car loses power up hills

[jameslibertygx95]

Hi there !
This is jameslibertygx95 and its awesome to be apart of the SUBARU LIBERTY CLUB

I recently bought a Liberty GX Wagon 1995 in very nice condition but much to my dismay it has a very weird problem of loosing power going up a long hill or after long periods of sustained acceleration. If i try to push through the power loss the car dies, but will start up straight away (sometimes after a short delay/depending on how hard i have pushed it) . I consulted a few mechanics and they thought it might be a faulty or dieing fuel filter or fuel pump, so i replaced them and this has made the car run better but has not changed the problem at all ;((( Does anyone have any idea what is wrong with my car ??? The only other suggestion i have heard is that maybe the holes where oil is suppose to be released in the hydraulic lifters are partially blocked and need to be cleaned out . My understanding is vague on what hydraulic lifters are but i understand what he means. My problem is that i am not filthy rich and it seems like i might need to have open heart surgery on my car !!!! If it must be done then so be it but does anyone have a better solution or does this sound like the problem ? Would putting a engine cleaner in my next oil change help loosen the blockage and maybe using a thinner oil say 10/30. The one FACT i know is that the previous owner used 20/50 oil which is thicker than the recommended oil for this model which is 15/40 & 10/30.

any suggestions ?
Thank you
jameslibertygx95

[youngy69]

If your car is auto send me a PM.
Cheers Eddie

[jp928]

Bad lifters are usually accompanied by ticking or tapping noises, indicating excessive clearance. proper solution, if its caused by poor oil supply, is a thinner oil. the fact that the PO(prev owner) was running a heavier than spec oil is a worry, possibly an indication that he was hiding something.
Does you car ever hesitate when you hit the throttle after being slowed down in traffic? If so, this was a well known issue in cars with a knock sensor on the block - do a search for 'subaru hesitation'. I had this on my 05 Outback - put a rubber washer under the sensor - problem went away. Can also be improved by using fuel residue cleaner stuff like Caltex Techron now and again.
How many kms does the car have on it ?
jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon

[youngy69]

Like said the rocker arms that house the oil pressure relief valves are probably a bit clogged,causing the lifters to "pump up" and hold the valves off their seat resulting in no compression and no go.Try flushing the oil a couple of times,if this doesnt work you need to manually remove the shafts,arms and lifters and clean them out.Hope this helps.
Cheers Eddie

[Robbks]

info passed onto me by a knowlegible bloke

Lifter pump will cause the engine to lose power going up hills under full load.

Flush the engine using a proprietary flush
or
drop the oil when hot,
refill with diesel fuel and allow to idle (do NOT blip the throttle) for 10 - 15 mins then drain,
do an oil change and use 10W30 good quality oil = that should fix it.

[BUDDAH]

diesel fuel or high detergent diesel lubricating oil I know what one I would use

[Robbks]

but the diesel oil is usually slightly thicker
15W40 for magnatec diesel and struggles to get in there and flush it out.

the diesel FUEL trick works
that's why you do it with a hot engine as you don;t get that startup wear and there is plenty of oil already coating everything.
and that's why you only let the car idle with no load or throttle.

the engine flushes also instruct you to only let the car idle as they also are just strong detergents and are designed to wash/ flush oil and contaminants out of engine internals.
the diesel trick just does it faster and more thoroughly and much cheaper

[AWDDave]

diesel fuel or high detergent diesel lubricating oil I know what one I would use

I've done this to my '93 Legacy GT - using diesel FUEL, as I was getting the dreaded tappets. Worked a treat!

If you're concerned about it, buy some cheap oil and do an oil change with a half-half mix (oil and diesel) for the same amount of time as said by Robbks - then flush.

Or else, other options are to run a high detergent diesel lubricating oil (low-ash) for about half the servicing cycle (5000klms?).

I've heard from others to run ATF as that has a cleaning agent in it.. same as high detergent diesel oil...

[PHAT GT]

dont drive up hills

[Blade Hunter]

dont drive up hills

[Sonia1313]

wow, thank you for the replies... definately not riding/resting ont he clutch or brake pedals, as i am doing 80-$110kms per hour, along these roads and then suddnely power loss.... the more i out my foot down the slower it goes... so i therefore go back through the gears...
I have replaced the clutch 7 months ago as it wouldn't go into 3rd gear a lot, and just make grating signs when trying.... now the clutch has a bit of a 'shudder'..
i was also told yes early model subarus have the hillstart roll back feature in them... another thing I forgot to mention is, is, i notice when i undo my fuel cap that is makes a pssssh noise like its under a little pressure,not sure if that was normal or not... flat sections of road, its not too bad, it cer tainly doesn't lag or stop, Ive pulled the air filter off its really clean.
I was thinking it was to do with fuel but i have used injector cleaner and everything, checked return lines, then thinking, spark plugs aarrgghhh But am now thinking i should do the oils thing now as that seems like a popular suggestion, thank you so much guys....

[subyroo]

wow, thank you for the replies... definately not riding/resting ont he clutch or brake pedals, as i am doing 80-$110kms per hour, along these roads and then suddnely power loss.... the more i out my foot down the slower it goes... so i therefore go back through the gears...
I have replaced the clutch 7 months ago as it wouldn't go into 3rd gear a lot, and just make grating signs when trying.... now the clutch has a bit of a 'shudder'..
i was also told yes early model subarus have the hillstart roll back feature in them... another thing I forgot to mention is, is, i notice when i undo my fuel cap that is makes a pssssh noise like its under a little pressure,not sure if that was normal or not... flat sections of road, its not too bad, it cer tainly doesn't lag or stop, Ive pulled the air filter off its really clean.
I was thinking it was to do with fuel but i have used injector cleaner and everything, checked return lines, then thinking, spark plugs aarrgghhh But am now thinking i should do the oils thing now as that seems like a popular suggestion, thank you so much guys....

Normal, my 2003 XS Forester did it and so does my current 2013 Honda CRV, it is more of a vacuum than pressure in my vehicles.

[JBucki10]

I have replaced the clutch 7 months ago as it wouldn't go into 3rd gear a lot, and just make grating signs when trying.... now the clutch has a bit of a 'shudder'..
i was also told yes early model subarus have the hillstart roll back feature in them... another thing I forgot to mention is, is, i notice when i undo my fuel cap that is makes a pssssh noise like its under a little pressure,not sure if that was normal or not... flat sections of road, its not too bad, it cer tainly doesn't lag or stop, Ive pulled the air filter off its really clean.

Ok before you go crazy, going into third gear is not a clutch issue, its a gearbox issue, your synchromesh on third gear may be gone. Expensive Solution: get a new gearbox, cheap solution: learn how to double de clutch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tescWzTlGQ0

Clutch having a shudder, is that at low revs? If so it may just be a result of having a single mass flywheel, nothing to worry about.

The hissing when you undo the fuel cap is normal, modern cars have a pressurized fuel system, when you use fuel it sucks it out of the tank but doesn't compensate the fuel lose with air, so a vacuum is created. The pssssssh noise is just nature going back to its natural equilibrium.