Fairtax4me

Happens more often than you probably think. Plenty of write ups on what to do if the crank or keyway is damaged here on the site. No you don't have to drop the pan to change the oil pump. It doesn't even touch the pan. Beergarage.com has a nice writeup showing how to do that, along with info on replacing the timing belt and tensioners as well. http://beergarage.com/Subaru.aspx

It has to do with controlling flow rate of the EGR based on a handful of factors. Should be a diagram on the bottom side of the hood that shows where the all of the vacuum lines on the engine should go. You probably won't be able to move the egr valve by sucking on the hose. They do require a fair amount of vacuum to open. The other side of the valve goes to the exhaust system. If there weren't a fairly heavy spring on the valve to keep it shut the back pressure from the exhaust system would force the valve open. This can happen from time to time when the catalytic converter gets plugged up. The pressure in the system gets so high it does force the EGR vale open, it makes the car idle and run like crap, and it can literally scream at you. More of a mid pitched howl, but it's still a weird sound to hear coming from under the hood. If you really think there is a vacuum leak at the valve, which there may be, and that may have caused the CEL in the first place, then you'll need to connect a vacuum pump to it to test it. Handheld ones are perfect for this, and are fairly inexpensive. An open EGR valve actually has the opposite effect on fuel economy. It lowers it because it "dirtys" the fuel mixture, which makes it create less power. The idea is to reduce NO2 (Nitrous Oxide, aka Nawz! ) emissions by lowering combustion chamber temperature. High combustion temps are what lead to the creation of NO2 in the exhaust gases. By making the mixture "dirty" with already burned exhaust the mixture burns cooler, which keeps NO2 from forming. A cleaner mixture creates more power but also tends to lean ad create higher heat during extended drives at constant or low throttle (on the highway). Thing is, when you;re on the highway, it's the time when you need the least power, just enough to keep moving, so the difference in fuel economy with the egr valve operating properly is really minimal. When you start running into trouble is when it sticks open, or the diaphragm ruptures and creates a vacuum leak. This leans the a/f ratio, the o2 sensor reads the change in exhaust oxygen content, and tells the ecu to bump up on the fuel.

With a Noid light. http://www.amazon.com/WILMAR-W85104-FUEL-TEST-LIGHT/dp/B0002KO432/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1271974046&sr=1-10 You can buy a whole kit for something like $20 at most parts store or get just the one you need for around 5 bucks. Plug it into the injector harness, if it flashes it's getting signal from the ECU. You can check voltage at the harness if you have an Oscope. You might be able to do it with an analog VOM, but you need a very fast reading meter to see the correct voltage. An Oscope (oscilloscope) will show the entire wave form as the ECU pulses.

I think I'd fix it, but it depends on the condition of the rest of the car. There is also one more hurdle to jump, which is California emissions. It's possible you may need more work once you get there to pass smog testing so you can register the car. What you might consider, is selling your car, and buying a decent used Subaru once you get to CA.

This is why you're going to find a new mechanic. He either doesn't know what he's doing, or knows full well what he's done and is trying to hose you.

Yes the magic smoke is what all electronics run on, and if it gets let out they stop working. It's the smoke you get when something electronic overheats and burns out or even catches fire. Very distinct smell. Usually it's caused by a short.

Could be the water pump, idlers, tensioner, belt rubbing on the cover, many things. Do you have a list of exactly what they replaced?

Make sure it's not a burnt valve first. If it is just a burnt valve, pull the heads and have a valve job done, or slap a replacement head from a junkyard engine on it. If you have a valve spring compressor you can do your own valve job pretty easy as long as you don't need new seats. But any machine shop can press new seats into a ripped down head for practically pennies.

You don't honestly expect them to be able to read do you? Or possibly know the difference between a transmission and an engine? So I guess they also probably threw away or destroyed the trans filter before finding out that the engine oil filter they tried to replace it with wouldn't fit?

I've never understood why it always seems like the flanges seem to rust out faster than the rest of the pipe. I'd also like to know why they don't make stainless steel spring bolts for these things so they won't rust so bad that you can;t get them apart if you need to. If it's more than 1/8" then it's probably OK.

I don't have the FSM handy so I can't look to say if the YL wire on B137 2 should have continuity to pins B47, 22 or 20, but generally if there are separate wires to the ECU, it's for a reason. It does have fuel in the tank right? Did you check all the fuses after doing the electrical work? I'd hope that you disconnected the battery beforehand so the ECU should be cleared.

I hope you didn't drive it after that. Now you'll have to drain both the front diff and the transmission, and refill with the proper fluids, in the proper places. Never ever assume the people at those oil change places will check everything, or even make sure that new oil actually gets put in the engine. I have heard many horror stories about people driving away from those places and making it half a mile down the road before the engine locks up. How they even made it out of the parking lot with the engine screaming absolute bloody murder, is beyond me.

Wow that looks thin. Might just be the pic but it looks like you could bend it with your bare hands. Those flanges are usually about 1/8" to 3/16" thick when new. You can try it if you want, but if the gasket is thicker than the flange you're probably better off to cut it and clamp/weld a the section of pipe on there instead. If you can get it perfectly clean (no surface rust at all) and spray it with a high temp primer it would probably last a decent amount of time as far as rust is concerned. But being that thin, it might bend or twist and end up breaking.

Yes, 'tis the reason for the disclaimer.

Simple is always good when it comes to car repairs.

Maybe start a new thread since this one was 3 years old? Knocking at idle may be low oil pressure. Flashing CEL could be due to a misfire or an EGR problem since it was on the highway. Or it might be your catalytic converter falling apart.

Wow! You're having a lot of fun! A little trick I learned (kinda shade tree but it works as long as you're careful) when you have wire that is suspected to be bad between two connectors and you don't want to tear into the harness, splice a new wire of equal gauge in place of the "bad" wire between the two connectors and see if the problem continues. You can run the wire wherever you want, and it's easy to put everything back the way it's supposed to be if it doesn't fix it. I've done this a few times, and I think it's best to cut the old wire for testing, then strip it and solder it back together, and heat shrink wrap it if the "new" wire doesn't cure the problem.

Very easy to leave this one unplugged. It's hard enough to see, and even harder to get to when it's mounted in the place it's supposed to be. I moved mine because I broke it trying to replace the vacuum hoses on it. It's tucked away pretty good under the runners of the intake on the passenger side. I just cut a piece of plumbers tape about 6 inches long and attached it to the intake, ran it up between the runners and bolted the solenoid to that up on top.

Cam/crank sensors are hall effect sensors. Probe them while cranking and look for the signal to pulse. It's best to do these with an analog meter. Digital ones don't generally react fast enough to see the full change in voltage. The coil pack can be tested by an auto parts store. Another possibility is the ignitor, but have the coil tested first, and check signal on the cam/crank sensors before going to the ignitor. I don't know of any test procedure for the ignitor but they're easy enough to find in junkyards and most of the time the junkyards don't know what it is. Just tell 'em it's a relay or something dumb and you get it for like 2 bucks.

Yeah the cranks sensor idea isn't so "wild" on these. Those things go bad all the time. And yes, it does work the same way on Subarus, as well as on pretty much every other engine that has computer controls. You'll want to find a FSM for the car for wiring diagrams and ground locations if you think it's a wiring issue.

Ever had the timing chain replaced? I wonder if it would be worth having a look at the timing marks to verify that the chain didn't jump.

If you suspect you have a leak. Get a friend/helper/wifey/etc. to cram a rag into the tail pipe and hold it there for a few seconds while you hunt around for the source. I like to do this when the pipes are relatively cool so I can put my hand around them to feel for any leaks. Ever put your hand over top of a hot catalytic converter? Kinda like sticking it in an oven with the broiler on.

Does it do this while the car is sitting still?