brus brother

well done!

Try swapping coil and verify that some yutz didn't "misplace" the wires leading to cylinders firing out of order. Probably less noticeable on a V8 than on a 4 banger where fire would be shooting out of your nostrils.

Are you the original owner or did you inherit a headache? Check coil? Are the wires routing correctly? Any arcing if you mist water around coil or wires? Did you do/change anything that precipitated the current status? Swapping parts is good diagnostic technique IF you are sure they are working donors.

Before you go breaking anything... least is always best. See if just executing the relearn procedure solves your issues. Just a few minutes of your time and a few turns of the key, no wrenches or grease rags needed. Then if problem still exists, ask someone to hold your ankles as you dive in deeper. I ran into the same issue on my 05 OB Auto. I cleared the P0420 persistent code and forgot the patience part of relearning. Hopped in the car and drove away. Until I did the relearn, ran poorly and stalled as you describe. You did say you disconnected the battery (same as me clearing codes with a code reader) so you may have also not allowed the normal relearn sequence?

Here's the link to sequence for relearning/recalibration. Or this link. If you are still having trouble and haven't cleaned the throttle body, follow the link below. Here's a link for cleaning the throttle body.

Thanks for all the good info. I'd like to be able to move this discussion to the Repair Manual as a sticky. As I said, the question is repeated every so often and it would be great to be able to link to and further the discussion in one place. Mods, have at it. Thanks all.

Glad to hear that Aisin water pumps pass your quality rating. I'm not sure if the rest of us can pull off the "wholesale side" though. Do you retail the kits you spec out and assemble? Since Gates kits went off the rails, I've seen numerous requests for alternatives and am trying to figure out the best way to go.

" I can't even get a fuse in there and it will arc sparks and blow before it is fully inserted into the fuse block." Hate to waste another fuse but curious if you just separated the broken wires from each other you could diagnose this as the trouble area.

step 1 : to gain access to make splices, first I rolled back the boot to locate breaks then I tied a piece of dental floss (I'm a retired dentist ;-)) to one of the loose ends and pulled it back out, spliced enough wire to make it work and then pulled the extended piece back through to reconnect to the other end of the broken wire. step 2 : discard floss

There is an image within this linked thread of the wires I found broken inside the rubber boot on the passenger side of my 05 OB. I did the repair without digging in to find the connector for the harness. Initially, I didn't "see" the break but after tugging on each wire, it became obvious. That being said, if you can locate the harness upstream and disconnect, that is a more definitive diagnosis. You may ALSO have some crappy wire within the boot and tugging on wires may cause an additional problem that will confuse the issue if your initial gremlin lurks elsewhere.

Thanks R. I wanted to be able to insert a modified player into the body instead of a hyperlink.

I came across and posted the following discussion here and will let the board decide if it is sticky worthy. Through the years, this has been a moving target as Gates fell out of grace. BTW ohter than just posting the link, can anyone tell me how to insert the linked video so it takes up less real estate? i.e. smaller video or thumbnail.

Maybe Jen can help?

that is just plain stupid

nah, he had reset the cel no systems ready and others that should be reading came up as N/A bald tires TPMS dash light on (tires inflated) engine compartment had been washed and lots of rusted areas within the engine bay basically a car that needs a new car I already have one of those

Now this is too funny not to post. Went to see the car. OBD reader showed N/A for nearly all systems. WTF? Tires bald. Expressed concern but owner said "wouldn't you still like to take it for a drive?" Turned key... click click click... buzz Dead battery Dead deal

So here in the northeast, some of the real early Subies had rust issues. These were rescued from a field in Virginia and relocated to CT. I particularly like the "parts car" at :21

I am looking at an 08 OB with history unknown. Will try and use vin with soa to determine if they can pull history on recalls, TB work etc if dealer performed but would like to be aware of any accidents.

I only mention "rust free" since other ads still seem to consider this important, Maybe there is something magical about my 05 but unlike my old 90 Loyale and the 84 GL before that one, there isn't one bit of rust on this car. I just figured SOA had improved quality of materials but, as I said, maybe my 05 is magical...

2005 Outback The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (actually, it's still pretty) 202 K miles leather interior, dual moon roof, good tires, auto transmission fine and cared for, no rust, body has one quarter sized ding on drivers's door from parking lot engine runs fine, leaking HGs and VC gaskets. leaks about 1/2 quart per week. Never overheated. Regular oil changes. constant P0420 that I have cleared to pass emissions for the past 6+ years. I have the original passenger cat. Replaced it with aftermarket but friggin' code came back. Located here in snowy Connecticut. What's it worth?

did you try Ctrl + h on your pc to pull up the entire web search/visit history? you can search for key words or just scroll through the dates you might recall BTW, it's called OldTimer's Disease for a reason...

I'm sure it will work out...

Hi Mike Check this LINK and this guy LINK is easy follow I think this is your engine, if not YouTube knows all.

nope had the vc gaskets and plug seals done less than 5 k miles ago when problem first arose. serious leakage back then. checked them again last night and verified they are dry now.

forgot to mention it always seems weather related like If the car has been sitting in my damp garage. which is why I started spraying water around looking for arcing.