Well, it's not my car. It's my mother-in-law's '96 Impreza ej22. She doesn't have a computer, so I'm posting this question.

 

Well, it started when she was going up hill, under load. The engine lost power, as if it were only running on 3 cyls (probably was) and the CEL started flashing. After she got to the top of the hill, the problem corrected itself and the car ran fine. She took it to Auto Zone and had the codes pulled. Misfire Cyl #2. The car did this before, back in the summer, shortly after she got the car. After months of troubleshooting, she finaly took it to the stealership and had them look it over. They cleaned the throttle body and TIGHTENED THE SPARK PLUGS. Well, it seems her regular mechanic forgot to tightent them enough when he replaced them. They are NGK plugs. The wires were replaced then too, although they are not OEM, as was the knock sensor, as it went kurpluee at the same time. She said she would pick up the OEM wires. Still, I do not see how this could be causing it. The problem was cured for over 6 months and just suddenly came back. She drove up the same hill this morning and said it ran fine.:-\ The car's got everyone stumped.

 

As I said before, the car did this same thing about 6-8 months ago but seemed to be cured. The code pulled was always Misfire #2 except for one occasion when it was misfire #3. Other than that, the problem has been very consistent.

 

If anyone has any ides about what could be going on, please respond. Any suggestions will be welcomed.

 

Thanks.

Just bumping this so it doesn't get burried. I won't be be back to the computer for several hours.

Thanks.

subiefan,

 

My 97 OBW had a similar misfire on #3 that checked out fine when plugs, wires and ignition coil were all tested. The Subie Tech then replaced one item at a time until he no longer got the misfire code. The first item he replaced was the ignition coil (even though it had previously tested OK) and he got no more error codes. The misfire was cured. Is it possible for you to latch onto a known good coil, change it for yours long enough to see if it cures the problem? Good Luck!

subiefan,

 

My 97 OBW had a similar misfire on #3 that checked out fine when plugs, wires and ignition coil were all tested. The Subie Tech then replaced one item at a time until he no longer got the misfire code. The first item he replaced was the ignition coil (even though it had previously tested OK) and he got no more error codes. The misfire was cured. Is it possible for you to latch onto a known good coil, change it for yours long enough to see if it cures the problem? Good Luck!

I agree with gbhrps sound like the coil pact, my car had nearly the same symptoms and that was what was wrong with mine.

Yes, may be possible. I will see.

 

Thanks.

It's a long shot, but are the coils on the '93 ej18 and the '96 ej22 the same? They look the same, but I don't suppose they are. If they were, I could swap 'em and see if the problem moves too. Just looking for clues. I guess it's not as expensive as I thought though...$71 on 1stsbuarparts.

Thanks.

My '02 Forester had similar symptoms, turned out to be bad fuel injector.

My wife's 99 Legacy just got through that - it was the coil. Sometimes the code was #1 misfire, sometimes #2 and sometimes both. It was usually on a hill where she was laying into the throttle a bit - not getting a good fire with the extra mix heading it's way.

I should say I first replaced the plugs and it was good for a while with the restored gap on the new plugs. Once the plugs wore in a bit, the spark wouldn't jump again and the cycle started over.

That's exactly what this car is doing. Up hill with the throttle on a bit. Hmm....sounds like it's the coil. Would checking the resistance as my Chiltons states do any good? Or just replace and hope?

 

Thanks so much.