skizix

Well, on the '90, the test procedure for the k.s. involved measuring resistance from the connector on the sensor to ground. I replaced it with a resistor that was close to the spec for a good, idle knock sensor, and it worked flawlessly for my purposes (which were to milk some more miles off a car that had done almost the equivalent of driving to the moon). Put another 10,000 on that car afterward (before selling it in still excellent running condition). Drove very well, and without a hitch. Perhaps the k.s. on a '96 is a completely different mechanism, or at least a different circuit design. No idea. Yes, I would recommend understanding the function of a sensor as well as possible before trying to remove, spoof, or otherwise alter it. I would not even consider doing that to my current car, as it is still in it's prime, and actually worth some $$$ (in the '90, at that point, a new knock sensor would've set my back around 15% of the market value of the car). As usual...YMMV.

I got sporadic knock senor codes in my '90 legacy, and after a while it became constant. In my case, the k.s. housing had cracked (a common problem in those cars). I could tell my engine was not knocking -- instead the sensor was hosed and constantly sending a bad signal. At 230,000 miles, I knew I wasn't going to keep the car much longer. That combined with how hard it was to access the k.s., plus how expensive a new one was, prompted my to depricate the sensor. A cleaner way to do it is to replace the knock sensor with a resistor. If you look in your Chiltons or whatever, there should be a procedure to test your knock sensor, listing a resistance value that a good knock sensor should read when it is not activated. I went to radio shack, paid 50 cents for the closest value resistor they had. Left the sensor in place, but disconnected the lead to it, attached that to one end of the resistor, and the other end of the resistor to a ground screw in the firewall. Wrapped the resistor well in electrical tape, and I had a nice tidy, inconspicuous rig. Made the CEL go out for good, car drove fine. Much cleaner than bubble wrap. One thing about that approach is that when you take your car in for emissions testing, if they see your knock sensor all wrapped up in bubble wrap, they could conceivably fail you for disabling an emission control (it seems debatable whether the k.s. is actually an emisson control, but I would think they'd get uptight about disabling anything that makes the CEL go on). They certainly never spotted my rig. I always ran mid-grade fuel in that car instead of the recommended regular, as regular seemed to make it knock a bit. After the knock sensor disable, I kept running mid-grade, and the car seemed to run just great without a k.s. Just don't lug the engine, and I think the driver can become the knock sensor without too much worry, as long as everything else is running ok.

Not really true. When I was taking EMT class, I had to do an ambulance ride-along for a day. I was utterly shocked at how oblivious folks are. We'd be behind cars stopped at a red light, the ambi guy would be blasting every noise maker on the rig and have all lights flashing, **right** behind someone, and they would consistently not notice for quite a while. Not always, of course, but as often than not we'd be stuck there. Interesting to see it from that perspective. From a regular car, it seems everyone always gets out of the way immediately, however that is far from being the case. Anyhoo...I'd suggest checking out a marine store. I used to have a long single trumpet, w/ compressor, marine horn, under the hood of my '79 roo, and that thing was LOUD. Loved shocking folks with that thing, coming from my dinky dorky car. As far as road rage...anyone who gets enraged by a horn is going to get enraged by something anyway. I mean it is one thing if you are blasting your horn for minutes at a time while in standstill traffic that is stopped for a mile in front of you. But within reason, a horn is a piece of safety equipment, and even a courtesy device (both of which apply to turn signals as well -- also underutilized, if you haven't noticed). I guess it's a cultural thing. My wife learned to drive in Wisconsin, and she hates it and gets mad almost every single time I use my horn. I learned to drive in NY, and so the horn pretty much an extension of my subconscious -- don't even have to think about it before using it; pure instinct! Use your horn liberally! If someone gets enraged about it,smile and wave in a friendly manner...and then lean on the horn some more!

Well, I figured since you were looking at a new one, that a body shop might be a viable option, especially since you "really need another badly." I've found smaller local mechanics are often willing to share good sources for used parts. The smaller guys are not usually into selling parts anyway, unless it's part of a job, so there's no conflict of interest. And maybe try 1stsubaruparts again (at least contact them). They have a pretty sterling rep around here. If you let them know your were let down before, I'd bet they will make extra sure to not repeat.

A decent body shop in your area should be able to help you hunt one down (may have leads on both new and used). And depending on the condition, they might even be able to restore the one you've got.

Well, if the search function here worked worth a damn, you'd see that there's an active, detailed thread on this very topic: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=62911

Well, you can register with my.subaru.com, which is Subaru's owner site. Your car will be id'd by VIN, indeed. If the timing belt was done at a dealer, or if the previous owner had registered there and recorded their maintenance, it'll show up. However, the timing belt may well have been done, and no record of it ever found it's way to Subaru's database (e.g. the prev owner might have done it themselves, or an independent shop could've, and if the owner never made note on the site...). So if it does not show up as having been done, you're no better off than you are are now, but if it does, you can be pretty confident that it actually was done. So, not perfect, but exactly what you asked for. It's a decent idea to register there anyway, as you'll be informed of any recalls or technical service bulletins for your car (and some TSB's/recalls are VIN-specific, i.e. don't apply to the entire model-year or whatnot). Otherwise, unfortunately, I don't think there's a way to see if it's been done just by looking, without doing 2/3 of the labor it would take to change it.

I've had multiple horrible experiences @ Superupair. It's a big shop (biggest all-sube in the nation, I believe). Most of the folks there are cool, but the mechs there are independent contractors, and, well...some are better than others. I will never go there again, except for parts. If you do go there, insist on talking to the shop foreman. Can't remember his name, but he's a real solid guy. Won't go into detail (quivering w/ bad memories as it is), but...I'm dead serious: I'll never have work done there again, ever, EVER! Not once has my bill come in at or under estimate, and that is when things were GOOD. Through owning five subes whilst living in Boulder...best sube shop I've ever been to, most honest and knowledgeable mechs of any kind, by far, I've ever come across, are Mobile Mechanics in Golden. That may not be useful to you, but they are most def'y the SHIZ. Can't say enough good things about them. Most visits, they've tried to talk me out of work I thought I needed but didn't, nearly every time they come in under estimate...etc., etc. They know Subes (being all they work on) extremely well, and are overflowing with integrity. Shiz. At the very least, you might call them for advice w/ your predicament. They'll at least give you a straight up answer about what is fair. If you're talking about warrantee service, however, you'll need a dealer. I rarely choose to mess w/ dealers (being a used car type, I would only go to a dealer for things where I've no choice), but in Boulder, I've had a good experience a couple of times with Flatirons Subaru, out on Arapahoe + Cherryvale. Good folks and I recommend them. Good luck.

For what it's worth (possibly not much -- I've never owned an AT equipped car)...I've always heard that a power flush is a huge can of worms, and can F up your AT in a big way, especially if it's high mileage. Something to do with contaminating low-tolerance parts with metal filings/sludge. A good friend had his AT go irreparably south immediately after a power flush (Ford Taurus though...). Best to do the passive drain and replace, perhaps a couple times in a row -- at least from what I've heard. However, nipper's knowledge/experience surely trumps my own, so take my advice with a grain or two of salt. YMMV!

Yes, I will certainly swap out the cat for clean running...**if** I gain confidence that it's bad, and then **if** I can first sort out what killed it (i.e. what's making me run rich). Any recommendations on a good aftermarket (cheaper than OE) cat, i.e. one that will satisfy the ECU/not throw a 420, and does not require mods (i.e. welding it in)?

Faulty dash temp guage seems possible. On my '90, right after I got it, the water pump crapped the bed while under big load (loaded down, going up a very long hill -- didn't notice right away). Car overheated, temp guage was fully pegged at "H", big time. Coolant was leaking all over the place, but not a ton of steam, didn't blow the radiator cap, and after cooling down, driving a short distance at a time ('till temp went up)...repeat a few times... I was able to limp back to town. Replaced the water pump and nothing else, and drove that excellent rig for another 120,000 miles with zero problems (recently sold it). Different engine, yes, but either your temp guage was out of whack, or your overheating experience does not seem like it should have outright killed the engine (see nippers early comments). BTW did not read entire thread, so hopefully this is still relevant.

Is dude considering a Forrester? More or less the same clearance, but better approach and departure angles, for sure. Less cargo and rear seat room though. Also, if he wants to get industrious, JDM and ADM (australia) dual-range trannys are available (why, oh WHY do they not sell these here???). Scorpion springs/lift kit may help tip the balance as well. Over all, I'd say any sube will be a bit less capable off-pavement/offroad than a Pathfinder (I had an true 4WD experience in a friend's '00 or so Pathfinder that blew my mind -- 'till then I thought is was a halfass 4WD vehicle). But driving creatively (narrow track helps, for one), one can get away with quite a bit in an '00 or later Outback, or Forrester. And the upside is big -- much nicer ride, mileage, etc. If burly 4WD-road and offroad performance, efficiency, and reliability weigh heavily, as opposed to onroad performance and comfort...an older 4x4 Tacoma would provide maximum bang for buck, IMHO. BTW, the chart refered to earlier is not entirely accurate. For '00-'04 Outbacks, the clearance is slightly better for one of the H6 versions. And the mandatory, in that case, automatic tranny, is probably more useful in the rough than a non-dual-range manual.

Oh, and...if it were an exhaust leak, wouldn't the problem be less intermittent? Wouldn't an exhaust leak be pretty steady, if perhaps gradually getting worse? BTW, no code thrown for the neutral switch, but real-time scan verified it was hosed, and replacing it had a definite, positive effect. No question. Looking like not the the only thing screwed up though, obviously. Any chance the bad cat (if in fact it is) itself would cause driveability issues? (it does not rattle when malletted though, and does not seem to be obstructed, at least significantly).

Hmm...I was typing as you posted. Yes front new O2S is OEM. And I do give it a good hard run on the highway every day . I guess you answered my question about an ok cat stinking/throwing a code. I may in fact have a way-too-rich mix intermittently -- driving at low speeds, engine occasionally feels like it misses (no miss code though). Verified no exhaust leaks? No. I need to get the car on stands, run it, and feel for an exhaust leak. Possible. Would that really mess up the O2S's/ECU? Also, been thinking vacuum leak (i.e. on the intake side). But I'm thinking that would always cause a too-lean condition, right? If that is a possibility...how to find it? All hoses look good/connected. How would one assess, say, the intake manifold gasket, etc. w/o removing the manifold, etc.?

"Wallet flush" -- that is funny. Kinda what I thought. The shop that fixed the neutral switch is the most honest/best shop I've ever found. The emmision-system-flush guy is an unknown quantity. Anyway, are you saying that a cat that is ok will **never** emit the bad-eggy smell? It rarely smells, like only after powering up a long climb, and even then, not always (the smell is not strong, but is unmistakable). Could an intermittent too-rich condition make it stink occasionally, and perhaps throw the 420 code, while the cat is actually still ok? The reason I ask is: the neutral switch most definitely fixed the rpms-dropping-too fast, and big jerk on letting up the accel pedal. Runs way, way better. However, I'm still having some rough acceleration (and I bet that'll be worse if hot weather pushes back over 100 degrees). Also, idle is mostly good, but today I watched it move significantly, inexplicably, whilst at a red light. Usually it's steady, but sometimes it's funky...beginning to think I might need a new IAC (I did clean it recently, and it didn't look dirty when I removed it, so I don't think that's it). So, if the IAC is hosed...that could certainly cause a rich mix intermittently. I realize that could've cooked the cat, but could it temporarily cause the cat to **look** (to the ECU) and/or smell bad, even if it's ok? As you can tell...not wanting to buy a new cat if I can help it. The guy who said I didn't need to worry too much about having a bad cat also said an aftermarket cat might not prevent a 420 code, as they are usually too small to perform up to the sube ECU's high standard. But I'm seeing aftermarket ones for < $100. Tempting. Can anyone recommend a good brand? Is Bosal any good? Do they make one that fits an 02 OBW?

2002 outback wagon, 5MT, ej25 here. Ok, so I finally got my biggest driveability issue solved. Turns out it was a bad neutral switch. Codes I've had, w/ CEL are: 1507 (idle speed control), and 420 (cat efficiency). So, I realize that the purpose of the neutral switch is to let the ECU know if the tranny is in neutral or otherwise. But what is the point? And how does the ECU respond to a bad neutral swich? My main symptom was a very abrupt transition from accel-pedal down to foot-off, and vice-versa, no matter how gradually I let up/down on it -- basically: bucking when in slow-and-go traffic, or maneuvering at low speeds in parking lots. Way worse at some times than others. The problem, I think, when it was bad, was that rpm's plummeted way too fast when I let up on the pedal (which also led to having to blip the pedal to match revs, even when upshifting -- which I now have to un-learn). I also had intermittent rough acceleration (worse in very hot weather), and rapid on/off surging when trying to maintain a steady speed on a flat road (also intermittent). Idle was rock steady most of the time, but would occasionaly get wacky, and it stalled once pulling up to a red light, and almost stalled but bounced back a couple other times. Things are much better now. But I've got a few questions re: this... 1) How could a bad neutral switch cause all of these problems? 2) Is there a possibility that the bad switch caused my mix to be too rich? I ask these q's because I'm getting the 420 bad cat code. I've replaced the front O2 sensor, but not the rear one. But the guy who did the diagnosis on this said he could see the rear O2 sensor cycling rich/lean, and thus concluded that the sensor was good, and the cat bad -- not just trying to sell parts; in fact he advised me that I could drive with the bad cat as long as I wanted, I'd just have to get used to the CEL. So, could the bad neutral switch have caused a rich running condition, thus frying my cat? The cat does not rattle at all when I bang on it. But it has been emitting the rotten egg smell occasionally, and also a metallic-y smell sometimes. So... 4) Is a smelly cat a bad cat? Or is it possible that even though rear O2 sensor is oscillating lean/rich, that the O2S is bad (but cat ok) and causing the code? Finally: another mechanic suggested an "emissions system flush" procedure, where they run some solvents through the intake, and it supposedly cleans out the cat. Anybody heard of this and/or have an opinion?

Air box and washer rez removed will be sufficient (battery is not necessary). Here is a key tip for doing plugs on a 2.5: duct tape the plug socket wrench to your extension (which you'll need for sure -- the tunnels are deep) before you start. Otherwise, when you go pull the extension and socket out of the tunnel, the extension is likely to come out without the socket, leaving it out of reach in a bad way, and you scratching your head as to how to retrieve it. My plug sockets have a rubber liner, to protect the ceramic insulator, and that rubber really grips the plug, making this scenario pretty much certain, if I didn't have the extension duct taped on there. Also, pretty obvious, but to make things easier, get the socket/extension you've taped together down into the hole and onto the plug, before attaching the ratchet handle. It is a good idea to put anti-seize on the new plug threads, since the head is aluminum.

The fact that greasing the secondary terminals seemed to help was continuing to make me think coil. But since issues are intermittent, it's tough to be certain that it actualy did anything. What else would you suspect? I was thinking maybe vacuum leak. Is there a trick to finding these? I'm not seeing any damaged lines. And thinking vacuum leak, but intermittent, I got to thinking: sticking valve (not engine valve, but a air bypass valve or whatnot). IAC was looking quite clean when I pulled it, but I cleaned it anyway. I have no EGR valve. This is why I brought up the injector air assist valve. Think that could be it? What other valves are there to stick? Any other ideas for this intermittent problem? When dealer reflashed my ECU, they thought a top-end cleaning might help. Seems like the dealer is always trying to sell that though.

Ok, WTF??? I finally got my factory service manual cd in the mail, which lists the resistance specs. I removed the coil to measure, as indicated. Seconday resistance spec is 12.8k ohms +/-15%. I got 14.1k ohms both sides, so that looks to be good. It also gives directions to check primary resistance. The connector has four pins, numbered 1-4 from front to the back. It says I should have 0.72 ohms +/-10% between pins 1 and 2, and the smae between pins 2 and 4. Here's the F'd up part: I got infinite resistance between 1 and 2, infinite resistance between 2 and 4, around 1M ohm between 1 and 3, and around 1M ohm between 2 and 3. I have no idea what to make of this. Does this mean I have a problem??? Not exactly the way I'd expect a problem to show itself, at least on a coil that does make the car run, mostly normally. What is going on here?!? Also: this engine (2002 2.5 liter, 5MT) apparently does not have an EGR valve, so that is not an issue. Two other weird things: 1) the IAC I have is the one they show for the auto tranny model (I have the one that mounts on the side of the throttle body, with no coolant line going to it; the 5MT is supposed to have the top-mount one, with coolant going to it -- the coolant line is supposed to be sensed for cold engine idle). 2) I have an injector air assist valve, which according to the manual is only supposed to be present on the auto-tranny model. What's up there? The manual is for both 2001 and 2002 outback/legacy, so maybe things changed a little for 2002, but it seems odd to me. I get the basic idea behind the injector air assist valve, but I have no idea when it would open or close, or what symptoms it might precipitate if not working properly. Anybody know how that thing operates? Could that be causing my drivability issues? Also: two of the three bolts securing the coil had significant corrosion, and one of the bolt holes in the coil had some of it's shiny plating chipped off. Are those signs of a coil in trouble? I wire brushed the bolts clean, and reinstalled with anti-seize on threads, and dielectric grease where bolts contact coil -- didn't seem to make any difference in driving. So, who thinks i have a bad coil? Good coil? Do you think cleaning my injector air assist valve could help? thanks.

While I agree that leather looks best, my opinion is the cloth is in fact "better", mostly because it does not get roasting hot or freezing cold. More comfortable in general too, IMO. A full set of leather seats for a '93 could be tough to hunt down. Don't think there were a ton shipped with leather (there was no "Limited" model back then, just the LS, and I'm pretty sure leather was optional on that model). Leather was not anywhere near as trendy back then as it is now. I think you can probably get a Geo Metro with leather these days Headrests should not be too hard to find, and obviously going that route will save you a ton of dough (do you really want to sink all that $$$ into a '93?).

The search function on this board seems to be set to ignore words of 3 letters or less. For sure there are plenty of posts with "svx" in them here. That sucks, for sure, since many, many folks are surely doing searches for, e.g. tps, iac, egr, etc. The other thing that sucks about the search here is that if you enter > 1 word, it does an "or" search -- no option that I know of to filter results based on all words being found. Definitely limits the utility of this site.

Well, today I tried to pay very close attention to things, and was deliberately speeding up and slowing down repeatedly at parking lot speeds -- must've looked like an idiot. Anyway, I gotta think something is not as it should be, as there is such a big difference in when it transitions smoothly, and when it does not. And when it's at it's worst...it's pretty bad (btw, I'm talking about being very smooth with the pedal -- yes, a little jerk if you mash the pedal or let up suddenly from floored seems normal) As far as the rpm's dropping too fast: checking it out, it seems as if what it does when it's good is not so much fall slower, but pause for a sec after disengaging the clutch before rpms start falling, vs. dropping immediately. This would seem to jibe with the jerky transition to engine braking. The other symptom I still have is: when I'm cruising along, and let up on the pedal 'till it's just on the cusp of engine braking/acceleration and hold it there, there is a slight push-pull from the engine, as if I'm up and down with my foot, no matter how steady I keep the pedal, and I can see the tach go up and down a little. Also intermittent. Not really a problem, but it does not seem right. Honestly, it does seem somewhat better after greasing the coil terminals. Less modal (more random) and less obnoxious more of the time. Seriously considering ordering up a coil. Anybody got other ideas/theories about this? Still think it is definitely NOT the coil? Thanks folks.

Forgot to address this: Yes. Revs freely and reaches high rpm in each gear consistently. As noted above, however...it un-revs a bit TOO freely (when I disengage the clutch, the revs drop very quickly). Maybe that's how it's supposed to be (it's not intermittent), but it's way faster than I'm used to from my '90 Legacy, or other cars. So...hoping you will choose to stick your neck out...

Well, don't get me started on the clutch. I've got the judder -- not too violent, but it lasts ~20 min. into my commute, even on the hottest, driest day. Then it's solid, with zero slippage, engages smoothly. Pretty much accepted that that's going to be like that 'till I get a new clutch. Not my first sube, so I'm used to it, but it's sad that it went on for so many model years. ANYWAY AND HOWEVER...that has nothing to do with what I'm describing here. The abrupt transition from acceleration to coasting I'm talking about is all with the clutch fully engaged -- not touching the pedal. Simply talking about cruising along at low speed in 2nd, then letting up on the pedal to decellerate...LURCH, the car "grabs" and slows down abruptly and jerks all passengers forward. Then when I go to give it some gas to speed up...LURCH, the car jerks forward. If this coincides with, say, a speed bump, it can set off a series of bucks, car bouncing all over the place. Occasionally the engine will momentarily drop out, as well, as if it has misfired. The kicker is: it does not happen all the time. Sometimes it is smooth as silk; sometimes it is moderately jerky; sometimes it is really obnoxious. And when it is bad, it is bad for a while, like it is going into a particular "mode". I cannot correlate it with any particular driving/climate conditions however -- seems random. As for my previous thread that you linked to...keep in mind that I've resolved some of those issues. A new O2 sensor and the ECU reflash (which I believe is designed to dampen the ECU's response to the O2 sensor) have fixed my hesitation issues pretty well. In addition to those two things, I've also done: plugs, wires, air/fuel/oil filter, cleaned IAC. Everything has helped, but I've still got the jerkiness at low speeds. Yesterday I polished the coil secondary terminals with 600 grit, exposing fresh brass, splooged some dielectric grease on 'em, and reconnected. I've still got the jerks, but they seem less frequent. More smooth transitions than I've seen. The question is: is the improvement real, or placebo effect (i.e. my optimistic perception)? Kinda makes sense that if the coil were arcing internally, decreasing the resistance of the correct spark path would decrease the likelihood of the wrong path (internal arc). But of course, I'd rather not blow $100 if I can help it. I am open to any and all suggestions/theories/opinions (but like I said...not a clutch thing). Fire away!

Thanks for the input. Subtle problem...yes. The car drives great, for the most part, but low speed manuevering is kinda crappy. When I let up on the accelerator pedal, rpm in the 2000's, 1st or 2nd gear, the transition fron acceleration to coasting is very abrupt, when I hit it again...very abrupt. I don't think it's just the way this car is, because sometimes it is quite smooth, as one would expect (sometimes I can compensate by focusing on very subtle adjustments with my foot, sometimes it will do it no matter how careful I am, sometimes it is fine no matter what). My '90, with 235,000m, which I just sold, was butter-smooth every time, and so is every other car I've ever driven (relative to this car, anyway), including my friend's 2000 OBW. It is not a huge problem, but passengers are consistently like, "whoa, what the hell was that!?". Not devastating, but annoying as hell. The other symptom is: when I go to upshift (5MT) and disengage the clutch, the rpm's drop really fast. Like, I have to really quick-shift to match revs -- 4th to 5th is tough (not like that is a big deal, but it's a sign, I think). Also, I've had infrequent, sporadic, what feels like misfires. Seemingly random, I've had it happen at low speeds, like I described...engine just bottomed out when I went to accellerate out of a turn. Recently I had bomb out right on startup (started the car, bombed out to where I thought it would stall, then recovered, all in ~1.5 sec. -- not coinciding with an ECU reset, which seems to do that anyway). No codes. At high speeds, I have no real problems, other than the too-quick loss of revs on clutch pedal depress. A couple of times I've had it blip at speed, like a misfire, but momentum, I guess, made that not a big deal. Highway driving is basically smooth and fine. Dielectric grease seems like it has helped a little. Maybe (it is so hard to separate psychology from these intermittent problems). Seems to start after fewer cranks. It is still "abrupt" at low speeds. Most of the time, anyway. So, does this still sound like coil to you? I'm thinking of pulling the trigger. The only thing that makes me think it might NOT be coil is: problems are lesser to non-existent at speed. Low speed off-and-on the accel-pedal kinda sucks. I thought coil issues should be WORSE at speed, not better. So...think I should buy a new coil? Any other suggestions?