Very High RPM's after Timing belt replacement

[Mark Humble]

Next time you take the car for a drive try this. Once you are at steady speed, say 60, without lifting off the throttle, start pushing in the clutch slowly. Watch the revs and see how far down the clutch pedal goes before the revs start to rise. The revs should start to rise between 1/4 to 1/3 of the way to the floor. This is the point at which the throwout bearing starts taking the load of the clutch spring. If the revs go up as soon as you start to press the pedal, then the clutch needs to be adjusted, if it is adjustable. As a clutch wears, the point at which the pedal disengages the clutch gets higher and higher.

 

However, you "said pressure wash", could be a whole other can of worms. One other thing to take note of is, does it realy do this in all the gears. or just the upper gears. A clutch won't slip as much in 1st as it will in 5th. This all said, I'm not to sure the clutch is slipping. The more info. the better.

[1 Lucky Texan]

Was there any tire/wheel installation done? Could you have smaller tires?

 

I dunno, but this is a manual, and 'assuming other normal factors' the symptom reported is diagnostic for slipping clutch. Yes, if it's cable operated (someone here should know) it may need an adjustment, less likely with hydraulic but perhaps there is a blockage not releasing pressure completely or something.

 

I'm going with Occam's Razor til more info is introduced. She said - what 115K? has it ever had a clutch? Wouldn't it be due for one?

 

I dunno

[a97obw]

Well, for what it's worth, my 97 Legacy Outback wagon with the 2.5 engine, 5 speed manual and stock 15" wheels with OEM type Michelin tires runs about 3200 RPM at 70 MPH. Across the board, my 92 Legacy AWD wagon with the 2.2 and the automatic running the stock 14" wheels and tires is 15 MPH faster than the outback at the same engine speed on the highway.

[Setright]

Is it possible that the mechanic liked your wheels so much that he stole them? And fitted smaller ones on your car?

[Al_SemC]

Incidentally, do you smell the clutch lining burning up? Cruising any distance with a slipping clutch is going to heat it up something fearsome. You might not smell it while you're going, but you will when you get off the freeway and sit at a light. That would be an indication of a dying clutch.

[Raindog]

Here is some more info. No. I did not change the tires, only the belts, seals, new water pump, idler bearing kit for timing belt, and an O.P.S. unit (??). I've had the car for 5 years and know where it normally runs. As soon as I got the car back and took it on the highway, I noticed my rpms were higher than they used to be... umcomfortably so. I do notice the ration of mph to rpms higher in the higher gears but it is also showing up a little in 1st and 2nd. I live in a little mountain town where our speed limit (in town) is 15MPH! I used to drive it in first and shift to second at about 18-20mph. Now I am too high in 1st or low in 2nd. This '96 has the smaller 2.2 engine. Someone mentioned problems from a pressure wash?? Like what?

My mechanic tested for the clutch on the highway and doesn't think that's the problem. The rpms don't fluctuate. They just stay high. I wouldn't care if that is how it normally ran...but it isn't. I don't feel comfortable "cruising" on a highway at 70-75 with it almost at 4k rpms. Your responses are very appreciated!

[1 Lucky Texan]

Here is some more info. No. I did not change the tires, only the belts, seals, new water pump, idler bearing kit for timing belt, and an O.P.S. unit (??). I've had the car for 5 years and know where it normally runs. As soon as I got the car back and took it on the highway, I noticed my rpms were higher than they used to be... umcomfortably so. I do notice the ration of mph to rpms higher in the higher gears but it is also showing up a little in 1st and 2nd. I live in a little mountain town where our speed limit (in town) is 15MPH! I used to drive it in first and shift to second at about 18-20mph. Now I am too high in 1st or low in 2nd. This '96 has the smaller 2.2 engine. Someone mentioned problems from a pressure wash?? Like what?

My mechanic tested for the clutch on the highway and doesn't think that's the problem. The rpms don't fluctuate. They just stay high. I wouldn't care if that is how it normally ran...but it isn't. I don't feel comfortable "cruising" on a highway at 70-75 with it almost at 4k rpms. Your responses are very appreciated!

 

5 years huh. Do you know if it has ever gotten a new clutch?

 

So - what DOES the mech think?

 

(are we on camera? this is getting crazy.)

[Mark Humble]

Try putting a shop tach. on the engine to see if tach. in the car is reading correctly. The pressure wash may have got water in some of the electrical connectors or ignition components. If you were driving a Justy I would say it was the Electronic Constantly Variable Transaxel. Dosn't sound like the revs are near high enough to be in low range. If you aren't smelling the clutch then it probably isn't the clutch.

[cookie]

I have to look at a BMW soon with the same issue and I'll let you know what I find there.

I bet one of you guys knows what her final drive ratio should be right? A bit of math should show what her ROMs should be at a given speed.

The other point is that the tach may have been low before and the new work corrected it.

[1 Lucky Texan]

Here is some more info. No. I did not change the tires, only the belts, seals, new water pump, idler bearing kit for timing belt, and an O.P.S. unit (??). I've had the car for 5 years and know where it normally runs. As soon as I got the car back and took it on the highway, I noticed my rpms were higher than they used to be... umcomfortably so. I do notice the ration of mph to rpms higher in the higher gears but it is also showing up a little in 1st and 2nd. I live in a little mountain town where our speed limit (in town) is 15MPH! I used to drive it in first and shift to second at about 18-20mph. Now I am too high in 1st or low in 2nd. This '96 has the smaller 2.2 engine. Someone mentioned problems from a pressure wash?? Like what?

My mechanic tested for the clutch on the highway and doesn't think that's the problem. The rpms don't fluctuate. They just stay high. I wouldn't care if that is how it normally ran...but it isn't. I don't feel comfortable "cruising" on a highway at 70-75 with it almost at 4k rpms. Your responses are very appreciated!

 

If you hid the tach behind a piece of paper and drove the car - would you say it sounds,feels,seems as if it is running at higher rpms? Even if this is an electrical issue with electrical noise being detected as revolutions, why wouldn't it be occuring at idle as well?

 

I dunno

[Raindog]

OK

I just drove it on the highway and the rpms have come down just a little?!?! This is after 600miles of it running "too high". It is not back to what it was but better. The sound of the engine as it approaches 3000rpms is not the straining, burdened whine it had been making. Only when I reach about 70 does it begin that sound, which it didn't do until 75+ before. Hiding the tach is a good idea, and yes, it is still idling at around 500 when warm.

If you hid the tach behind a piece of paper and drove the car - would you say it sounds,feels,seems as if it is running at higher rpms? Even if this is an electrical issue with electrical noise being detected as revolutions, why wouldn't it be occuring at idle as well?

 

I dunno

[a97obw]

Ok, here goes:

 

 

 

1) You've got a glob of crud on the crank angle sensor, or it is loose. It is in the top of the cast aluminum oil pump cover and is secured by a single 10mm "across the flats" bolt. You can see it right in the center of the engine below the alternator and above the plastic timing belt cover.

 

2) You got some really crummy gasoline and the engine is advancing the timing to compensate.

 

3) Your fuel filter is so clogged up that the fuel pressure at the injectors is out of parameter and the ECU is making up for that. Has anybody suggested disconnecting the battery in order to reset the ECU (read "computer")? And what was it with the 96 Outbacks requiring premium gas? Was it the 2.2 or was that the first of the 2.5s?

 

 

 

Note: I wouldn't go to the bank with either of the 3, but who knows?