rjames Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Still having a hesitation problem that's dogged me for over a year. I have not gone to the dealer as of late because I don't trust them - they had to install a new tranny that cost them $5000 - and I get the impression they intend to recover it from me in other ways. Hopefully some kind subie-guru can help me sort this out! The car: '99 Forester L with an automatic transmission. It has 145,000 km's (approximately 90,000 miles for the US folk). The symptoms: a) The car hesitates when at idle or beginning to accelerate. When driving at about 20 - 30 km/hour or more, it's not an issue. When the temperature is nice ie: 25 C (75 F for US folk) with low humidity - the hesitation decreases to almost nothing. c) When the weather is damp or humid and smoggy, the hesitation is at it's worst. The car practically crawls while accelerating from a stop. But once the car is at a driving speed all seems ok. d) CEL flashed and went out last October - dealer said they found a cylinder-3 misfire code about 1-year ago. e) CEL went on about 2-months ago - I had it check and it was a cylinder-2 misfire. What's been done over the course of the past year: a) New OEM platinum plugs and wire set by a Subaru dealer. New front O2 sensor purchased and installed by the dealer. c) Carbon deposits cleaned last October by the dealer. d) Battery checked and grounding wires tightened. e) Oil changed to synthetic. f) Sea-foam through the pcv, oil and in the gas tank (quite the show!) a month ago. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97subaruGT Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Change the ignition coil. I had a similar issue with Cylinder 2 on humid days. Spend 80 bucks, it takes 10 mins to bolt on. After the fact, i noticed that cylinder 2 plug wire had a lead that retracted into the rubber housing. Maybe I pulled on the wire too hard and the tip backed in so there was not clean contact between the coil and the wire. Check for that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itzik93 Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Also check fuel pressure and validate that the intake manifold and throttle body are clean without vacum leaks. itzik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjames Posted July 18, 2006 Author Share Posted July 18, 2006 Change the ignition coil. I had a similar issue with Cylinder 2 on humid days. Spend 80 bucks, it takes 10 mins to bolt on. After the fact, i noticed that cylinder 2 plug wire had a lead that retracted into the rubber housing. Maybe I pulled on the wire too hard and the tip backed in so there was not clean contact between the coil and the wire. Check for that too. These things aren't easy to come by for $80!!! I live in Canada where UAP wanted $468 for the ignition coil! I called the dealer, who were demanding $338. I then consulted eBay and found one in Ohio for $75 shipping included. I won the auction and paid for it on Sunday. I just found out this morning that he refunded my money because the item "was not as advertised or not in stock." Anyone know of a parts store in the US that would ship an ignition coil to Canada??? I can see a truck load of money being made in shipping high priced auto parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 i agree, replace the ignition coil for sure. i have a couple and so do others on the board. i think there are two styles across EJ motors though and i'm not familiar with which are which. find out which style you need or what other models work on your car and post in the parts wanted section. being hard to find up there, might be best buying two while you're at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hohieu Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 rjames, You say the problem is exacerbated by humidity. It's possible that the epoxy in the coil has cracked. You could try unbolting the coil and resealing the epoxy on the underside with a hot glue gun or a hi temperature epoxy -- it can't hurt to give this cheap fix a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjames Posted July 18, 2006 Author Share Posted July 18, 2006 rjames, You say the problem is exacerbated by humidity. It's possible that the epoxy in the coil has cracked. You could try unbolting the coil and resealing the epoxy on the underside with a hot glue gun or a hi temperature epoxy -- it can't hurt to give this cheap fix a try. Very good point. I'll give that a try before going to eBay again. When you say "hot glue gun" or "hi temperature epoxy" are you referring to the product's ability to withstand heat or the material's application must be hot??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hohieu Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 Hot glue gun melts the glue, which remains relatively flexible after it has cooled -- so in this case it is a hot application. Most types of epoxy become quite brittle and don't stand up to the hot and cold cycles of an engine bay so in this case I'm thinking that there is an epoxy for electrical applications that would be ideal. I've not seen the latter at any of the automotive supply chains, but maybe someone esle can chime in on this. By the way, these hot glue guns melt sticks of glue about the size of a stick of chalk, and they're available at almost any store like Kmart, Walmart, or Sears (I don't know what your Canadian equivalents would be). Maybe a neighbor has one you can borrow. Before you reseal, it may be a good idea to thoroughly clean the surfaces with a solvent like acetone or brake cleaner. Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickensheets Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 Still having a hesitation problem that's dogged me for over a year. I have not gone to the dealer as of late because I don't trust them - they had to install a new tranny that cost them $5000 - and I get the impression they intend to recover it from me in other ways. Hopefully some kind subie-guru can help me sort this out! The car: '99 Forester L with an automatic transmission. It has 145,000 km's (approximately 90,000 miles for the US folk). The symptoms: a) The car hesitates when at idle or beginning to accelerate. When driving at about 20 - 30 km/hour or more, it's not an issue. When the temperature is nice ie: 25 C (75 F for US folk) with low humidity - the hesitation decreases to almost nothing. c) When the weather is damp or humid and smoggy, the hesitation is at it's worst. The car practically crawls while accelerating from a stop. But once the car is at a driving speed all seems ok. d) CEL flashed and went out last October - dealer said they found a cylinder-3 misfire code about 1-year ago. e) CEL went on about 2-months ago - I had it check and it was a cylinder-2 misfire. What's been done over the course of the past year: a) New OEM platinum plugs and wire set by a Subaru dealer. New front O2 sensor purchased and installed by the dealer. c) Carbon deposits cleaned last October by the dealer. d) Battery checked and grounding wires tightened. e) Oil changed to synthetic. f) Sea-foam through the pcv, oil and in the gas tank (quite the show!) a month ago. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. I would try a new fuel filter. Seafoam degunks the GAS TANK along with other stuff. $26 at Autozone and about 5 minutes to replace. rd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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