CEL ?'s

[RABID_SUB]

A friend of mine just purchased a 97 Outback (2.5 5-speed)It started throwing a CEL right after he got it. The OBD2 says it has a misfire in the first cylinder. He said that he had a mechanic at the local Stealer take a look at it, and he could have swore that the guy said that it was misfiring in the second cylinder. He said that he could be wrong. This was alsoabout 1'500 miles ago if that matters. Today we swaped his coil pack out with mine to see if that was it, but the CEL came on again. After I reset it it stays off for the first drive, but after you start the car the second time, it comes on after the first mile. My guesses are timing, plugs, or wiires. The guy at the local Advanced Auto said it could also be an issue with the injectors. The car has around 135,000 miles on it, and I belive that the timing belt was just replaced. Anyone have any ideas?

[Huffer]

the OBDii code will tell you where the misfire is.

[Legacy4Life]

I've got the same code on mine right now.

I just replaced the wires and plugs. They needed to be donw, but the code came back.

When I replaced the plugs though cylinder 1 was burnt bad, as if maybe it was running lean. Now I'm suspecting injector problems as well.

I'm going to try one of those injector adders and see.

[RABID_SUB]

Funny that you should say that, we replaced the plugs and wires on monday. plug one was burnt and the light is staying on. I need to find the problem soon. Thanks for your help.

[Legacy4Life]

Well, I got some STP injector cleaner today. Put the whole bottle in about 2/3 of a tank of gas. (some say it's better to run it in less than a full tank. Stronger I guess.)

So far, the light hasn't come back on and I drove about 250 kms today.

[RABID_SUB]

Well that didn't work. If anyone else has any ideas please let me know.

[Legacy4Life]

Mine's back on again... a week later! Grrr :(

[AussieDan]

I just took the legacy on a 450mile round trip and got multiple cyl 1 & 2 misfires on the first leg of the trip, highway for about 100 miles between 75 and 80mph.

I stopped and reset the codes, and it went the rest of the way there without problems.

I also suspected dirty injectors, so I got a bottle of seafoam and gave it the full treatment, 1/3 bottle in the brake booster line and the other 2/3 in a 1/4 full tank, let it sit and then beat the hell out of it.

No more CEL (so far) and it was fine all the way home.

[galek_98gt]

any one get a more perm fix yet for these issues cause i've done each of these so far and i'm getting misfires all around.

[AussieDan]

I still haven't isolated the cause for sure yet, but it seems that as long as I'm not cruising above 73 or so the car is fine.

Right now I'm planning to replace the front O2 sensor because I'm fairly sure it's toast (119k on it and I'm getting crappy gas mileage around town), and also replace the plug wires.

[Rickmaan]

I'd be very interested to see any updates on this issue. My '01 GT is doing the exact same thing. CEL comes on for a few days, then goes off. My mech said the code read as misfire on #1. He checked my coil and wires and they are all OK so I put new Bosch platinums in and 2 days later the CEL is on again! Old plugs were also Bosch platinum and looked like new, so I was thinking maybe a change to NGK V-power might help. I'd heard platinum is not as good a conductor as a copper core so the platinum plugs make the coil work harder to produce the spark. At $2 per I'm willing to try the v-power to see if it helps.

[galek_98gt]

I'd be very interested to see any updates on this issue. My '01 GT is doing the exact same thing. CEL comes on for a few days, then goes off. My mech said the code read as misfire on #1. He checked my coil and wires and they are all OK so I put new Bosch platinums in and 2 days later the CEL is on again! Old plugs were also Bosch platinum and looked like new, so I was thinking maybe a change to NGK V-power might help. I'd heard platinum is not as good a conductor as a copper core so the platinum plugs make the coil work harder to produce the spark. At $2 per I'm willing to try the v-power to see if it helps.

i have those ngk's with the copper core and i recently got misfires on all four cylinders instead of just 2 and 4 with the platinums. not sure if they were a better choice or not.

[Huffer]

Isnt a misfire due more to the timing of the spark, rather than the spark plug?

[galek_98gt]

Isnt a misfire due more to the timing of the spark, rather than the spark plug?

true but i'm guessing that the resistance of a plug could create a lag of getting the spark to ignite the fuel.

[Wiscon_Mark]

more likely resistance in the wires, as they're much longer. That's what my problem was 20,000 miles back- we were waiting on the wires, and it needed a tuneup BAD.

[kkushner4474]

i have had the same problem ad still do with the misfires but once the car throws the code does the car actualy feel like it is misfireing.

Because mine only throws the code at about 70 mph but it does not feel like the engione is actually misfiring


has anyone tried replacing the fuel injector

[Rickmaan]

i have had the same problem ad still do with the misfires but once the car throws the code does the car actualy feel like it is misfireing.

Because mine only throws the code at about 70 mph but it does not feel like the engione is actually misfiring


has anyone tried replacing the fuel injector

I asked my mechanic if the injectors could be the prob, he was pretty sure it was ignition related. I still suspect the injectors may be at least partly at fault b'cuz I have a bit of a rough idle which new plugs did not correct. I'm going to try some injector cleaner on the next fill up.

[jey]

Well if it's a fuel problem, nobody here has mentioned replacing the fuel filter yet. Thought I'd throw that out there.

[galek_98gt]

i've replaced my fuel filter. didn't change a thing.

[Rickmaan]

Isnt a misfire due more to the timing of the spark, rather than the spark plug?

While I may be new to Subies I've been into cars for nearly 25 years, and in my experience misfires are most often caused by a wire issue 1st (either damaged or wrong placement), then old, worn, or incorrect plugs 2nd. Although spark timing can certainly cause a misfire, the number of incidents I personally have seen that happen is a very distant 3rd to wires and plugs, and in each instance the timing issue was related to a distributor which my Subie does not have. If timing is the issue in this case it has to be from a faulty ECU, which I may end up exploring if new wires and different plugs (not Bosch) don't fix the CEL. I was focusing on the plugs 1st this time since my mech said my wires and coil were OK but when I intalled the new plugs I noticed the wires were an off brand. They look fine, almost new in fact, but it's possible the resistance of 1 or more wires from a cheaply made set would be higher than it's supposed to be so I ordered a set of Magnecor to replace them. I'll post an update when I get them in.

[rougeben83]

All you guys running bosch plats and getting misfires, I suggest you go back to the NGK coppers and see if it helps. I've read a lot about subaru's having issues with basically anything but NGK plugs.

[shazapple]

My bosch platinums have run fine for the long time Ive had them in the engine.

I was getting a misfire because of a broken wire. When replacing the wires I made sure to put some Dielectric grease on each end (helps the connection).

The only other simple solutions would be fuel filter, air filter, or coil pack.