I own a 96 outback wagon with 105000 miles on it. A while back the check engine light came on, and the diagnosis was cylinder 4 misfire. After chaning the plugs and wires, the light went off. A few days ago, the light came back on with the same diagnosis, cylinder 4 misfire.

Most of the time the car runs fine, however it seems like there is a small loss of power. The biggest problem happens when I drive the car after it has been sitting for a few hours and I first start driving. Going up some hills when I first start driving, the car doesn't accelerate properly, and doesn't easily downshift, and after this happens, when I slow down or stop, the car dies, but when I start it back up, it seems to run fine. Does anybody have any ideas on what is going on? Please help, I'd appreciate it very much.

I own a 96 outback wagon with 105000 miles on it. A while back the check engine light came on, and the diagnosis was cylinder 4 misfire. After chaning the plugs and wires, the light went off. A few days ago, the light came back on with the same diagnosis, cylinder 4 misfire.

Most of the time the car runs fine, however it seems like there is a small loss of power. The biggest problem happens when I drive the car after it has been sitting for a few hours and I first start driving. Going up some hills when I first start driving, the car doesn't accelerate properly, and doesn't easily downshift, and after this happens, when I slow down or stop, the car dies, but when I start it back up, it seems to run fine. Does anybody have any ideas on what is going on? Please help, I'd appreciate it very much.

 

 

 

I wonder if you have a clogged or faulty #4 injector?

3Pin, do you know how I could go about checking to see if that is the problem?

You can check that inj. with a mechanix stehscope you can pick one up at the Auto store it will have a long steel rod that is connected to a ear peice, put the rod on the inj. and see if you can hear it clicking, listen to the good ones so you will know what it should sound like. Also get you a in line spark checker this plugs on to the plug and the plug wire plugs into the other end their is a little glass window you can see if you are getting fire. If you are not getting fire try replacing that plug wire first. If that inj. is not clicking then use a noid light and plug in to the end of the inj. pigtail and see if it is getting information from the E.C.U. These things the stehscope, plug checker and noid lights can be had for around 30.00 dollars and they will be useful many times later also.

3Pin, do you know how I could go about checking to see if that is the problem?

I had a 00 dodge van with a 3.3 that did the same and it turned out to be a burnt exhaust valve. I hope it is not that for you. A compression test would eliminate that.

I think the problem may be the electronic ignition control module. We've had the module fail in both a '95 and a '96 Legacy. The code both times was a cylinder misfire (the cause of your loss of power) and the symptoms you're experiencing sound similar to what we had. The module sits on top of the engine and the four spark plug wires connect to it. It takes the place of the distributor typically found in older cars. Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone that's putting in their ideas, hopefully one of them works. The car is running just fine now, which would be nice if I wasn't trying to diagnose the problem. Where is the best place to look for parts for my subaru? How difficult is it to replace the EICM in a '96 2.5 and how much is the acutal unit?