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Comments
Does anybody know the airflow pattern thru the cabin air filters? Are they positioned before (I hope) the evaporator & heater core to protect them? I am thinking of adding the kit to my base OBW.
Steve
-juice
-juice
I took the car to Autozone and had the error code read, misfire in cylinder four. I changed the plugs at ~60,000 to Bosch platinum +4 and new wires. The girl at Autozone said I can clean the plugs but she doesn't know how. Oh well I guess I'll just pull out the plug and put in completely new ones if I have to. I think I will invest in an OBD-II reader or software and interface for my laptop. (OH BOY! NEW TOY, NEW TOY!!)
Thanks
Mike
I had a misfire a long time ago and they reset it. It was fine after that (no repair required).
-juice
-Brett
juice: bristle brush or old toothbrush. I would never wax the fins, that'd just cause the problem to recur sooner (gives those bugs someting to hold onto). I'd also wear a good pair of leather gloves if I was reaching down in there. I've sliced open too many fingertips replacing and repairing radiators not to do otherwise.
Ed
-Colin
Freak exception, maybe? ;-)
-juice
You were advising to clean plugs-- I said that's silly.
Change yours, tell me your results. Real numbers or butt-dyno... doesn't matter.
-Colin
I'm trying to wait until 60k just to stay on a schedule. You think I'll remember at 106k? I can't remember to pack my cell phone every morning! ;-)
-juice
Also, knew the A/C heat exchanger unit was the cleaning that helped, but didn't want to confuse anyone. Cleaning both it and the actual engine radiator at the same time is both desirable and inevitable since they're sandwiched. Good call on the insulation of the return line.
IdahoDoug
Steve
Phase 2 engines use copper plugs and 30k changes.
Also, I've had cars in the past that had plain copper plugs from the factory even when the manual very specifically called out a special (silver!) plug.
Jim
On hot days the air is less dense, so you'll lose power regardless of the octane you use. It's not so much that everyone would notice, though.
But if the air is less dense, you have less effective compression, so pre-ignition is actually less likely. Octane becomes less important, not more.
-juice
Well I ordered NGK iridium IX plugs, they should be here next week. I really don't want to change plugs every 20K miles. I have the phase I engine, changing plugs is not an easy or fun job. Space is VERY tight down there.
The Bosch plugs are pregapped but not correctly, I had to regap them when I installed them the first time.
I also wondered about the ignition coil. I think I'll look into aftermarket ones, maybe from MSD.
I am going to go back to Autozone and have them clear the CEL. If it comes on again I am going to change everything - coil, wires, and plugs.
Thanks everybody for all the help and input.
Mike
But when it is due to a rise in temperature, my experience has been that an increase in octane may be required. The problem is that higher temperatures tax the entire engine system. Greater A/C use (higher dwell cycle for the compressor), plus greater heat at the condensor impedes engine compartment cooling, raising coolant temperatures and thus cylinder temps. Lift the hood and feel the blast on a hot day! Overall engine temp is up, as is the intake charge temp from the higher ambient air, plus the heat transfer from all of that duct work. Even the fuel rails heat, which may adversely affect fuel metering. Gasoline becomes less stable at elevated temps, so knocking increases. The knock sensor "hears" it, and retards the timing. Instant loss of power! I also once read that retarded ignition generates more internal heat, so the situation may feed on itself.
I do believe that this is one of the times when an engine might indeed benefit from slightly higher octane, and that the results might be noticeable in both power and fuel economy.
Steve
http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuels/gas_qanda/api_octane.shtml
I also do carry loads and go up hills. Considering it is only $2-3.00 more a tankful I might stick with Premium. Any negatives to using it other than wasting money?
At one time, only better fuel had good detergents. These are needed to keep deposits from forming on intake valves which can interfere with the consistency of fuel/air mixing. But minimum govt standards probably insure an adequate level in most all fuels today.
I use regular 90+% of the time, and add a tank of mid or premium when I plan on doing something taxing. I don't think you will go wrong with this strategy.
Steve
Don't believe the guy that works for an oil company, though.
(just teasing.)
-Colin
Steve
You got your reply in as I was typing. I was replying to Rebecca's 'it won't hurt' question with a simple "nope."
Don't have any issue with what you said... other than adding that it does take much more than one tank for an engine to "learn" it has premium if you hear knocking on a tank of regular. If you hear knock, YES, the right thing to do is switch to premium and decrease throttle input at that load / rpm until you've done a few tanks of premium.
Also, depending on the brand sometimes you can only get the good detergents in premium grades. Chevron's Techron additive is head-and-shoulder above everything else right now, so if you don't have a local Chevron retail outlet, consider buying the additive itself at an autoparts store.
-Colin
I was gonna say that! LOL
Chevron uses Techron in every grade, FWIW.
-juice
To summarize, last year they replaced the condensor on my 98 Legacy as it was leaking badly and it was fine all last summer.The year before that it was real low on refirgerant and so they recharged, put dye in then , which they could tell was leaking from condensor last year.
This year a few weeks back, it still seemed to be working, though at idle it didn't seem to be as cool as it should be (or was).
I noticed dye leaking at the drier (they had replaced that last year too). Initially dealer claimed a/c was working fine as it was blowing cold (they measured 49deg) and there was no leak and the dye was left over from last years leak.
Week later I can see the dye bubbling at the drier. They replace the o rings and recharged. Its even less cool than before now. They top up the refrigerant and put more dye in , suspecting another leak.Initially it was much cooler again.
But now there is a knocking noise, I think from condensor, they say its the clutch for the belt drive an dnothing to worry about.The knocking noise I think goes away when you rev the engine but then since its noisy its difficult to be sure. While it is nice and icey when the car is moving, when its idling its barely cooling at all.
Checked my WRX, its blowing 50 deg even after idling for 15 minutes, my Legacy will blow 75 at that point, If I'm at highway speed it blows mid 50's though which is great.
The dealer I'm dealing with is driving me nuts though they do seem to be trying. But I think they are just clueless. Their techs all look like they just got out of high school. They can never keep any experienced ones.
So does anyone know why if my system is charged up and not obviously leaking anymore , it can cool adequately when the car is running at speed but nothing happens much at idle and could there be a knocking sound related to the problem!
I'll give these guys one more try, hopefully guided with some advice from folks here. Otherwise its to another dealer or I'll pay out of pocket and have a real Sube mechanic look at it but I still have my ext warranty till Feb 04!But all this is taking up my time and as they say time is money!
-Brian
-Colin
1- Inspect EGR valve and clean passage. Where is this valve and passage?
2- I've never re programmed the engine control management system. Is this a dealer job or would disconnecting the battery achieve the same result?
cheers
Monitoring the temp of the evaporator and the cold air flow is a thermocouple. If it 'feel' too warm, it tells the expansion valve to open, increasing the freon flow. The increased flow drops the head pressure more rapidly, and the compressor is told to run more continuously (greater 'on' time compared to the 'off' time). So from this, you can see that at idle in the sun, the expansion valve should be near wide open, and the compressor should be on almost continuously. At highway speed the compressor should be loafing. A bad thermocouple, or poor placement (shook loose and dropped) can give poor performance.
This info is also fed back to the ECU, which, among other things, ups the idle speed to compensate for the compressor's drag on the engine. The slightly increased idle also increases the compressors efficiency greatly - some simply do a poor job (especially as the seals wear) at 600 rpm yet really come alive at 800 rpm. You should see it on the tach, and feel it.
Watch the clutch - you should see the center portion spin when you hear the click, and disengage when it de-energizes. If it blows warm yet you hear a lot of fast cycling (every 1-2 seconds), or if it is simply off most of the time, something is messed up in the system logic. Maybe the strange sound you hear is the clutch trying to engage but slipping? System voltage is lowest at idle. As Brian said, maybe the clutch isn't getting enough power to engage solidly. Or as Colin suggested, the 'new' condensor might have a problem such as a clog. If they didn't get out all of the moisture when they opened the system last, you could get internal icing as well. Without a gauge set, A/C problems are difficult to diagnose.
At least this might give you a better understanding of what to look for.
Steve
I went ahead and changed that at 30k miles. The old one was still working. You can actually blow into it, in both directions, to test it. Clean it first, of course.
I would not reset the ECU, not if everything is working well. Try this, put the key in and look for the check engine light. Then turn her on, and that light should come off (obviously). That's it, you've "checked" the system, note that in your service records.
Just changed the oil in the Subie and in the Miata. I love how easy it is with the Forester because of the clearance you have to work. The Miata is so low, and the oil filter is a pain to get to (I burn my arms every time).
So, thanks to Subaru, only one arm is burned, not both! ;-)
-juice
She'll be zooming along in traffic and with no warning the check engine light will be flashing, there's no power (even floored), the engine runs rough (bucking) and the rpms are high (~5000). So far each time she's been able to make it to the side of the road safely. Once it has been turned off and restarted the car is OK (check engine light on). My wife says she's just lucky she hasn't gotten killed yet.
Our dealer has never found anything except the computer says misfire. They've gone over the ignition thoroughly, replaced oxygen sensor(s) and so on. The last work they tried was to remove carbon on/near the intake valves with compressed air but "misfire" happened again. We've drawn the line at replacing the heads since they can't guarantee that'd fix it.
A radio program she heard recently said that it's a known problem that doesn't happen on Subarus (super boo-boos?) made after '96.
Anyone ever heard of this? I happen to own an identical '95 Outback (manufactured a few days later) but mine has been fine. Has anyone out there got a fix or a similar experience?
Thank you very much.
EGR = Exhaust Gas Recirculation. This is an attempt (IIRC) to control NOx (?) by dropping combustion temperatures by feeding some of the exhaust gas back into the intake manifold. I really don't know where (or if) this is employed on these engines, although I assume it is. Look for a tube running from an exhaust manifold (or the crossover pipe itself) and the intake tract downstream of the throttle butterfly. I will look tonight and see if I can identify it.
STeve
Here's the PCV:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15- - - 5174
All EJ series engines use the same PCV valve.
-Colin
-juice
Is there another sensor that prevents the clutch from engaging for any other reason at low rpms?
Steve
No EGR? Wonderful. I have always wondered what [non-permissible content removed] thought that one up. The very thought of intentionally feeding poison back into an engine appalled me. My first encounter was when my father brought home a new '73 Ford. Prior years didn't use it. Absolutely killed driveability. It used a vacuum controller to turn it on just off idle, which caused the engine to bog. Once I understood it all, I added a vacuum delay valve to give a few seconds of relief.
And it played havoc with reliability. In those days the exhaust was routed to a aluminum spacer plate below the carb, which would rot out in a few years, often damaging the carb itself.
Good to see we can control with electronics and eliminate these old style patches.
Steve
A flashing CEL is a serious issue, I suspect it's the ECU failing. The dealer probably reset it, if not, I would do that myself.
You might also benefit from the Single Point Ground modification that was discussed on Nabisco a while ago. That seemed to exorcise any electrical gremlins a few people had.
Dermot: I agree that's normal behavior. Remember, you let off the gas and you have engine braking affected all 4 wheels, you certainly will slow down pretty quick.
-juice
John
Also had the undercoating recall -- ah, the smell of fresh rustproofing!
And...replaced a belt tensioner that was creating a small racket.
Jon
Steve
-mike
-mike
-Dave
-mike