poor ground.
I’m hoping that it’s just the belt but I’ll check it out and post again once I figure more out. thanks for the suggestion.
we are having a similar issue with our 1995 KS4 AWD auto Supercharged Sambar. driving any distance over a 1000 ft and it suddenly with start to loose power, coast, then kick in again, and sometimes stall out. Not sure if its fuel issue. Checked all electrical and that is fine. Checked temp sensors, and coolant, so its not overheating. Any other ideas???
My first guess would be the CVT powder clutch in your case. They are a wear item, and 29 years is a lot to ask of one.
