ThosL

CEL went out, so I will monitor the timing related issues which the knock sensor seems to affect.

I have nearly 280K on the car, makes no sense to pay crazy money on this one as OE units should be a lot more reasonable than that.

Would always pay a reasonable premium for an OE. Auto Zone quoted over $90 for a knock sensor they were selling!

Solved the issue; one of the terminal wires into the battery broke away and was hard to see, easy fix.

If you have a known quantity, the car is serviceable and runs well, keep it; made the mistake before of getting rid of a Subaru that was mechanically excellent that did not look great.

Any trouble shooting thoughts on this? I disconnected battery cables to reset the codes after some work. Reconnected them now no juice? I tried for a jump this morning, no change. I called my tow service company for a jump.

I'd point out that a lot of these knock off units are coming from China, may not be quality, not sure. Just check ebay, units are around ten bucks delivered. Went to Auto Zone yesterday to find the code and sure enough knock sensor still. So I checked the connection and made sure the connection was good, car ran better. I disconnected the cables later to reset the code and now the car has zero juice even with jump cables connected. Will start another thread on that.

What tools make this job easier? Also does the orientation and torque matter that much? Why did this unit come about in the development of the engine? Is it a necessary part of most engines? Are there any tell tale signs of a failed knock sensor?

It was relatively easy on a 2.2 EJ22 due to better access. This one on an EJ25 was a royal pain! #1 access is highly problematic. If the plug on the old unit won't pull apart you will have big problems as the core unit could get damaged. If you get it apart, and then access the bolt with an extended access ratchet, you still have a lot of problems left. So presuming you are able to pull the bolt up, you still have to align the new knock sensor correctly. Then you have to lower the ratchet with extender and bolt correctly through the sensor donut at just the right position through the mounting hole. I used tape to keep the bolt in the ratchet extender, still it fell out and there is no way to reach it with your hands unless you have fingers like a child. All in all an underrated job better left to mechanics. As the do it yourselfer may not have the right tools to do it.

I saw a youtube video, but was not clear with all the dark and a few discernable parts of the engine. I took off the throttle body cover but could not find it. Anyone have a clear picture of where this is? Thanks.

I bought a MAF sensor online. Emissions test is coming up. For a 1997 2.5 the requirements are lax.

Not performance related, as least as far as I could tell. Knock sensor, two misfire codes, MAF sensor and cat converter. I changed the plugs. Would changing out the MAF, knock sensor or coil as recommended make any difference in mileage, etc.?

I drove up there this morning and the address was near a bunch of used car and body shops, etc.. I called the guy who had said for me to stop by after 10am, and he said his brother sold it yesterday! No call or email. I told him he was very rude and unethical the way he was running this vehicle for sale, he said "we're Jewish that's how we do business". Unbelievable. Last time I looked at a Subaru in Bridgeport it turned out being one that had been flipped from someone who worked at Sikorski they paid $1200 put some head gasket sealer in and sold for $3000!

I don't know, this is the listing: https://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/cto/d/norwalk-2004-subaru-forester-awd-auto/7193980069.htm

I have a friend looking for a reliable car, I have recommended Subarus as low maintenance. I am going to check out this one tomorrow in the low $2Ks, what questions should I ask? 2004 Subaru Forester AWD auto 165k miles runs looks great cold a/c. I'm thinking Subaru is going to be the most reliable for Sam. He has had two cars, a Ford Focus and a VW 4 door fail on him in the last couple years. For low maintenance is this a good way to go?

Hopefully they did it right; $250 or so for the job, also a belt they ordered when I had it inside the car. Quick turn around, now I can work.

The mechanic is going to put it together this am, so hopefully they do it right. Car has 277K miles. I hope I am not being presumptuous that they will get it right.

I'm still not sure what happened here and since I never worked on the HB or the crankshaft, it must have had something to do with either a defective unit or defective installation.

I decided to let a mechanic handle it; the towing company said they would be there in 1 1/2 hours, ended up being 3. Agero, AAA is much better.

I saw some for under a hundred; the labor is going to be the real cost. I need to get the car back on the road soon, have four different jobs, was doing census taking when the car broke down. The harmonic balancer will just bolt back in and the belts go over that? Also need bolts for the unit.

Roughly how much on these, and recommend do it yourself or have my mechanic do it? Last time this was worked on was around two years ago where I had to go back to the mechanic when it came apart.

Harmonic balancer?

Ok, if the crankshaft pulley fell off wouldn't i have heard it? Looking at the crankshaft I am seeing a smooth surface like the pulley disappeared leaving the belts.

I was just on the phone with a mechanically inclined friend; any thoughts on procedure on this? Power steering fails, belt looks loose not broken, but looks like this belt drives most other pumps. Is this a tensioner failure usually?