dilts

I have a smoke machine that I have created and can use it tonight to see if there is a vacuum leak. I will update tomorrow.

Fuel tank isn't rusted, it's not the O ring and I am getting different codes now. P0174 and P0171. Fuel filter is clean, I just replaced the Intake gasket and worn hoses so that can't be the issue with an intake leak. I really don't want to change the O2 sensors and find out that isn't the issue since they are pretty pricey for this model. Any other suggestions? I am running out of ideas and I need to get it inspected at the end of the month. It also stalled out again twice this morning and I had a hard time keeping it running. The rpms were real low and when I pressed the gas they would go down before they went up. It stalled out when I got below 5 MPH. I would take it to a dealer to have it diagnosed but they are just going to do the same things that I am doing except charge more $..... Is it time to move on to greener pastures (a new car)? I really wanted to get 250k out of the car.

I looked and I didn't see a second fuel filter. I will check again though after work.

The fuel filter was dirty meaning when we pulled out the fuel pump (in tank fuel filter) and looked at it, you could see physically that it needed replaced. So we replaced that along with the air filter (more for regular maintenance). It has 169000 miles on it and I have only had it for a couple of years. The lines are properly hooked up as well and they are not clogged. Pulling the pump is easy since subaru made an access point from inside the car. It takes about two minutes to pull it and put the new oring in. I guess that is my next step. I hope someone local has it.

The fuel pump is a used one so that is a possibility with the O ring. The filter is new and came with a new cap, but didn't have a new O ring with it (we changed that first, the old one was pretty dirty), I wonder if I can buy that separate. Swapping the sides for the coil is a great idea. I won't have time to try that until this weekend. The car has 169k miles on it and we bought it off of someone else used. We take care of the regular maintenance on it, the engine is pretty clean. I don't hear any noises from the timing chain. These codes were not previous codes. They only came up after everything was back together after putting in the new seals. There is a wining noise that I noticed this morning upon acceleration on my way in to work. Also it didn't have any issues starting up since we changed the seals but we just finished that last night and I only drove it to work this morning. Usually it will have trouble on cold days and this morning it was 50 degrees. While everything was apart I did clean everything. I also noticed that when I turn the heater on it drops in RPMs almost to the point of stalling and then picks up again. Thanks for your help guys!

Sorry it took so long to respond. It went from 11 codes to 4 codes after I changed the spark plugs and the 4 codes indicated that there was a leak in the intake manifold. So I looked at that and sure enough the seals were bad and half of the hoses. So I tore it all apart and put new seals and hoses on. I started it back up and then received more codes within the first 30 minutes. The codes are p0302, p0304 and p0306. When I looked these up basically it said either an intake manifold leak, spark plugs or coils. Now I fixed 2 out of the 3, and hopefully it is not the coils because they were the most expensive. I cleared the codes hoping it was just because I had everything apart and now I am waiting. Any suggestions in the event that the codes come back?

Yes the Check Engine light is on. It is throwing out 11 codes, some were misfires so that's why I thought spark plugs. The others are generic codes that don't really tell me what is going on and since there are so many parts to the fuel system that it could be it is making it difficult for me to figure out what is causing it. I thought about trying to change the O2 sensor next but it could also be the Map Sensor, the PCM and the Fuel pressure regulator.

So I appreciate any feedback. I have a 2004 Suby Outback 3.0. It is a great car but i started to have issues with it. Now keep in mind that the issues started when I changed the fuel filter because it was really dirty. Before that the car started right up. Here are the issues. Cold Start: Hard time starting ( takes 3 or 4 tries when it is warm out and takes 5-6 tries when it is cold) Warm Start: So when I turn the car off and come back to it within a few minutes, sometimes it will start right away and other times it takes a few tries. Stalls when sitting idle (usually after about 15 minutes idle) After stalling if I don't restart the car it has a hard time trying to stay running while driving for about 5 minutes and when I come to a complete stop and press the gas is will stall. I just did a couple things so far but there are so many possibilities and I would like some suggestions on what to do next. Changed the fuel pump Changed the spark plugs Let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks!