WAWalker

No poo poo:grin: This is a good easy test. Be sure the A/C or defrost are not on though, as the cooling fans will run KOEO (key on engine off) if either A/C or defrost are on. Even if you forget and leave the CTS unpluged, and the ECU is seeing a reading of -51 deg F, it will turn the cooling fans on. Been there done that.

First, there is no code for a bad ECU. It can tell if when there is a malfunction with other sensors, but it can not tell you that it is bad. Take it somewere eles and get the codes pulled. Write down the code numbers. I'm thinking there is a very good possibility that you have a bad coolant temp sensor, possibly a bad knock sensor. Both will definetly affect fuel mileage to an extent. The coolant temp sensor can cause a no start. If the coolant temp sensor is showing a low coolant temp reading all the time the engine will run rich. If run rich long enough, the catyletic converter can melt, restricting exhaust flow, and cause major loss in power. But there are many things it could be, and without knowing what codes are being thrown, we are just guessing.

Subaru ECU's rarely fail. What is the reasoning behind the recommendation to replace the ECU? Was anything eles checked other than tune-up items before coming to the conclusion that the ECU is bad. How many miles on the car? Is the check engine light on while driving? Define "still no performance". No better milage, or is there an actual drivability problem? Have you cauclutaed actual fuel milage, keeping track of how many gallons you put in at the pump, and mileage between tanks, averaged over 3-4 fill ups?

I just reread your first post, were you said you cleaned the IAC with throttle body cleaner. I was thinking you had cleaned the throttle body. My mistake. OK, if you have completely removed and cleaned the IAC twice, then may very well not the problem. What is the condition of the tune? Plugs, wires, air and fuel filter. How many miles since replacement? Have you checked for vacuum leaks?

Does your IAC look like this?

The surging idle is most likely due to carbon build up in the IAC. If is looks like the one pictured in the linked thread, it is very easy to clean. If it looks different this cleaning methoed may or may not work. Don't use carb or brake clean. I recommend WD-40 or Sea Foam in an aerosol can. Hook it up like the picture below, start the engine and spray cleaner while operating the throttle buy hand to keep engine running.

That is a code 35, Purge control solenoid valve. Very common failure item on that vintage of Legacy. It is located on the RH side of the intake manifold, under #3 intake runner. A failed PC solenoid valve should not cause any drivability, or runability problems. From the vidio I can not tell any problem with the way the car is running. Maybe a discripition of the problem would be more helpful.

This is the BIG misconception about Subaru EJ22 and EJ25 head gasket failures. And the reason people throw so many parts at them before they realize that the head gaskets are bad. The head gaskets on these engines do not fail the same or show the same symtoms as your average blown head gasket. You said it yourself, "my car runs great". If it had enough combustion leaking past the fire ring to show up on a compression test, it wouldn't run great. If it was buring enough antifreeze is show out the tail pipe, it wouldn't run great. The EJ head gaskets do not leak that bad. It is a small leak, (at the onset of the problem most won't even leak when the engine is cold) which pressureizes the cooling system over time, pushes coolant out, and the engine over heats do to low coolant or air lock. This is why I recommend a cylinder leak down test on a hot engine. You don't really need a leak down tester, just a regulated air supply and compression gage hose that you can conect shop air to. The leak down numbers will tell you nothing. But by pressureizing the cylinder, you can find the leak. The air will make it's way into the cooling system. If the leak is very small it may take a few minutes.

The leakdown numbers will not show anything. It is the air or coolant being pushed out of the radiator. Depending on how bad the leak is, sometimes you have to keep the cylinder pressurized for a while, but with the radiator topped off and radiator cap off, even a very slight leak will cause a rise in the coolant level. Seems staight forward when you deal with these cars day in and day out. Not so easy for others to notice the difference between the smell of exhaust in the coolant and the smell of just coolant, when they don't know what it should smell like in the first place.

This is absoulty correct. If you want deffinative proof of a combustion leak into the cooling system on a 2.2 or 2.5 Subaru engine..........................You can either, run engine up to operating temp, and perform a cylinder leak down test. Or use a gas analyzer to test for HC's in the cooling system. A lot of the time other HC tests will not show positive.

Make sure an have a new key cut by code. If the old key is worn and you have a copy made, you will just have a brand new worn out key. A dealer can give you the key code. You will have to provide them with VIN and probably proof of ownership. Or you can remove the passanger side door lock, key code is stamped on there.

Sounds like the trany shop fixed a mechanical problem in the shift interlock. What is the condition of the ignition key. If it is worn, get the key code for the car and have a new key cut for starters.

All the original SOHC 2.5L head gaskets that I have seen are single layer steel with a graphite impregnated paper coating. The currant OE replacment is the same. The only MLS head gasket that I have seen for the SOHC 2.5L has been an aftermarket part. All original DOHC 2.5L head gaskets that I have seen have been MLS (3 layers). The currant OE replacment gaskets are MLS (4 layers).

There is a lot of confusion about Subaru 2.5L head gaskets. I have seen a tendency for people to lump all 2.5L Subaru engines into one group. When in fact the head gasket problems with the DOHC vs. SOHC are totally different. And the head gaskets are totally different, and Subarus approach to rectifying the problems has been totally different. I have been wondering if there is any way to track the number of times a part # has been superceded. I see different numbers thrown out all the time as to how many times the head gaskets have been changed. Plus I wonder weather the part is really being changed everytime the part # changes. I have two sets of SOHC 2.5L head gaskets in stock. PN 11044AA632 and 11044AA633. They all look identical. If they were out of the package and mixed up you couldn't tell one from the other. And, the only difference between them and an OE gasket that I just removed from a '00 forester, is the fire rings. On the new gaskets the fire rings are connected between the cylinders (both fire rings made of one peice of metal), were as the old gasket they are not. And because the SOHC developes and external coolant or oil leak, and rarly (if ever, with OE gaskets) a combustion leak, the fire ring has no affect on the actual problem.

All the 2.5L SOHC head gaskets that I have replaced look to be the same as the replacement gaskets that I buy from Subaru. The part number has changed once that I know of, but the gaskets are still identical. In the campagin, and letter to owners, Subaru said, "Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) has determined that over time, affected vehicles may develop small external coolant leaks at engine cylinder head gaskets. This is the result of normal expansion and contraction of engine components caused by the heating and cooling of these parts. To prevent cylinder head gasket leaks from developing or to correct existing leaks, a special Subaru Cooling System Conditioner should be added to affected vehicle cooling systems." At one time I had a copy of the actual letter that SOA sent to the dealer ships. I don't remember it stating any cause for the leak, but that something was changed in "manufacturing" in mid 2002 to fix the problem. No more detail than that. So yes, the info is very vague. There is know way to know when or if the problem was fixed. If you don't know the cause of the problem, and the only fix that has been offered is to put stop leak in ALL Subaru engines, then only time will tell if anything has changed. Basicly, when you stop hearing about head gasket problems after a certain MY, then you will know.

My wifes car was built 9/02. It is for sure a MY2003 and not exactly built mid 2002. Subaru doesn't use the build date to determine which cars qualifiy for the extended warranty anyway. They use the VIN. And from my experiance, if the emissions sticker under the hood says 2003, it will not qualifiy for the extended warranty. Subaru specifically stated in the 2004 campaign, that the only cars affected are MY1999 to MY2002 cars. So, that would include cars built mid 1998- mid 2001, but not cars built mid 2002. "APPLICABILITY: 2000-2002MY Subaru Legacy and Outback; 1999-2002MY Impreza; 1999-2002MY Forester AFFECTED VEHICLES 2000-2002 MY Subaru Legacy and Outback with 2.5L engine. 1999-2002 MY Impreza with 2.5L engine. 1999-2002 MY Forester with 2.5L engine. Affected vehicles are identified in the VIN range chart below. Only vehicles with a 2.5L engine are affected. NOTE :Prior to performing repairs, confirm coverage for potentially affected vehicles by using the Vehicle Coverage Inquiry in the Dealer Communication System (DCS)." Here is the VIN range chart.

MY2003 SOHC 2.5L engines still have the external leak. Have seen quite a few still under warranty and sent to dealer for repair. Have replaced at least one set (03 with over 100k) myself. My wife bought a used 03 Legacy with ~35k, had already had drivers side head gasket replaced. It is now at ~66k, both drivers side and passangers side head gaskets are leaking coolant externally.

Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. #1) It is a dealership. You tell the service writer what you want done, he relays the info to the tech. If the tech is used to "Knocking out" 30k services all day, and is use to performing the same service over and over and over, he may have changed the trans fluid without thinking about it. When they realized the mistake, they tried to sell you the service. Not good. #2) They may have just flat out tried to sell you the service knowing full well you didn't want it and the trany fluid was clean. Really not good. #3) It really was "dark", they thought it absoultly needed to be replaced, you didn't want to pay so they did it anyway, put it on the invoice, and didn't charge for it. Great! Not knowing what the fluid looked like before and after or haveing before and after samples tested, you will never know. In a perfect wrold it would have been #3............................

Also................As the owner of an indi Subaru repair shop.................$2900 is high, even with the extras. Even if they plan to do a valve job. If they are willing to give you a 3/30 warranty on the whole engine, maybe it would be worth the money. Otherwise...............I would find out for sure what the warranty is going to cover, if it is just their work, that is a step price for a warranty.

I have seen a SOHC 2.5L Subaru engine with internal head gasket leak, after a warranty head gasket replacement. (Leaking coolant into the cylinders) So it is not out of the question. If one head gasket was replaced a year ago under warranty, then the chance of poor workmanship at that time is not out of the question. I've lost track of which gasket was replaced, but if it was the passanger side there could be a relationship there with the #3 misfire. I have never seen a 2.5L SOHC or DOHC head gasket that was compromized enough to cause low compression readings. A pressure gage on the radiator while cranking will give you more of an idication as to any compromize between the cylinder and water jacket, than will cylinder compression numbers. If you have documentation of compression numbers and they are all in spec and even, then you can assume that the cylinders, rings, and valve train are in "good" condition. A pressure test of the cooling system, or a leak down test of each cylinder will reveal a lot more useful information as related to any possible internal coolant leakage into the cylinders. And the leak down test is bar none the best way to nail down even small combustion leaks into the cooling system. (well except maybe a gas analizer to sniff the radiator)

If the battery is in fact the OE battery, and is now going on 8 years old............the sudden death is not a suppries. That kind of service from any wet cell battery is about all you can expect. Time for a battery. You will need a good battery with a full charge to properly test the alternator anyway. I see very few alternators on '00 and newer cars fail. But the more you drive the car with the alternator trying to keep up with powering the electrical system and charge a bad battery, the higher the risk of frying the alternator if it isn't bad already. It is the batteries job to power the electrical system, all the alternator is designed to do is maintain the batteries charge. Yes, the alternator can do more, but was not intended to.

Absolutely! You need to determine weather what you have is worth repairing. Weather you want to spend money to do that before or after diagnoiseing the original problem..............that is a personal choice. Best of luck. Over and out.

Valve lash specs. Intake- .008 Exhaust- .010. As said by sea#3, the cam caps are marked. It is the lifter buckets that are not. It is not the end of the world if the lifter buckets get mixed up, it will just be more work getting the valve lash set.

Ther are two things that will push excessive amounts of coolant into the recovery bottle. 1) Boiling the coolant. Vapors from boiling displace the coolant and pushes it out of the system. In this case the coolant comeing out of the recovery bootle will be boiling hot. 2) As I explained, combustion pressure. In this case if the coolant will be cold or colder than boiling. A compression test will not prove or disprove a head gasket leak on these engines. A leak down test, with engine at operating temp. will. Or a test for HC's in cooling system. Over heating due to a cloged radiator will result in the coolant in the system boiling. If the radiator is not boiling over, the radiator is not the primary cause of the problem. It is possible that it may have some restriction, and will not hurt anything to replace it. In this case I would bet the price of a radiator that it won't fix anything.

Everything so far is pointing to head gaskets. There are tests that can be done to check for hydrocarbons (unburned gas fumes) in the cooling system. None that I know of for actually testing the antifreeze. The nature of the 2.5L DOHC head gasket leak is that combustion pressure from the cylinders is being pushed into the cooling system. This creates much greater pressure in the cooling system than is normal. Thus forceing more coolant than normal out into the recovery bottle causeing it to overflow. The coolant being pushed out and combustion gases takeing its place causes an "air pocket" that disrupts the flow of coolant though the system. Or you just simply loose enough coolant that you have an overheating problem. The leak is never bad enough to alow the low pressure in the cooling system to push antifreeze into the cylinders. This is why you won't find the generic "bad head gasket signs", water in oil, excessive amounts of oil in water. If the gaskets have been leaking long enough and nobody has clean the recovery bottle there will be an oil substance in the recovery bottle, but you will never get the milkshake looking mix in the cooling system.