nicholi2789 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) Okay guys I'm having a cylinder 3 misfire problem on my 95 legacy 2.2 that has me stumped. Last night I was driving and my car immediately started running terribly. To where it barely ran and couldn't drive it. Sounded like a really bad misfire. Scanned the check engine light AND has one PO303 code- cylinder 3 misfire. So far I have: tried a different coil, new spark plugs, different wires. Compression tested every cylinder and got 150 p.s.i on every cylinder (is that within spec?) which seemed good. Now I don't know what to do next. I used a long screwdriver and put it against each injector and I could hear clicking inside each, so i think they are all working. What should I do next?? Someone help please. Lol. Right now I am without a car and a way to get to work so I need to figure this out posthaste. I am sure somebody here with their vast knowledge of subarus can offer advice. Thanks in advance. Edited April 17, 2015 by nicholi2789 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 95, 2.2 non interference motor, i'm thinking your timing belt jumped. pull the timing covers and check your timing marks. Yes 150 psi is good on the cylinders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholi2789 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 95, 2.2 non interference motor, i'm thinking your timing belt jumped. pull the timing covers and check your timing marks. Yes 150 psi is good on the cylinders. You think so? I was kinda worried about that too.. But wouldn't in have multiple cylinder misfires and not just #3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 (edited) Well # 3 may be the worse one or the first one that the computer is reading. At least it's not that hard to check timing ... well... depending on your experience level , it's not hard to check. You have already tried the plugs, wires & coil, checked compression ... there isn't too much left that it can be. Oh last thought, did you just fill up with fuel ? Could you have water in the fuel filter ??? Edited April 18, 2015 by montana tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholi2789 Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 Well # 3 may be the worse one or the first one that the computer is reading. At least it's not that hard to check timing ... well... depending on your experience level , it's not hard to check. You have already tried the plugs, wires & coil, checked compression ... there isn't too much left that it can be. Oh last thought, did you just fill up with fuel ? Could you have water in the fuel filter ??? Alright.. I stuck a timing light on it and it read about 30 degrees... Crap. So somehow the timing got advanced like 16 degrees. How could that happen? Could it skipping one tooth cause it to be that far off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Yes it can, most of the time they won't run at all, but you need to look at the belt static timing marks to confirm. Do you know how to remove the balancer ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholi2789 Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 (edited) Yes it can, most of the time they won't run at all, but you need to look at the belt static timing marks to confirm. Do you know how to remove the balancer ? Yes. I replaced the timing belt and all its components about 3 months ago. I have plans to remove the cover tomorrow and see what happened. Could a failed tensioner or something like that cause it? Edited April 18, 2015 by nicholi2789 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Yes, failing tensioner, bad idler, failing water pump. LOL leave the covers off and snow buildup will make them jump. At least be glad you have a 2.2 first generation ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccrinc Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 A dirty or bad seal on the injector for that cylinder will also cause a misfire. Burnt valve on that cylinder, too. There are multiple reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 You're getting ahead of yourself. How does the plug on #3 look? Clean? Covered in gunk? You changed the plug, and the wires? Did you put new wires on or just swap them across to see if the misfire followed? You've checked the injector for operation, but that doesn't tell you if its actually spraying fuel, or if it's spraying the correct pattern. Drain the fuel rails (pull the FPR off and blow into the supply hose going into the rail) before removing the injectors, otherwise you'll dump 1/4 of gas into the manifold. Pull injector 3 and injector 1 and swap them. Check it for anything obvious before putting it back in the rail, carbon buildup on the end, junk all over the screen, etc. Lube the o-rings with some oil to ease installation into the rail. If the misfire follows the injector to cylinder 1 replace it. Jumped valve timing will cause misfires on at least two cylinders. It will also cause significantly low compression on the same two cylinders. Timing light = ignition timing which set by the ECU. Ignition timing IS NOT the same as valve timing, which is set by the timing belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholi2789 Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 You're getting ahead of yourself. How does the plug on #3 look? Clean? Covered in gunk? You changed the plug, and the wires? Did you put new wires on or just swap them across to see if the misfire followed? You've checked the injector for operation, but that doesn't tell you if its actually spraying fuel, or if it's spraying the correct pattern. Drain the fuel rails (pull the FPR off and blow into the supply hose going into the rail) before removing the injectors, otherwise you'll dump 1/4 of gas into the manifold. Pull injector 3 and injector 1 and swap them. Check it for anything obvious before putting it back in the rail, carbon buildup on the end, junk all over the screen, etc. Lube the o-rings with some oil to ease installation into the rail. If the misfire follows the injector to cylinder 1 replace it. Jumped valve timing will cause misfires on at least two cylinders. It will also cause significantly low compression on the same two cylinders. Timing light = ignition timing which set by the ECU. Ignition timing IS NOT the same as valve timing, which is set by the timing belt. Yeah but wouldn't the cam position sensor read the off valve timing and adjust the ECU which would I turn cause off ignition timing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Yes it does, and in that as it would cause multiple cylinder misfires, and set codes for multiple cylinders, not just one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianacolt Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 I too have a legacy 95 2.2 same error code on cyl. 3 and timing belt chg. by dealer not long ago. Also knock sensor error,on both common denominator was low/high fuel pressure?So where is the knock sensor exactly? My Honda mech. said it is possible a frayed wire on that or not plugged back in maybe.I had a honda and he has no time to work on it but good for advice! Figured if I could get that error code off,then the fuel pressure fix "might " solve both? The car seems to run great only 144000 miles! It had a 1st bank Cat. converter arroor but that disapeared after codes emptied? Thanks for any advice,I do not have a bunch of tools but fairly able to try and narrow this down before I go spend too much at the dealer!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholi2789 Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Well what ended up being the problem on mine after all was the timing belt. I had just done a timing job a couple months before. Anyways, my timing belt jumped about 4 teeth somehow. It ran like absolute garbage and I kept getting only a cylinder 3 misfire code. I tried everything. New plugs, wires, coil, compression tested, tested injectors, everything. And it just turned out to be a jumped belt. Reset the timing and she ran like a champ again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianacolt Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 so guessing also the 1st step look at cyl .# 3 plug? where on engine is that one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianacolt Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 well glad that got you going! But mine is running too good I think to be that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianacolt Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Thanks Nicholis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholi2789 Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 well glad that got you going! But mine is running too good I think to be that? Yeah that's what I was gonna ask next is how is it running. Is it just an intermittent code that pops up with no discernible difference in engine performance? Like the other person said, i would start with cylinder 3 and check the wire and plug. The cylinders are numbered as follows: standing in front of the engine looking down at it the closest one on your left is #1 closest on the right is cylinder #2, back left is cylinder #3 and back right is cylinder #4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2002Legecy Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 I was having same problem of intermittent CEL along with periodic hesitation and backfiring when climbing a hill in high gear or other situations where power is needed but engine at low RPM. I tried knock sensor but got no improvement. Error codes (I went back a couple times as CEL would go on/off/on/etc) from Auto zone included Cyl #3 not firing. I changed plug in #3 where I found a spark trail going along outside of porcelain. (I changed #1 also while I had that side opened up). The new plug worked - - - but only for several days. I was puzzled and drove around for a few weeks and learned to pull auto tranny into 2nd gear whenever hesitation started as it drove fine at higher RPM. When code said #3 again I changed harness wire #3 (& #1) and it seems to be good but I'm only on my 2nd day & so I have my fingers crossed! (Note: Again #3 plug showed the same spark trail on porcelain as when I changed plug b4, but this time I didn't change the plug.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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