joesauer

I am happy about the no CAT replacement as well.... Just out of curiousity - I looked all over the web for info on 100,000 mile warranty on emission gear, but couldn't find anything. I believe that Subaru quotes 80K miles or 5-years on a 2002. Is this a Federal mandate type of thing? (I have not looked through the glove box for info yet).

Hello All; Good news - this problem is solved! Had a great experiance with dealer - they read the ECU, and while there were no trouble codes, the front O2 sensor was outside of spec. So one 22791AA00A O2 sensor ($79.48) and diagnosis & installation ($165.00) and I was on my way to testing (which turned out A-OK). Considering we got to drive an '07 Legacy for the day at no chage while they did the daignosis and repair, I would say that this was more than a fair deal. Thanks again to everyone for their input on this!

Hey nipper; Since this is my wife’s car (heavy emphasis on “family responsibility”) I have gone ahead and made an appointment with the dealer. I don’t have any specific concerns with the dealer, but as I was once owned a Mercruiser Marine dealership, I understand the “flat rate” mentality from the inside. We were never able to embrace this in our shop – and I let my head mechanic spend as much time as necessary speaking directly with customers, especially on the hard to diagnose problems. The stuff I would see going on at other dealers is what makes me scared! The other plus is that the dealer gives us a free loaner – usually a fairly new Legacy, or something they would like us to “trade up” to. But not wanting to go in blind, I went ahead and replaced the fuel filter (and for good measure, air filter) this morning. Although I am a big fan of factory parts, being Sunday, Purelator brand was the only thing I could get. After testing, I was about to write nearly the exact same thoughts that you just posted (about running so lean for fuel economy, that any problems tipping towards to the “lean” side could cause what I am experiencing). It looks like the fuel filter was the original – and changing did have a positive effect. Before changing, I could make detonation on “back road” driving if I tried. For example, if climbing a hill, and I accelerated as much a possible just before the trans would down shift, it would mildly ping. After the change, I spent 30 minutes on hilly roads around my house – steep hills, with 20 MPH speed limits – much more severe that anything on the freeway. I could not make the thing ping whatsoever. I hammered on it from standing start, feathered throttle to try and force ping – nothing. The thing ran great. So onto the freeway – 70 to 80 MPH flawlessly – until the first uphill grade. I backed down to very constant 65 MHP, then very slowly began to accelerate – and immediately my old nemesis detonation was back in full force. Now, however, I can recover just by backing off the throttle (where before I needed to drop down to 30 MPH, limp over the hill, and then it would recover). My conclusion is that there was some fuel starvation, which needed “recovery” time to refill / catch back up again (like with a carb, when needle and seat is partially clogged, and you run the bowl dry while hammering – once the bowl fills back up, modest driving is back to normal). So would you agree that at the speeds I am still having trouble, the fuel and ignition maps are probably set the leanest possible to maximize highway mileage? Before I go further, can you tell me if there are useful codes to read from the ECM even though there is no CEL? (Apart from watching the timing as you mentioned - and yes, the CEL bulb lights when key turned on!). Thanks for all the help!

I have not been under the car yet - anyone have a PDF of the exhaust system, or is there a source for on-line manuals to purchase? From what I am reading, looks like there are 2 cat converters (front & rear) on this model? Thanks Again!

Manually downshifting acts exactly the same as when I force the automatic downshift by punching WOT. Although the RPM increases as normal, the reduced load on the engine only reduced detonation - does not elminate it - and with the increased RPM there is still that loud whistle that sounds induction related.

Thanks to everyone who has answered my thread.. Just returned from 120 mile jaunt. As usual, car is awsome on flat or mild grades - everyone was flying tonight, so I averaged 65 to 80 MPH the whole way. Acceleration while pulling into fast lane was fine - nice and snappy. I almost thought problem disapeared. Until fairly steep grade about 1/2 mile long... As usual, RPM started to drop, and detonation commenced. This time, backing off throttle only helped until car began to slow, then detonation started in again - backed off throttle more, car slowed more, detonation eventually started back. I eventually made it over the top at about 30 MPH in the climbing lane. So once the problem begins, it is very sensative until the load is removed. After about 1/4 mile of downhill, everything "reset" and returned to normal. BTW - first run on new Bridgestone G009's, which I purchased this morning based on Subaru owner feedback at tirerack.com. I agree that these are great tires on dry - can't wait to try in the snow..

I actually have not tried that - but I am on my way out now for a 120 mile drive - I will try and see what happens.

Funny you should ask, as I just spent a few hours reading tirerack.com reviews and others, and purchased 4 new Bridgestone 009's today for my 2002 Outback wagon. After only about 20 miles of driving today, I am as pleased as most have written. They are much better that the stock tires - and I look forward to the wet / snow capabilities everyone has been raving about.

I have a 2002 Outback Wagon with 2.5L and about 90K miles. Car runs great nearly all the time - except at highway speeds when negotiating a steep grade. I can cruise along at 65 MPH on flat or modest grades all day long. On a steeper grade, as I begin to slowly increase throttle to maintain speed, engine power begins to drop off rapidly, followed by increasingly violent detonation. The first time this happened, the detonation came in so rapidly and violently I thought the rapping was mechanical, and I imediately backed off the throttle thinking somthing was coming apart. Now, if I feather the throttle, I can try and keep the detonation down, but this usually results in speed loss to below 45 MPH. The other solution is to go W.O.T. and force a downshift - but even when I do that, if the detonation has already begun, there will still be milder detonation after the downshift and at the higher RPM. There is also a terrible whistling at the higher RPM - almost like a belt squeal, but since I can change pitch with throttle position, sounds more like something induction related. Once I am back on flat plain, or heading down hill, engine runs fine again until the next steep grade. Other factors that may be important: - Had timing belt changed by dealer about 5,000 miles ago - I noticed problem about 1500 miles ago. - Not getting any check engine indicators. - Very difficult to get converter to unlock under this type of load - which could be worsening the problem. Thanks!