I recently puchased a 98 Outback with a known headgasket leak. 167,xxxmi 2.5L DOHC

 

Recent Changes include: heads done at local trusted shop and pressure tested, most gaskets and seals replaced, water pump, oil seperator cover, timing belt, tensioner and pullies, crank pully off legacy 2.5, clutch, act streetlight flywheel, and ngk plugs. However, valve shim adjustment was not done.

 

Upon Startup the engine idled noticably rough. Above 1000 rpm the violent shaking and exhaust sound goes away and drives extremely nice. Plenty of power. After driving a few miles I got a cel. I hooked up the scanner from work which said cyl 2 & 4 misfire along with some egr flow something or another.

 

I then checked redid and checked timing multiple times to be certain... still rough. I did a compression check and rechecked plug gap... normal and still rough. I replaced the beldin plug wires with brand new subaru wires one at a time which may or may not have had an effect. I guess they might have helped a small amount.

 

What the hell is going on here? I checked all vaccume lines, electrical connections, fuel lines, basically everything that I could possibly think of.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

 

Shawn

Could valve adjustment be that bad as to cause my problems?

 

I mean everything was marked and replaced just as it was before removal.

 

-Shawn

MAF sensor? if you get any sort of moisture in there, it'll get mighty pissed off

I don't think it's the maf I mean It has been sitting (not removed) with the airbox in the dry garage. It hasn't seen any water.

 

Is it just a coincidence that both misfires are on the left side of the engine?

 

-Shawn

Coilpack took a crap?

Wouldn't I not have spark then? or would it just jump somewhere?

 

-Shawn

This is a good place to start you can take it off and have Auto Zone check it for you, or you can ckeck it with a volt meter the Haynes manual will tell you how, plus if you check it you dont have to take it off. Or maybe you just need a new E.G.R. valve

Coilpack took a crap?

What readings did you get on your compression test?

What readings did you get on your compression test?

 

I don't have the exact numbers on me but average was 175 with a less than 10% difference.

I just checked the E.G.R. valve info. in the Haynes manual, if you can get hold of one it will tell you how to test and clean it, from what I read about it I think it should help you.

This is a good place to start you can take it off and have Auto Zone check it for you, or you can ckeck it with a volt meter the Haynes manual will tell you how, plus if you check it you dont have to take it off. Or maybe you just need a new E.G.R. valve

 

I'll try and test the coilpack tonight.

 

I was told by a mechanic at work that anything egr related shouldn't be causing the severe problems that I am seeing. However, he was talking about egr's in general not subaru specific. IDK and am not sure if he does either.

 

-Shawn

I just checked the E.G.R. valve info. in the Haynes manual, if you can get hold of one it will tell you how to test and clean it, from what I read about it I think it should help you.

 

INTERESTING! This is what I first thought it was but couldn't find much of any info on it.

 

I didn't think that it could be causing misfires though can it?

Yes, it does work with the E.C.U. and what I read in Haynes, sounded pretty much the same as you described it.

INTERESTING! This is what I first thought it was but couldn't find much of any info on it.

 

I didn't think that it could be causing misfires though can it?

Well, I just cleaned out the egr. It was pretty dirty. I put it back together and I've still got the same problems. I manually opened the valve and noticed that it was indeed closed. So, it is clean but it didn't help.:-\

 

Now I'm going to go test the coilpack.

 

Any other ideas?

 

Thanks for the help so far,

Shawn

I just checked the coilpack and got 13.84 and 13.44 kohm secondary resistance. spec is 17.9 to 20something. I'm not entirely sure that I am testing it correctly. The coil only has 980mi on it so I don't think it has any problems.

 

I took the car out and drove it a little harder than normal and as soon as I stopped in front of my driveway and let the car idle down I got a flashing cel 90% sure a missfire. Then I slowly drove it into the garage where I also let it idle again and the cel started blinking after about 15 seconds of idling. I have not got a flashing cel (all have been missfires) that fast one after the other.

 

I can't take much more of this ************! I have to move into my friends house near college on Saturday it looks like I will have to take the wrx... I didn't want to.

 

-Shawn

I have two other suggestions, they may not be worth much but it is what I would check next. I would get a in line plug checker only a few dollars at auto store and see if I had fire coming to each plug. If that checked O.K. I would get a set of noid lights around (20.00 dollars)and test the pigtail connection of the injectors plugs. I had a # 4 misfire and was able to find it with the use of the noid light, mine ended up being the E.C.U. around 500.00 dollars. I still think your problem is most likely connected to that E.G.R. valve, was you able to get the Haynes manual and do the test it called for.

 

I just checked the coilpack and got 13.84 and 13.44 kohm secondary resistance. spec is 17.9 to 20something. I'm not entirely sure that I am testing it correctly. The coil only has 980mi on it so I don't think it has any problems.

 

I took the car out and drove it a little harder than normal and as soon as I stopped in front of my driveway and let the car idle down I got a flashing cel 90% sure a missfire. Then I slowly drove it into the garage where I also let it idle again and the cel started blinking after about 15 seconds of idling. I have not got a flashing cel (all have been missfires) that fast one after the other.

 

I can't take much more of this ************! I have to move into my friends house near college on Saturday it looks like I will have to take the wrx... I didn't want to.

 

-Shawn

When my MAF took a crap, it started with a crappy idle and it proceeded to just make the car undriveable. Maybe your car has the same issue?

Well, here is what I did:

 

coilpack= tested and fine

wires= bought new from subaru

spark plugs= rechecked gap

all sensors look to be functioning good

egr= cleaned and now working

pressure sensor on passenger fender replaced

I could blow through one of the injectors while I couldn't on the others so I replaced it

Everything seems to be functioning as it should.

 

I am still getting misfire codes at idle cyl 2 and 4.

 

I guess I'm going to go mess with timing some more because it is the only thing that I am not 100% sure about.

 

Any other suggestions guys?

Well, here is what I did:

 

coilpack= tested and fine

wires= bought new from subaru

spark plugs= rechecked gap

all sensors look to be functioning good

egr= cleaned and now working

pressure sensor on passenger fender replaced

I could blow through one of the injectors while I couldn't on the others so I replaced it

Everything seems to be functioning as it should.

 

I am still getting misfire codes at idle cyl 2 and 4.

 

I guess I'm going to go mess with timing some more because it is the only thing that I am not 100% sure about.

 

Any other suggestions guys?

 

Maybe fuel injector??

everyone is so complicated, lets start over and more simply.

 

 

Have you sprayed the coils and wires with water at night and look for spark leakage. Cracked coil towers will cause this.

 

the coils are in pairs 1-2 and 3-4. Check those, and clean the MAF sensor.

Also spray the wires leading to the coils.

Check the crank position sensor for dirt

Check the knock sensor.

Also and sadly, double check the engine timing. If the cam and crank sensor are out of synch, it may give you a missfire code. Check this one especially if the car was running smooth before

 

nipper

the coils are in pairs 1-2 and 3-4. .... If the cam and crank sensor are out of synch, it may give you a missfire code. Check this one especially if the car was running smooth before

nipper

 

As an armchair mechanic:headbang: , I was thinking intermittent coil pack. But, Nipper says coil packs fire 1-2 and 3-4. (1=pass front, 2=drivers front, 3 = pass rear, 4=drivers rear). Now I'm liking his cam timing theory as the 2-4 miss could be the drivers side cam out of whack.

 

Good luck,

 

Nick

Well, we redid the timing twice last night. I beleive we only had 50 teeth from crank to intake on the left side where 51 is needed. The reason this occured is because of the ************ty marking on the cams. The indents were actually between where it should be. Oh well, it still isn't perfect but I don't expect it to be. So far I have driven about 30 miles w/ no cel.

 

Thanks for all of your help.

 

Wish me Luck!

 

Shawn