Powerless Subaru

I have a 1997 Subaru legacy with at 2.2L engine and about 120,000 miles on it. In the last 6 months it has been losing power on hills and getting worse gas milage. I'm a beginning do-it-yourselfer (I've installed a stereo and an alternator myself with no trouble), and I'm wondering what I should try myself before taking it to a mechanic. I'm planning on replacing the air filter and sparkplugs. Any other suggestions?? Thanks!

When was the last time the fuel filter was replaced? I was getting some really bad hesitation when trying to start moving from a dead stop and some sputtering. It stopped almost immediately after I replaced my fuel filter (which was a PITA to do because of the fuel lines not wanting to come loose). I'd also try with the spark plugs. That plug's condition can tell you a lot about how your engine is running. Like until Sunday, I didn't know my car had started burning a very small amount of oil. Time to switch to high mileage oil for a few thousand miles, then I'm going over to synthetic. I'd try fuel filter and spark plugs before I took it to anyone. You and I can replace parts that MIGHT help fix something for a lot cheaper than we can pay a mechanic to do it. :sunglasse

wow!! Im glad I saw this post!

My car sputters and hesitates from a stop. Also it burns a little bit of oil (The ticking of the valvetrain gets pretty loud after a while)

Also, before I do this Im going to add a bit of Injetion cleaner and water-getter-ridder stuff. whatever you call it

A new fuel filter and a new air filter should fix your problem. (a dirty air filter = less power and less mileage per gallon, a fuel filter = less power, stumbling, hesitation etc. same symptoms for old sparkplugs)

yeah. I still need to put my wires in. My car burns a small amount of oil also. It's very minute, but it's still doing it. I also have a ticking noise, but it usually goes away after the engine is warmed up. I'm told this is very common. Hopefully switching to GTX High Mileage will recondition my seals enough to get it to stop burning the oil. I'm confident that the engine will last me for a good while longer.