pdeltoid

Hello A little background: 1997 Subaru outback, it used to have the keyless entry system, in fact the wiring harness is all still there. Some previous owner removed the controller box for some unknown reason. All my locks work great manually, both with the key and the power switch, but I bought this system from another forum member hoping to install it and get it working. I installed it today and followed the subaru instructions available on the net. Once I powered it up, the remote would lock the door, but not unlock it. In fact, when holding down the programming button, it is supposed to cycle through the lock-unlock cycle 3 times. Well, it would lock, but then kind of whine as it tried to unlock. The remotes would lock it, but upon testing the unlock feature, it just kind of whined. I could do it manually with the switch though. Figuring it must be a wiring problem, I found the 2 wires from the harness that control the unlock and followed them to find them just hanging loose. Problem is where to hook them to? They are pink/green (labeled DRIVER DOOR UNLOCK SWITCH) and red/green (labeled DRIVER DOOR UNLOCK MOTOR). I was looking at my wiring diagrams, the instructions and tore apart the door and kick panel, but cannot find where to hook these two wires into. I am not sure which part in the door is the switch and which is the motor. The manual is a little unclear. Can any of you guys shed some light for me? Thanks! Mark

This site helped me out understanding how vacuum gages work. http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/186.cfm I picked one up cheap at harbor freight. Best of luck. Mark

Now I feel pretty stupid. I took a look at the switch (i really didn't know what they did) and found it really loose. Just tightened it up and it works great. Thanks - Mark

Nice one!

Ok, here's a new one for you guys: 97 OBW, AT, 140k miles. My driver side door does not trigger the interior "room light" when it is open, nor does it show up as ajar/open on the dash display. The other 3 doors and the hatch trigger the light and show up as open and seem to work fine. I have been living with this for a while now and while not a big deal, sometimes it is a PITA when its dark. I have to open the back driver side to see in the cabin. Where do I need to start trouble shooting this one? Thanks! Mark

Four-Fleet-Feet, sent you a PM regarding the manual. Thanks! Mark

I was looking around at this and although I have never used them, there are a few places you can send your injectors to get re-conditioned. One is http://www.witchhunter.com/ but I have never used them. Good luck

I did mine on a stand, with the head turned vertical, used a 1/2 breaker bar, 12 pt 14mm socket, with a cheater pipe (about 2ft long). I just used nice steady pressure and they came off. They did make a racket though!

Not really. It wasn't using a lot of oil, but I wasn't driving it all that much. The primary problem was loss of power and a horrible shake at idle. The rear separator cover was leaking too, made things a little messy under there.

Probably, probably:grin:

Yep, torqued em to the FSM Spec, cant remember off-hand what it was. They are in there pretty good.

Thanks - I used genuine Subaru exhaust gasket, I re-used all the studs, all but 1 came out and I just re-used all of them. They seemed fine, but I do have new ones on hand. Could be oil smoking in there too I guess. I'll run it some more tonite and see if it changes. If its oil, it should burn up pretty quick. I just think it is exhaust leaking because it was whispy and not burnt smelling, and it was coming from both sides. Maybe I should change out the studs?

Recently re-installed my engine after doing valve job, t-belt and idlers, thermostat, water pump, thanks for all the help here. I started it right up this morning before work for the first time and had some issues: 1) Got some exhaust smoke coming from the y-pipe right off the heads - is this normal? The enigne started right up and seemed to run fine. I only had time to run it for a minute, but I crawled underneath and it looked like it was coming right out from the head where the y-pipe connects. It was coming on both sides. I did put new gaskets on the y-pipe. I did put some anti-sieze on the exhaust studs, do you think that could be causing it? It really doesn't smell like anything melting, just like exhaust. 2) When I dropped the exhaust when pulling the engine, I ended up dropping the pipe from the front all the way back to the solid pipe that leads to the muffler, because I couldn't get any of the other bolts to budge, I ended up cutting those with my cutting tool. Any tips on the best way to get those pipes back together? I just sinched them together with the seal, but they didn't meet to well. I didn't notice any exhaust leak there this morning, but I'll check again after work - maybe its good to go. Thanks in advance for any tips. Mark

Well, just an update for you all. First, thanks to everyone, especially lmdew for their help. I ended up pulling the engine, having a valve job done. I replaced the Water pump, fixed up the oil pump (3 screws were half out!), new t-belt and idlers, new hoses and thermostat. Ended up have to replace 2 valves and all the valve guides as well. The heads were in great shape though, so that was nice. Found out that the problem was a leaking exhaust valve on #3, most likely caused by poor valve adjustment. That led to the poor compression and misfire on #3. The compression test, leak-down and vacuum tests confirmed all this before tearing it apart. It took me quite a while to get it done as I was waiting for parts, and working etc. First time I have ever done that much to an engine myself, but it wasn't too hard using the subaru factory service manual. Got it started this morning before work; It seems to be running well and the valve adjustment helped get rid of the ticking noise. I do have a couple of requests/quetions that I'll put in a separate post. Thanks again! Mark

I have an actron, forget the model #, I paid $50 for it and it works great.

OK, did the leak test this morning - pretty slick! The air is leaking back through the exhaust. I understand this means there is a bad exhaust valve, correct? What am I looking at here to fix this? Does this mean pulling heads and therefore the engine to fix this? I think my cam seals are leaking as I have oil leaks at either side of the timing belt cover. Other option would be to pull and swap with a 2.2. Any ideas here on comparisons of the 2 jobs, cost wise and effort wise? Thanks

Regarding the leak-down test: I assume I really only need to do the test on Cyl #3, right? From what I understand, that cylinder needs to be at TDC, how do I do that? I am still looking around for a leak-down tester kit, doesnt seem to be too hard to do once I get that. Yesterday I discovered an oil leak from the pass side of the timing belt cover, probably one of the seals inside leaking, maybe causing the timing belt problems. Looks like I have more work to do. I might end up just swapping this thing out anyways, then rebuild it. Another project I dont have time for. Mark

Nothing comes up from that link

OK - I thought that a difference from 65 to 80 was significant enough to tell. I guess you are right, looking at it again. Might call around tomorrow to ask about a valve adjustment. Something mechanical anyways, now to figure out what! Thanks.

OK - I think i have bad news... Here is the compression test results (did it with a cold engine, all plugs out): #3 - 65 #1,2,4 - all between 140-150 Since #3 is the problem one, and had a number so far off, i did the "wet" test by squirting some oil in the spark plug hole and re-doing it. I got 80. From what I read, that means rings or cylinder is bad, not the valves. At least I think that isolates the problem anyway. Question is: what next? I assume that means an engine overhaul, not sure if that is worth it. How far can I drive this thing before it dies? How much is that going to run me? Thanks for your help, Mark

I'm actually working on the car now, taking a break. I checked cyl #3 with the in-line checker, it checked out OK, the in-line checker was flashing consistently, even when it threw the code (same one 0303). Also got a noid light box from auto-zone on loan, and checked the fuel injector harness, and that flashed too, seems to be OK. I am going to do a compression test now and see what I come up with, will post results here. I'll put the NGK plugs in after I finish, and drive it to work tomorrow to test. I am going to check the other fuel injector harnesses too, since I have the noid lights, might as well rule that out while i am at it. Haven't gotten to the engine coolant sensor yet, that will probably be tomorrow. Mark

Thanks to both of you - I hadn't thought of either of those two options. Cougar - where abouts is the coolant sensor? My manual shows i can test the resistance in it to see if it is good. TCSpeer - I will try to get you those checks tomorrow - Can I check the injector pigtail with a multi-meter? I dont have noid lights. I'll let you know what happens.

Hi - I'm new here, appreciate all the info on these boards. I know a lot of people have asked about this, but maybe mine is different. I have a 97 outback wagon 2.5L, 138,000 miles. Automatic. Car continues to throw the CEL with a code of P0303. First time it did it, I replaced the plugs, but with autolites or something like that. I have read here about using only NGK. After changing the plugs, the light came back on after about a week or so. Next I changed the wires (auto-zone ones). Light went out, but came back. Understood that the 2.5 is funny about wires, so bought the japanese wires from the subaru dealer. Light went out, but came back. I don't think its the wires. I have tested the coil with the water spray test, no sparks. I have swapped fuel injectors from 1 to 3 and the code came back, stayed with #3! The fuel injectors looked fine. I also changed the fuel filter at the same time. The car idles rough at about 500rpm, engine shudders the whole vehicle at stop lights. This goes away after the car warms up and after about 10 miles. My gas mileage has also dropped. Also, I noticed the exhaust smells more like fuel than it used to. I have not checked compression, is that something easy to do? I guess I need to look around for a test kit. Read on here that people have had success by changing the O2 sensor, the one on board is probably original. Not sure as I have had the car for about 20k. Timing belt was changed (according to the records i have) at 88k (50k ago). I plan to replace the current plugs with NGKs soonest and see what happens. Any ideas? I don't want to continue troubleshooting this thing by swapping parts out, and I have limited mechanical ability, but have limits. This is frustrating, not sure if its an ignition, fuel or mechanical problem. Any help from you guys would be great. Thanks for your time, Mark