swiftt

Got it. Yay! It ended up being a fouled injector. My car only has 85K miles on it, so it seems to have failed a little early but such is the nature of the machine. ...Unpredictable. Thanks to everyone for sharing their expertise. Best Regards, -Dave

So I picked up a set of NOID lights and tested. All indications are that the signal is there and behaving as one would expect with the NOID light cylcing off/on while engine is running. Now I'm thinking clogged injector, perhaps? Anyone willing to go out on a limb and reassure me before I drop some coin on new injectors and seals(I'm thinking it would be best to replace all at the same time. Thoughts?)? -Dave

Would this be one of the two harness plugs located beneath the intake, on the passenger side? ...Right in front of the airbox? Thanks, -Dave

I see. Very cool lead on the tool. I appreciate the insight. I'll see if I can track one down in the next day or so and give it a go. Thanks again. I'll let you know how it turns out. -Dave

Yeah, like kill cylinders...:-\ So if each individual injector grounds through the ECU, I assume it will be enough to verify the ECU ground before moving on and looking elsewhere? Is there some sort of test I can run on the ECU to isolate the injector circuits in turn? I have a generic ODBII code reader but nothing Subaru specific that I can 'talk' to the ECU with. It's unfortunate, but Subaru seems to keep their workshop info and specialty tools pretty close to their vest (or prohibitively expensive). -Dave

First, thank you both for your thoughtful replies. Just a couple questions it raises for me... -I had considered the cam position sensor when initially looking into this. I unplugged it while the engine was running and idle went to hell. Plugged it back in, the idle raced for a moment, then it settled back into a regular idle (albeit a 'regular' idle wiht one dead cylinder). I'm thinking if that sensor failed, timing would be effected globally and wouldn't be isolated to #2. Yeah? -With regard to the ECU ground, wouldn't that behave the same? As in, if the ECU weren't properly grounded, wouldn't I notice all kinds of odd behavior vs. a single cylinder misfire? ...Or... Is each injector circuit grounded independently? If it's this latter scenario, where would one physically look for these grounds? Incidentally, there was a ground I found that wasn't even connected. I found it hanging down, inside the transmission tunnel as viewed from under the hood. I connected it to the firewall right behind the airbox but alas, no changes to the misfire issue. Maybe my stereo will play louder w/o distortion now though...? -Dave

Yeah, I used a digital multi-meter. I uplugged the injectors, one at a time, with the engine running and measured the voltage across the line that plugs into the injector (ie. one lead connected to each of the two incoming wires, respectiely). I did get consistent readings so I'm not sure that I follow you. I was able to watch the votlage switch up/down on it so I thought that a pretty clear indication of the ECU signal being sent to the injector. The large voltage discrepency between cylinder #2 and the rest was also pretty extreme. I went around and did this twice and the results were repeatable.All that said, what would be a better method of testing? Why would the ECU send a significantly higher voltage to one cylinder? I can switch a couple injectors around to see if the problem follows but that looks to be a PITA, so I'd rather pin the problem down prior to pulling fuel rails and injectors.Any thoughts? Thanks again.-Dave

Hi all. I have a 2000 OBS that's misfiring like crazy and shows P0302 on the ODBII diagnostics (misfire on cylinder 2). It sometimes shows P0420 (inefficient CAT) but I think this code is due to the misfire. I've searched the board but nothing addresses the situation, specific to what I've done/seen to date. So here's what I know so far: -All cylinders have spark all the way to the plugs -The fuel rails are getting fuel -All injetors measured within the same range for internal resistance (can't remember what the range was off the top of my head but I remember not worrying about it 'cause they were all close) -Injectors 1, 3, and 4 are switched between .25 and .5 volts with the engine running. -Injector 2 is switched between 5.0 and 5.5 volts with the engine running. Ugh! So, not knowing for sure, I'm thinking the injector fires when the line voltage drops to 0.25Volts and then closes again at 0.5volts. With the outrageously high voltage on cylinder #2, I'm thinking it's simply holding the injector closed and starving the cylinder of fuel. Anyone have a critique of my thinking here? Does anyone have any ideas what may cause this high line voltage on cylinder #2? I can't help but think this is the root of my problem. My initial thought was one of the two O2 sensors, but I'd expect that to effect two, or more, cylinders and not just one. Am I right in thinking this? Anyone else have any thoughts? Thanks in advance. -Dave

I'd go with 10W40 in Winter and 20W50 in Summer.

I have an spfi intake that fits an EA71. PM me if you want it. It came off a Japanese import engine.

Yeah, that's the spot. I was afraid it was only a machined surface. I visually inspected it without finding any trace of a seal. I don't hold it against them (Subaru engineers) for not having everything figured out back in '79. I'll try t find a cutaway diagram and confirm whether or not there's an O-ring. If there's not one there, I think I'm going to pull the selector shaft, throw it on my lathe, and add a slot for an O-ring myself. Any other experience, suggestions or insight out there?

Mmmmm, I thought they just fed it a high calorie diet? Seriously, I don't think the engine is wider as much as it is a little taller. I have both and intakes, y-pipes, and bellhousing adapters are all interchangeable. The biggest difference is the water crossover that is right beneath the intake manifold. The early style has an external water crossover that bolts onto the crank case. The later style has this same coolant crossover cast right into the crank case. The water pumps are also different between the two. I believe the heads and valve covers are slightly different too but I'd have to look again to be sure. The style of coolant crossover is the quick tell-all.

Sounds like you've done some of these but for the sake of being thorough; Check/adjust timing Set point gap (maybe a good idea to just replace points/condenser because they're consumable and so cheap) Check/set plug gap Be sure coil/plug wires are good by checking with an ohmmeter. Check cap and rotor for excessive carbon buildup and cracks/scratches inside the cap. Check for vacuum leaks (carb base gasket, intake gaskets, all vacuum hoses, brake booster, carbon canister). If you don't have a 'tuned' ear and have trouble hearing any vacuum leaks, you can use a spray bottle filled with water. As the engine idles, spray a mist around all the previously mentioned areas. If there's a leak, the water will be sucked into the engine and the idle will drop/die. Set carb mixture (too lean will miss at idle and backfire when accelerating.) Verify carb secondary is opening. If you've a solid lifter engine (you probably do), you should adjust the valves too. A tight, or burnt, valve will cause backfire. A burnt valve will require the head be removed and the valve repaired/replaced. Good luck!

Hah! Learn something new every day. That rocks! The inserts I see on ebay must be for Gen2. That would make sense. On the topic of struts, anyone know a source for the top strut mounts (rubber cones at the top of the strut) for a Gen1 Brat? Mine are beginning to show some cracks.

Typically just the inserts are replaced. When you mention the bottom being similar in mounting, I think you are referring to the strut housing. When you replace yours, that piece will be reused and only a new strut insert installed. I imagine there are strut inserts for other cars that would be useable. The two dimensions you'd want to match up would be the insert length and the diameter. That would probably get you going. Of course, that doesn't account for stroke or the thread pitch at the top of the insert. Those should be considered as well. FYI... I frequently see strut inserts for sale on ebay. Stock was good enough for the factory engineers. Good luck.