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kemmer

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Posts posted by kemmer

  1.  

    Exactly what was the code that you got after the first reset?

     

    I'd march down to the dealer (once you get the knock sensor problem resolved) and demand a refund.

    I'd also call SOA and report them for poor service practices.

    Absolutely no reason a dealer service department of any kind should not be able to do a proper compression test OR diagnostic for a misfire. I know there are some issues with cars that really are stumpers, and truly require a skilled and well trained and versed technician to diagnose. This issue, in my mind, is not one of those cases.

     

    when you say "after the first reset" I assume you mean after I changed the plugs and wires, in which case it would be the knock sensor code. this is the only code it has thrown since I replaced the plugs and wires

     

    Now that the car is running right, I would be tempted to just forget the whole thing, but I really want to walk back in to that dealership with no CEL on and demand a refund. I hadn't thought about calling SOA, but I think I will, maybe it will be good for a couple oil changes or something.

  2. There always has to be one problem child..... always one.

     

     

    Was it new or used. What brand and how much did it cost about.

    Is the terminal on tight and is it clean.

    is the knock sensor cracked?

     

    Did we cover timing belt replacement, along with idlers and tensioner?

     

    How is the AC on the car, any noise. Sometimes the knock sensor can pick up one of those going bad and then it gets (rightfully) confused.

     

    The knock sensor was new. I'll have a look at it to make sure the terminal is tight and clean. The timing belt and tensioners were replaced when we put the used engine in 20k miles or so ago.

     

    The ac is quiet as far as I can tell.

  3. OK, the CEL came back in after about 5 miles of driving, I wasn't driving at the time and my wife didn't notice when it came back on so I have no idea what conditions may have made it come on. The good news is that all the misfire codes are still gone and just the knock sensor code remains. Any ideas what could be causing this? one of the first things we did to this car was replace the knock sensor when all of this started.

  4. Yup, typical DOHC aftermarket spark plug wires. They get baked into the head down there and are a whore to get out. Put some dielectric grease on the end of the new wires, smear it around that boot at the end and on the inside where it touches the porcelin of the plug, it makes a huge difference when you need to pull them in the future.

     

    Judging by the fact you got a camera in there to take a picture I guess you have the engine out on a stand? When they're in the framerail makes this job that much harder, you have to use needle nose pliers that are bent to fit.

     

    nope, engine is in the car. :) I just stuck the camera down in there...

  5. I think you should get a compression tester and test it again yourself. They can be had pretty cheap.

     

    I'm not a big fan of this dealer you've been going too.

     

    I drove it to autozone and turned off the CEL. I drove the 2miles home without it coming back on, so it looks like maybe a simple tune up fixed it. If this is all it took I'm going to be seriously pissed at the two shops that tried fixing this for me, what a joke!

  6. yeah, I tried a pick but the rubber was too hard and I couldn't get any leverage. The JB weld did the trick, that was the only way I think it would have come out. The sucker was stuck in there good, I had a really hard time pulling it out. I ended up ripping the wire off, and then the rubber handle thingy and finally I got it to come out by pulling on the end of the plastic tube part with a pair of pliers. The plastic was breaking and getting chewed up and I was afraid of having a real disaster on my hands if that plastic bit had been chewed up to the point of not being able to grab it with my pliers.

     

    The moral of the story is: don't buy autozone spark plug wires.

  7. That's messed. Find some long narrow pliers that can get in there and get a good grip on it. Should pop out. Or even use a pick or claw although it will probably break up parts of the rubber.

     

     

    I tried to get some needle nose pliers in there, but they weren't long enough. I guess if the JB weld doesn't work I'll have to buy some longer ones.

     

    Put a little super glue on the end of the piece that came off and stick it back on. Let it dry good. Then try twisting it a little while you lightly pull.

     

    Good luck.

     

    yeah, that's kinda what I trying to do with the JB weld. I'll report back once it's dry.

  8. The little rubber boot on the end of my spark plug wire came off inside tthe car. I can't get the spark plug socket on, obviously, and that little piece of rubber is in there good. I have tried getting it to stay on the wire, but I keeps slipping off no matter what. I put some JB weld on the end of the wire hoping it will stick, but if this doesn't work I don't know what what to do. I'm stumped!

     

    dsc02598q.jpg

  9. I'm in the process of changing the plugs and wires, I ran into a little problem changing one of the wires, and made a new thread about it here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=898677#post898677

     

    I took it for a spin with the three wires and plugs replaced and it made a HUGE difference. The plugs looked pretty bad, and I'm wondering if it was running hot or something. These plugs aren't more than 2 years old at most, I didn't think they would look this bad. I have attached a pic, please take a look and let me know what you think.

     

    plugs.jpg

  10. Like i said 185 +/- 5psi is normal.

     

    sheesh no one listens.

     

    And the PROPER WAY of doing a compression test is you do ALL the cylinders, remove ALL the plugs and crank with a fully charged or boosted battery. You do one test dry, then a second test is done after squirting some oil in the cylinders. This is called a wet and dry test.They did an improper compression test. I also doubt they really checked the timing marks.

     

    This dealer was useless. Also this is something any decent shop could have checked.

     

    nipper

     

    What the hell man, I want my $150 bucks back. I guess maybe we'll take it someplace else, but I'm pretty sick of paying for diagnostics and not coming up with answers.

  11. and i bet the one they didn't test was #4, the hard one. and then only because it had no code. :grin:

     

    ding ding ding... that's the one they skipped. this was at the dealership, they charged me 150 for the time they spent on it which included checking the timing, doing the compression test and various other diagnostics. I took it to another shop that spent a ton of time checking all kinds of other stuff only to give up and send me to the dealership.

     

    You know what I'm thinking? maybe an electric conversion, my wife just drives it around town, her longest trips are like 10 miles. it just might work!

  12. Ok, let me see if I can answer some of those questions.

     

    First, this testing was done by the dealership. They removed the timing belt cover and said everything looked fine, though the belt has had oil on it from the oil leak and needs to be replaced. they did a compression test on 3 of the four cylinders. (the three that had thrown codes) One cylinder was low, one was high, the third was normal. They said they didn't do the fourth becuase it was not throwing codes and because the wires were old and they were afraid they were so brittle that removing it would ruin it. I don't think the wires are THAT old, I replaced them about 20k miles ago.

     

    The timing belt was done when I replaced the engine about 25k miles ago as well. I'm not positive what else was done at the time.

     

    It is a junk yard motor. It started throwing codes pretty much right away. we were able to get the codes to go away long enough to pass inspection the last two years, but they came back within a few days.

     

    I think at this point, since it's leaking and the timing belt has had oil on it, it's just time to tear into the motor. I'm just not sure I want to spend another 2k on this car, it has a 180k miles on it. It's been a good run...

  13. The shop checked to make sure the cams were lined up and the timing was ok. The did not do a leak down test, so maybe that would be a good idea. The wires are in need of replacing for sure. I suppose that would be an easy thing to do to see if it corrects the problem, but the compression numbers sound pretty bad. Why would one cylinder be low and another high? seems crazy...

     

     

    If you want to sell, let me know. I work for SkyWest and I'm out in SLC every month or so. Larry

     

    Yeah, actually. We're now talking about maybe a Baja or something else all together. I can send you some pics tomorrow if you like.

  14. This is exactly how my current woes started. It is now to the point that the car is barely drivable, but like you said, once you're moving it's fine. The gas mileage is fine. I took it to a shop and they spent several hours looking for the issue and couldn't find the problem. I took it to the dealer and they finally came up with low compression in one cylinder and high in another. The third misfiring cylinder was normal and they didn't test the cylinder that wasn't missing.

  15. calling a head gasket a wear item is like calling piston rings a wear item. it's not something you should have to replace after 50k miles like many 2.5 owners have had to do.

     

    my personal experience with the 2.5 phase 1 engine has not been all that good, but not terrible either. I replaced the original engine with a low mileage used one at 120k miles, and at 180k miles the replacement now is toast (though not to a head gasket failure). I have owned several Japanese cars that ran great when I sold them at 150-200k miles having had no engine work done during their lifetimes.

  16. I'm getting misfire engine codes from 3 cylinders. Took it to a shop and they spent about 3 days trying to fix it and finally did a compression test and found that compression in one of the cylinders is over 170 and it's 83 and another cylinder. They are saying it's time for a top end rebuild, but I'm thinking if that's the case it's time for a new car. Is there anything else that might be causing these symptoms?

     

    EDIT: this is a 2.5l.

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