dj3stripes Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 So I'm driving on a busy road last night with about 1/8 of a tank of gas when my car just dies. I managed to pull off onto a side street with the momentum I had. It took about 5minutes but the good ole subaru finally kicked back over and I was off. The only difference between before it died and after I got it fired up was the lovely CEL was on. No knocking, no dimming of dash lights, or anything like that. I drove it today to work with the CEL on as well. I damn near ran it dry of gas before filling it back up and bam, CEL is gone. Do I need to be concerned? I don't have an OBD II to put on it (nor would I know what to do with it)...... Also I read a very inspiring post of how somebody on this board got their oil leak issue resolved. This is too big of a task for me (I think it's the rear main from what the previous owner told me) How much should I be prepared to pay to have this done at a national chain/dealer???? 95 legacy ls 4 cyl 2.2 automatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 I wouldnt be concerned........obviously if it pops back up i would take it to autozone and have the code pulled...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj3stripes Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 I wouldnt be concerned........obviously if it pops back up i would take it to autozone and have the code pulled...... I was trying to remember where they did free code reads, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 autozone and advanced both pull them for free. if you want us to help you make sure you get the actual code and not what the person tells you. get the 4 digit number. first - make SURE it's the rear main seal. post pictures and maybe we can help and preferrably clean it first and drive for a bit otherwise it may be too dirty to tell. rear mains very rarely leak in subaru's. as for the rear main seal. that's a huge job because it requires pulling the engine (or tranmission) to do. you'll be in the $400-$600 range to replace an $8 seal. you'll want to replace the rear separator plate too - there's an updated metal one for it. that's why i say make sure it's the rear main. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj3stripes Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 excellent information thanks a lot. How do you recommend cleaning the underside? I live in an apartment and don't have access to a garden hose, but I can take it to a touchless wash do it yourself bay. Also by parking at an apartment complex, i dont have the liberty of having my own spot. 4-600, eek.................question is, would this be a good investment on a car that has 114k miles? It's a very small leak as between oil changes the level is very slight if at all decreased, it just smells from time to time like burning oil. Also it's always trembled when stopped at a light , but i take it out of gear and it's fine, i've just dealt with it since i bought it. I really do like the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 take a deep breath - i don't think you need to pay to have your rear main replaced...but there's a lot to this story so pardon the length. smell - look at your axle boots where they meet the transmission and make sure they aren't leaking or busted? my guess is the oil leak is not a rear main seal at all. if there's any oil coming from the front or sides of the engine...that's not a rear main seal - unless you drive backwards down the freeway!! take a peak and let us know where it's oily (or post a picture of the underside of engine). my bet is it's on the sides of the engine or the front. then pop the hood and look at the backside of the engine, there's a cap on the passengers side with two bolts in it. is that leaking? you could crawl under and wipe everything down really good. get a box of those shop towels..they're like really strong paper towels. cheap and throw away. if you clean this thing off and wiped it down good it may quit smelling if it is the oil causing the smell. it's probably got 5 years of leakage under there that's dripping and hitting the exhaust. 114k on a 95 Ej22 - definitely a keeper. if you don't over heat it or run it out of oil that motor will last as long as you care to keep doing maintenance on it. that's regarded as one of subaru's best motors in terms of reliability. you're nearly do for a timing belt - if it's ever been replaced at all, it should have been replaced once by now - 60,000 mile intervals. most likely one of the seals behind it is leaking - a cam seal/oring or crank seal. when you go to have your next timing belt done either have them replace them all or replace the ones that are leaking. i can almost promise that one of them is causing your leak. if you're not even loosing one quart between changes then that's a very minor leak. check your valve cover gaskets and replace if they're leaking. if you post pictures we can tell you if they're leaking or not. they are very cheap and very easy to replace. keep an eye on it and plan to replace some seals with your next timing belt change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj3stripes Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 thanks a million gary, whenever it perks up here in nebraska i'll get right on it. the main problem is i'll have to break out the chilton's and figure out where those parts are located under there. give me a computer and i'll fix it, give me a car, and i'm pretty brainless. in fact i've got a pc in the car with fewer problems than the car itself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj3stripes Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 BOO! so it happened again, same scneario except it started up after 2 attempts. Later on after i had my lunch i took it to an autozone and they claim that they haven't a single OBDII tester in town (they were all stolen). I went to leave and again it did not start. Took about 4 attempts before I got it going. CEL is still on......... it's boggling. only corelation between the two is I was doing 55MpH and slowing to a stop when it happened both times....... sigh. great bday present Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj3stripes Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 sorry to beat a dead horse i've tried searching and have become frusterated so i apologize (again) where would i plug in an OBDII tester? I've found a parts store than "loans them" but will not pull the codes for me. I'm assuming for liability....... me and my dad are going to change the fuel filter and pray it helps the random stalls that i've been having every couple of weeks between tanks of gas. I'm fairly certain it's a fuel issue as the car tries to crank with no problem other than it won't catch. aside from plugging it in, what else do i need to know about using the odb2 tester? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screwbaru2 Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Look on the dash drivers side about 2-4 inches down from where the dash starts to angle toward the firewall. You'll see a small door/hatch it may say OBDII on it I not sure but that's the connector. As far as what eles you have to do I couldn't tell you unless you have a SnapOn scanner. After you plug it in turn the key on and follow the instructions that come up. It is after all only a little computer so use your skills. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj3stripes Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 thanks for the reply. i took it to oreily's and they let me borrow their tool, very very easy to navigate. lovely P0340 camshaft position sensor circuit malfunction. I've been digging on the forums and it looks like it's gotta be replaced. can't find one here in omaha but being that this problem is intermittent i think it'll be ok to wait for it to get shipped in. is 43bux a fair price from advanced auto, or should i look elsewhere? went ahead and bought a new air filter (easy) and fuel filter (looks easy but first time doing it) just for the heck of it. I figure i'll clean the contacts on that sensor while i'm in there. Also gonna try to wipe off any oil build up and snap a few photos to show everybody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outbackusjunkus Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Delete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj3stripes Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 well i'm not sure what a sensor is supposed to look like when it goes bad but the contacts on both ends look sparkling clean, the wires had no breaks. I didnt take it off, just unplugged it as i didnt have a replacement to put on. we replaced the fuel filter and air filter. i've attached some pictures showing how oiled up the drivers side of my engine is. we're going to power wash it off another day and check later to see where the mess is coming from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj3stripes Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 ok, last post (i'm pretty sure) but i wanted to show pictures for those who are as timid as i was about working on my own car. EASIEST repair possible............. this lovely device is just where it was described between the timing belt housing and the oil fill. Mine was filthy, i'm not sure if this filth had anything to do with the failure but I managed to wipe away some of the build up around the area as well just for good measure, here are pictures of my bad sensor. I just hope I can now look forward to not randomly stalling/having problems restarting. Thanks for everybody's input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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