Someone please help! Recently, like in the last month and half, I had a rebuilt engine with roughly 60,000 miles on it. I have driven it a handful of times since I had gotten it back from the mechanic.  It ran great until here recently.  I was taking my grandfather to the doctor and on the way back it started idling rough, spitting and sputtering, bucking, you name it.  It wouldn't stay running.  I first thought it wasn't getting enough gas because the same thing happened to me when I ran my grandfather's truck out of gas by accident. (the fuel gauge didn't work, so I didn't know how much was in it.)  Needless to say, the first thing we did was change the fuel pump. It would start and idle for a few minutes then quit or run erratically. We looked under the hood and found that the throttle control sensor was broken, and replaced it.  Apparently the garage had broken it while the engine was being installed, and of course they denied it.  Got it to run approximately 2 blocks to the nearest Autozone, and they tested the car.  The codes were P0505,  P0113, and P1133.  After going over the engine, we checked everything from spark to air intake to hoses. Couldn't find anything wrong.  Now it won't even start.  Just cranks over. Any ideas on what this could be?  I know I need an 02 sensor, but we unhooked it to see if it would make a difference and it didn't.

Plug the O2 sensor back in.

Clear the codes.

Look carefully around the airbox make sure all the hoses are connected.

 

Lets start there. 

Make sure the MAF sensor is plugged in all the way.

 

The 00-04 legacy cars have problems with the metal cap on the fuel pump assembly. It splits and bleeds pressure back into the tank. Did you replace the entire assembly or just the pump itself?

Try spraying a small amount of starter fluid into the intake to see if the engine will respond to that. If the ignition is working correctly it should fire up the engine briefly.

02 sensor was plugged back in. Not sure how to clear the codes. The fuel pump was just replaced, not the entire assembly. Ex-husband checked spark plugs today, had to buy new ones. They weren't even the ones for it! 

They looked pretty warn and were too big. I wonder if the garage made a boo boo there too. It did get the engine to start again for a few minutes.  He thinks it is getting too much gas and flooding out. On the morning that I had the idling issues with it, when I started it from cold start, the rpm's did jump up to 4. I'm not sure if that has to do anything with it or not. I thought that was a bit high, but still put it in gear and went. Drove fine down to the doctor's office. It is a manual transmission by the way. On way back, it began the spittering and sputtering, bucking, and rough idle.

I tend to think you may be getting too much fuel also. You could check the fuel trim numbers using a scanner tool to see if that verifies that. There could be a problem with the fuel pressure regulator. Another thing to check is the coolant temperature sensor for the engine, not the dash gauge. If it shows a cold engine all the time even when hot then the engine will run too rich. This trouble seems even more severe than that though.

Were the old plugs black and wet on the ends?

 

Pull the fuel pump assembly out again and make sure the metal cap isn't cracked.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/130624-2000-outback-fuel-pump-assembly-metal-cap-is-broken/

Edited August 16, 201510 yr by Fairtax4me

hubby pulled out spark plugs, and they weren't even the right ones for the car. they were pretty worn and black. replaced the fuel regulator. still wouldn't start. finally just sent it to a repair shop. they are saying its not getting enough fuel pressure. i hope its not the entire fuel assembly that has gone bad. that's pretty costly.

The caps mentioned in the link above can be replaced for about $60 with parts from amazon. No need to replace the whole $500 unit.

Finally got the car back from the shop. It ended up being the fuel sending unit. Thankfully he was able to locate a used one instead of having to buy a whole new unit. Car is running great now, for the time being. I hope I don't have any more repairs for a few months at least.  Thanks to all that gave suggestions.

Thanks for the update and glad to hear you are back on the road.