April 1, 200521 yr I LOVE my "new" '97 Outback Limited. Great car. It's got just shy of 100k miles on it and is going strong. One question though... What controls the idling rpm? I've noticed that sometimes it'll idle at 1500 and sometimes at 800. Why would this change? My old car did this too. Thanks, Reid
April 1, 200521 yr The Idle is controled by the ECU. The ECU will very the idle speed based on engine temp and load. When the engine is warm 800 rpm is about right and when the engine is cold 1500 is about right. Also if the AC or Defroster is on, the engine will idle faster to compensate for the added load of the AC compressor.
April 2, 200520 yr GLCraigGT: That little blue fella to the left of your name? Is that what a head-gasket leak looks like?
April 2, 200520 yr GLCraigGT: That little blue fella to the left of your name? Is that what a head-gasket leak looks like? No, that is what a Subaru Owner looks like when his (or her) headgasket blows, and they see the bill. . . I also have a question about idle speed. On my '92, it tends to "hunt" a bit. Is this a clear indication of some condition or other (O2 sensor going? TPS? Something else?)?
April 2, 200520 yr No, that is what a Subaru Owner looks like when his (or her) headgasket blows, and they see the bill. . . I also have a question about idle speed. On my '92, it tends to "hunt" a bit. Is this a clear indication of some condition or other (O2 sensor going? TPS? Something else?)? The hunting is usually either a vacuum leak (check all the hoses around the throttle body or perhaps the MAF air flow unit
February 26, 201115 yr what about cleaning the idle air control valve (IAC)? That seems to remedy some of these high rpm problems.
February 26, 201115 yr what about cleaning the idle air control valve (IAC)? That seems to remedy some of these high rpm problems. I agree that it is also very likely a vac leak or bad ECU temp sensor (on the coolant pipe that runs over the bock and under the intake manifold, passenger side).
February 26, 201115 yr my 97 Legacy OBW had a terrible erratic idle about 2 months ago. i checked every hose on that thing. no vacuum leaks. i removed and cleaned the iacv and that fixed it. btw, if you do clean the iacv make sure to replace the gasket with a new one. curtis
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now