Hey guys.....I have a 1996 Legacy Sedan EJ22 and was wondering if it is at all possible for a clogged PCV valve to cause a misfire.....it doesnt seem like it would at all but i thought i would just check anyway.....

mm...I don't think so but I could be wrong. Common causes of soob misfire on that era are (a) non NGK spark plugs, ( non OEM spark plug wires or old spark plug wires, © carbon buildup or other cause of valves not closing complety.

yeah im kind of trying to milk this whole misfire thing before i go digging into internals.......thanks for your knowledge porcupine

What kind of misfire? Like at idle, under load, all the time? One cyl dead, random missfires?

a misfire in cyl #2 just at idle.....

I would vote for plugs and wires to check first...and if you are concerned about PCV go a head and change it-if you havent changed on car then it may need to bechanged anyay. Not meaning to sound like a heathen, I use autolite plugs, parts store wires(insist on the lifetime guarenty ones), Stant thermostats, etc on my subies, no problems.

 

Also check for cracked vac lines and leaks in accessories-they can cause you to chase many other things.

thanks gbrand....i will take all the info i can get.....

Is it possible that if the injector connectors were swapped say from cyl. 2 to cyl. 4 that i would only have a missfire in cyl. 2?

Does the car burn oil? If the PCV valve is malfunctioning, and the car is burning oil, that could cause a plug to foul and misfire.

no i have a ton of oil leaks but thats just a subaru for you....no its not burning oil....i noticed that the cyl 2 and cyl 4 Fuel Injector plugs were swapped...i swapped them back and now it seems as though everything is fine....i let it idle for about 30 minutes and no codes and i didnt hear the miss at all.....all good for now!

[...]i noticed that the cyl 2 and cyl 4 Fuel Injector plugs were swapped...i swapped them back and now it seems as though everything is fine....i let it idle for about 30 minutes and no codes and i didnt hear the miss at all.....all good for now!

How did you identify which connector was which so that you knew they were swapped?

Well i have been reading some posts on here about how the white connectors are for the front 2 cylinders and the black/gray connectors are for the rear two cylinders....also i was browsing over a wiring diagram and just shot a look at the wire colors......im so thankful that it wasnt an internal engine problem....the car does have 185,000 miles on it....

I would say you've got a 70% chance of internal breakages in the plug wires - especially if they are the original wires.

 

It's a good place to start. You could try just purchasing the wire for #2 - to avoid spending too much money.

I have avoided this on by the fact that I can be somewaht anal and label thing I take apart. I can just see myself doing this and going nuts as Nipper trying to find the reason. for it.