So here's the deal.I have a 1996 2.2 5 speed outback.Car has 206k miles.I've owned since 2005 when it had 120k.I am a mechanic and have maintained the car myself.Did the second timing belt event at 195k.This included water pump ALL idler pulleys and tensioner.Also all accessory belts,coolant hoses an spark plugs.The car has always ran fine and gets 25-30 mpg.For the last couple of thousand miles its had an intermittent problem to include missing,erratic idle sometimes stalling.The car will restart after 5 secs.or so of cranking and then might run like a top for a day or two.When the problem crops up it's mostly at a steady speed and feels like a bad miss.I originally thought fuel,so replaced the fuel filter.Drove the car problem came back within a few miles.Figured 200k miles enough life out of the fuel pump so replaced that.Again ran for 30-40 miles then same problem.My local Subaru dealer mechanic(a friend) said it was probably electrical and the bosch platinum plugs I installed were the problem,so I installed original spec.ngk plugs.Again it ran well for a short time.Since then I have replaced the coil,ign.module,plug wires,cam sensor,crank sensor,throttle position sensor.These were done one at a time to evaluate the effect.The odd thing is when it is having the problem,you can put the clutch in and rev the piss out of it and it might "solve" it for awhile.Also the idle speed will sometimes fluctuate from 2000 rpm down to 500rpm or so.This led me to believe the throttle position sensor.The check engine light has been on for 70k miles and indicates oxygen sensor bank one.I have a code scanner and no other codes ever show up.I don't think it can be the o2 sensor,but that or the mass airflow sensor is my next guess.I have a donor car that was wrecked,so all these parts are easy and free to try.Just wondering if I'm missing something here?
