brus brother

Caution young grasshopper, spray where you see all the oil gunked up and try to stay away from sensors. The purpose is not to use as much of the product as possible but to judiciously clear a path. You don't need to get the engine sparkly clean at this point. Until you eliminate all the leaks, perhaps you can start a sideline business sealing asphalt driveways by parking there overnight.

How's about cleaning/degreasing the entire engine then start looking for the source?? Search from top to bottom. You may very well have a number of source points.

Immediate family now owns 4 Subarus, so here's some tire feedback: I ended up putting Yokahama Avids on my 08 OB last year. Not great in snow and a little noisy cornering. The "noisy" 05 OB mentioned in the initial posting just got 4 new Kumho Ecsta LX tires. The alignment was off on 3 corners of that OB and since everyone else here was convinced there must be something else in the suspension causing the cupping on the Triple Treads, I had yet another shop check the car out and nothing else was found defective. In the end, I can't say whether it was the Triple Treads or the alignment but the cupping/noisy ride became intolerable for the wife (she then made it intolerable for me). With the alignment done and new Kumho tires, the ride is now VERY quiet. I've yet to drive the Kumhos in winter yet. The other plus for the Kumho Ecsta LX is that it is non-directional and would allow for more flexibility in rotating tires. I was told by the installer that the Z rating would give me fewer miles on the tire. I still wish there was a sticky for tires on USMB. It is an item that will predictably need replacement and I am more comfortable with the feedback here than on manufacturer's or retailer's websites.

Did you use genuine Subaru or aftermarket axles. Aftermarket axles have been reportedly associated with many unwanted conditions i.e. vibrations, shuddering, your wife leaves you, you get mugged, just to name a few.

From what I've read and been told on this board, you only monkey around with the rear sensor(s). I have no experience with the mods you did to your engine. Mine was stock all the way.

I know I saw someone on an online board who bought the "O2 Sensor Fix" already drilled out on FleaBay but I don't see any for sale that look like the ones in the descriptions below. I asked a friend with a drill press to do mine and it seemed to go smoothly although you could do it freehand. Here's a how to: http://forums.evolutionm.net/evo-how-requests-questions-tips/215795-5-o2-cheater-non-fouler-how.html and a lengthy discussion: http://forums.evolutionm.net/evo-how-requests-questions-tips/114931-how-install-spark-plug-anti-foulers-remove-ses-cel-light.html Hope this solves your problem. PS General Disorder is more knowledgeable than I so follow his lead.

Jeff, You said to do Both sensors behind the cat. There are two before (upstream) two behind (downstream) the front cats and the fifth one on the rear cat. Are you saying you did the two downstream sensors but NOT the one on the rear cat? It's been about 2000 miles since I last cleared the code. (probably throw one tomorrow)

Father in law stopped by and said he had taken his keys for a swim in the ocean but the remote still worked! I suggested open and clean with alcohol and change battery (same as most pc batteries). I tried pressing the button 6 times as per manual and online info but while the remote lights up when the buttons are pressed, there is nothing unlocking/locking. Egg on my face! I even tried going into program mode and see if it recognized the remote but nothing. SOLVED: Retraced my steps. Synchronizing didn't work as before but this time when I went into reprogram mode, it recognized the remote and all was good.

Check your insurance policy. Many policies have glass replacement w/o deductible. Mine does for about $20 per year that I was unaware of until my windshield cracked for the first time. Fingers crossed.

Or as Subaru technicians refer to it: Battery Kill Switch

if you run your hand over the surface of the tire (along the edge in my case at least) you'll feel areas of wear then not then wear like the edge of a scallop shell. What everyone is saying about suspension makes sense as the tire is bouncing on the road (wearing the spots where it hits) but no one told me the shocks were worn and the rest of the suspension seems ok with the exception of the rear bushings which I may change out myself as they seem pretty easy. The question I have about that theory is how the tire knows how to hit the same spot when it's bouncing??

Everything is stock. The car was hit on the left rear bumper that required about $500 worth of repairs. Didn't check alignment at that time BUT timing (about two years ago) might be about right for when I first noticed. Related?? Following are the before and after alignment specs. BTW Tech said everything was rusted solid (thank you NE salted roads) click on thumbnail below

I provided the tires, they only mounted ($40) and did alignment ($70).

Well today I had the dealer mount and balance 4 new Kumho Ectsa Plat LX and do an alignment. I don't have the readout in front of me but all 4 corners of the car were in the red zone and greened up nicely after alignment so I guess the 4 corners were fighting each other as the car was skipping down the road. The tech who I trust explicitly said the front bushings were fine but the rear ones were stiff. "Keep an eye on any abnormal wear and replace those if noted". So for $119 total installation/alignment I am pretty happy. The car rides great. Dealers can get bad raps but here I have to say, thanks Dan Perkins Subaru. (Just wish I got an alignment before I sent the Goodyear Triple Treads to an early grave!)

Don't know how particular you are or how much time/$ you'd spend on a door panel painting and getting everything back together but if you find one of those "paintless dent remover" guys on an off day you might get some pretty good results at a decent price. I used a guy I found working in a local Subaru lot and the results were absolutely acceptable. Mine were a bunch of parking lot dings but the video link below shows larger dents.

Updated original post to include "Outback" I have tried the cel fixes (spark plug anti-fouler cheaters 1 then 2 piggybacked) http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=121762&highlight=p0420 post #3 partially quoted below states my experience especially involving the 05 model exception to the rule: "My recent experience with P0420 was with my 05 Outback follows. At 104,000 miles I got CEL. Autozone checked (for free) P0420 with the description you note. They erased the code as well. Car ran like crap as soon as I restarted it but smoothed out once the computer re-learned the engine. CEL came back again at about 60 miles but before I drove back to Autozone and having researched the code on-line I feared the worst that the passenger side catalytic converter was dead. I bought a cheap code reader on-line for about $20. OK now that I didn't have to drive to Autozone every time it threw a code I could experiment and with the help of the web I tried various "cheats". There is a spark plug anti-fouler ($5 for a pair at Autozone in the self help area part# 42009) that can be drilled out and used to back the 02 sensor out of the cat and fool the computer into thinking the catalytic converter is working at it's desired efficiency. I tried one then two piggybacked but my code came back (and even got a different code... ) so after a while I gave up and removed all of the cheaters and then no CEL until last week at 1085 miles later. Is your car well tuned? Have you started using cheapo gas? The dealer implied there would be a different code for O2 sensor but John's O2 suggestion is tempting my wallet's sensibility. I cleared the code again but I am prepared to get an aftermarket cat with a 5 year warranty for a third of the price of an OEM cat with a 12 month warranty. Note that my 05 Outback has a particularly expensive design in that there are 3 catalytic converters and 5 O2 sensors! This particular setup appears to NOT work well with the cheaters. I performed the modifications on the O2 sensor immediately behind the first cat on the passenger side. When I was tinkering around with the cheaters, I got yet a different code. People swear by the fix and a wink from Autozone sales seems to indicate it's common knowledge. NOTE: I have read that this friggin' code can return even after you change the cat so while I am certainly in favor of clean environment, the difference between readings that are AOK and operating just "below threshold" is a gray area for you and your wallet to mull over." I'm open to other suggestions. Is there anyone on the board with an 05 in a non-ethanol state that is getting this pesky P0420?

I recently complained to a sube tech of P0420 code that after reset, comes back every 1100 miles or so for faulty bank 1 cat on my 05 Outback with 108K miles and was told that there was a new flash that allows for wider parameters before throwing codes. Tech wasn't sure which vehicles fit the bill but would give it a go next time I was in. He explained that here in the NE the gas is adulterated with so much ethanol and additives (apple sauce for all I know) that this seems to create a problem. I'm all for lowering the bar if it saves me from dumping $1200 for a new OEM cat that may not even solve the problem in the long run. Anyone else hear of this flash?

Send a PM to Nipper. He is on LI and may have a lead for you.

Copy and paste the photo into the body of the post if you want to show the photo. That's the simple part. The bearing job is more of a nuisance.

Well my local dealer charges $69 special for alignment and indie charges a little more. What concerns me is that I chewed through a perfectly good set of tires and may be embarking on the same trip again. The service manager didn't make it seem that the bushings were so horrible when noting wear after my second complaint about noise. The first time I was instructed to simply move the bad tire to the rear. What bothers me is that I seem to have a sound at relatively low speeds which my way of thinking would mean wheel bearing yet the dealer said the bearing was fine. QUESTION: Could bad L front bearing cause the cupping? AND wouldn't the bearing have become noticeably worse after what I am guessing is nearly 10K miles since I first complained. I hate not having a diagnosis before diving in.

Car was never wrecked. Had a small hit on the L rear bumper without much damage. Did not have alignment done when Goodyear Triple Treads replaced the original Potenzas. Is it possible that alignmet alone could cause cupping? When you say "alignment shop" is the dealer not to be included in this designation?

05 Outback 105,000 miles started having problems about a year ago where noticeable noise L front. Took to dealer and tech said tire was cupping, advised rotate to rear. Sound diminished but now same location (L front tire) is cupped again. When I asked them to check the suspension, they suggested lower control arm bushings and sway bar links were wearing. Could also need alignment?? Tires have some life but the noise is intolerable. Few questions. Is this a DIY repair w/o a lift? To sequence the remedy properly, should I do the bushings/links prior to alignment and installing new tires? Would it be possible to do the bushings/links and alignment and get the rest of the life out of the tires, or will the sound persist regardless?

Anyone have experience with General Altimax HP tires? They will go on 05 OB driven in the northeast. Tire rack has them for $98 with $50 rebate for a set of four. I am switching from Goodyear triple treads which are so noisy that I thought it was a wheel bearing but after the dealer (who would love the bearing work) and a friend who is a Lexus service manager both told me tires, I will replace the tires at about 50K miles and see what happens. With four subes in the family now, it seems like one car or the other is ready for tire replacement in any given year. I wish there was a sticky where members could post findings on tires. I'm always dubious of "reviews" on tire websites.

Sure. Why not? If it bothers you, bother the dealer.

http://www.bsllabs.com/proddetail.php?i=118 Must be true, I read it on the internet! Go for a drive??