Bradsit Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Hey all, Ever since I got my 97 outback wagon I've had nothing but bad luck. 1 week after I drove it off the lot the head gasket blew...with the help of this board I was able to come to the conclusion that that was the problem. I then took it back to the dealer and asked them to fix it, which they were kind enough to do. Unfortunately it was a small dealership with minimal resources and they took a whole month to finish my car. I just got it back this weekend with a new head gasket and t-belt, however there is now a new problem. As soon as I started the car I noticed a very rough idle, also the check engine light was on, but after dealing with the car lot for so long I decided I would just fix it myself. I took it to autozone where the diagnostic machine said it was a cylinder #1 missfire, and a failing camshaft position sensor. I installed a new sensor and the CEL turned off, but there is still a very rough idle, almost as if the car is about to stall sometimes. It seems like the timing is still way off, it also feels like the cylinder is still missfiring. I want this to go away, and I just want my car to run well. Does anybody have any suggestions what to do next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adnan Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Hi, I think the usual diagnostics are called for, to eliminate possible culprits. Sounds like you're right about it being an ignition/timing problem. I would start by checking the plugs for tightness and spark and ignition wires for fraying. If no spark, move on to the coil pack. If the pack's okay, it may be the ignition module. The second branch is timing - check that the timing is correct on the belt. It could also be fuel related in that one injector is acting up. Regards, Adnan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 i just posted a long rump roast post about plug wires. they just tore the motor down and could have had a bad seating on one of the plug wires. they had to pull all the wires and plugs out of place, i'd still guess you have a cylinder mis-fire it just hasn't shown up on you CEL yet. i posted minutes ago on a much longer post i wrote and am not going to repeat all of it, but your best bet is to get good ignition wires (magnecor wires are awesome http://www.magnecor.com). take it into the shop you just had work done at, they could likely pick it up quicker if you don't/can't yourself. should not be a timing issue since the car is DIS (no distributor), so they shouldn't have bumped the timing accidently while pulling the cam. i would check the basic tune up stuff first...plug wires, plugs and get back to us. if you get a cylinder misfire...say cyilnder 1 misfire, you can always swap the cylinder 1 and 3 wires, clear the codes and see if the misfire moves with the spark plug. this would verify a bad wire....wires cause exactly the symptoms you are describing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
later, Peter Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 A few weeks back I had a CEL: 4th cylinder misfire... Since I was going to have to order the wires (which was to be the first line of defense) I, in the meantime poured a can of Seafoam in the gas tank... whooosh the CEL was gone & hasn't been back since. Later, Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45009 that's the other cylinder misfire thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphils Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Hi, It is either your aprk plugs, or wires or fuel injector. Fuel injectors on these cars also cause misfire codes. QUOTE=Bradsit]Hey all, Ever since I got my 97 outback wagon I've had nothing but bad luck. 1 week after I drove it off the lot the head gasket blew...with the help of this board I was able to come to the conclusion that that was the problem. I then took it back to the dealer and asked them to fix it, which they were kind enough to do. Unfortunately it was a small dealership with minimal resources and they took a whole month to finish my car. I just got it back this weekend with a new head gasket and t-belt, however there is now a new problem. As soon as I started the car I noticed a very rough idle, also the check engine light was on, but after dealing with the car lot for so long I decided I would just fix it myself. I took it to autozone where the diagnostic machine said it was a cylinder #1 missfire, and a failing camshaft position sensor. I installed a new sensor and the CEL turned off, but there is still a very rough idle, almost as if the car is about to stall sometimes. It seems like the timing is still way off, it also feels like the cylinder is still missfiring. I want this to go away, and I just want my car to run well. Does anybody have any suggestions what to do next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradsit Posted October 21, 2005 Author Share Posted October 21, 2005 Thanks for the help all. I discovered that my problem was a really old spark plug in cyl. 1 causing the missfire. I replaced my plugs with NGK Platinums and I am no longer shuddering at idle. The air filter was pretty dirty as well so I threw a new one of those in. I also ran some seafoam through my pcv valve and in the tank and it seems to have calmed it down a bit. There is a new problem however, I just can't seem to escape the wrath of the CEL. I took it into autozone again, and it came up with P0106: manifold absolute pressure/ barometric pressure circuit range/ performance problem. I don't even know where to start with that one. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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