Getting a misfire... ???

[Sarra]

I was heading up a hill, flooring it, and it started flashing the CEL like a misfire, but it didn't sound different, bog down, or act any differently. o.O

I'm getting sick of this engine and it's little antics. The coil pack, spark plugs, and other assorted wiring has all been replaced recently.

I have been getting crappy milage, if I had an O2 sensor out, would it richen up or lean out enough to foul my plugs?

[Huffer]

Bad O2 = run rich

[GT Wagon]

Since I bought my 97 GT almost 3 months ago it throws a CE about every two weeks. The first night driving it a CE came on . Of course nothing happened during the test drive.

The codes are all misfires, CYL 1/2/3. I've replaced the wires & the plugs and still the same thing happens. And, as with you, the car runs just fine. I'm wondering if its the coil pack but seeing how you're having no better luck I don't know if that would be a waste of money.

[Wiscon_Mark]

that really weird...guess the EJ22E is just better ;)

[GT Wagon]

that really weird...guess the EJ22E is just better ;)

LOL ! My EJ22 has been throwing CE's since the day I bought it. I had just paid for the car and was pulling on the highway when it threw its first CE light. I just ignore them and it goes out in about 2 mins. Car has run just fine for the past 4 years.

[Wiscon_Mark]

wow, I've never had a CEL :shock:

[Sarra]

I haven't had time to check my plugs yet, but I do a lot of low RPM driving.

My exhaust sounds kinda poppy again, like it's running rich, so I'm going to get that checked.

EJ22E? Our old Legacy liked to do weird things, like burn out fuses in the dash, then magically unburn them out. Happened once, a fuse popped, I pulled the dash out, found the fuse... I even confirmed that it was popped. On the way to the store, the lights on the center console came back on... So, I went and bought other things instead. :p

I'm seriously to the point of ripping this stupid motor out and trading a mechanic that's local for an EJ22T. Then I'd sit around and wonder how the hell I'm going to ever pass emissions again...

[Legacy4Life]

Originally posted by Wiscon_Mark:
wow, I've never had a CEL
I hadn't either, until I checked my bulbs and found out the bulb was missing. :roll:
Probably missing since I bought the car 4 years earlier!

I replaced the bulb and it came on!
I've had CEL warnings since then! Always valid, but not for mis-fires.

[Wiscon_Mark]

nope, my bulb is good, I see it when I start the car....

[BAC5.2]

I'm seriously to the point of ripping this stupid motor out and trading a mechanic that's local for an EJ22T. Then I'd sit around and wonder how the hell I'm going to ever pass emissions again...

OBD2 doesn't really need to pass emissions. They just plug in and make sure trouble codes aren't there and that the ready codes are OK.

Unless you are OBD1. If you are OBD1 you can usually get around emissions by coming up with an excuse.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Sarra is OBDII (3rd gen Legacy) and he wants to go to OBDI...

In massachusettes, I know they actually put your car on a dyno, and beat it up to try to fail you on emissions (they actually measure the exhaust fumes and stuff), so its not the same in every state...

[BAC5.2]

You should be able to sufficiently use an EJ22T in an OBD2 car and get it to electrically still register as OBD2.

In Maryland they do the sniffer test too. They want to do the Dyno test, but I have never let them do that on any of my cars.

[Sarra]

They just use the plug here, it's a $10 test. If they pull out the sniffer, it's basically $70. They use the sniffer for anything older than 1995, I think.

I'm sick of this car's problems. I'm considering selling it and buying a brand new Impreza wagon.

[Plays_with_Toys]

This was on nasioc the other day. Seems the misfire is a common problem. Info is spread out among different posts here:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... 502&page=1 (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=896502&page=1)

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... 574&page=1 (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=897574&page=1)

[mr_choung]

better watch out! my brothers my00 OBS threw a misfire in cyl. 3 and about a week later.......blown block.....rod shoot out of block....ehhhh....bad sight
http://www.mnsubaru.com/forums/viewtopi ... sc&start=0 (http://www.mnsubaru.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3888&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0)

[jey]

Yeah people on the NASIOC forums mentioned a bad tank of gas. My friend had a brand spankin new WRX and he never fills up at Shell for some reason or another. After a year of no problems he was forced to fill up at Shell at one point and it threw a CEL misfire at him.

Probably a coincidence, but I'm pretty sure different brands of gas are different, as far as the additives and stuff. They smell different when burned... Now why Subarus would be so sensitive is another topic that I know little about.

[jey]

better watch out! my brothers my00 OBS threw a misfire in cyl. 3 and about a week later.......blown block.....rod shoot out of block....ehhhh....bad sight
http://www.mnsubaru.com/forums/viewtopi ... sc&start=0 (http://www.mnsubaru.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3888&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0)

Well that's what happens when you hydrolock it in water and bend the rod. I did that too and a few hundred miles later the rod ground itself into itty bitty pieces and poked some holes in the block. You can see how it blew out the EJ22 badge in my avatar...

[Wiscon_Mark]

Yes, gas is gotten from different areas for different stations

Citgo gets their oil from venezuela-I know that much...the others might be mixed, but yeah, all have their own standards and ingredients...

[Sarra]

I'm pretty sure it's a bad O2, I'm getting about 8-10 mpg right now.

[BAC5.2]

O2 sensor won't make mileage that bad. Plus, O2 sensors don't cause misfires.

Misfire comes from bad timing, bad spark, or detonation.

Detonation wouldn't cause 10mpg.

Bad spark would

Bad timing would

To much fuel can also cause a misfire. Possibly a stuck injector, but OBD2 should have an injector malfunction code.

Without an oxygen sensor in my Legacy, I got 8mpg and that's on-boost...

[Huffer]

I bet it's the brakes. :lol:

[Sarra]

O2 sensor won't make mileage that bad. Plus, O2 sensors don't cause misfires.

Misfire comes from bad timing, bad spark, or detonation.

Detonation wouldn't cause 10mpg.

Bad spark would

Bad timing would

To much fuel can also cause a misfire. Possibly a stuck injector, but OBD2 should have an injector malfunction code.

Without an oxygen sensor in my Legacy, I got 8mpg and that's on-boost...

I think it's fouled a plug or two from running too rich, really.

It's acting funky right now. Noticed some... Stuff in the coolant. o.O Like putting hard water in instead of pure water... Oh well, it's thrown a few codes recently. I need to go to autozone or whatever and get the codes pulled, again. It's definatly running rich, though, it smells like half burnt gasoline really bad. >_< Feels like it's only running on 2 cylinders most of the time, although changing my air filter helped that a bit.

This stupid car is more of a pain that I can tolerate. I'm so close to just selling this car and buying an RX-7. :(

Why? Because we've put $3,000 into repairs of this car, including clutch (was bad when I bought the car), bushings (same), oil pan (factory defect), coil pack (yet again, from before I got the car), etc. I can't remember the other random engine-related repairs we've had to do so far. >_< It's had transmission problems as well, bad syncros, which were replaced under warrenty. Grrr...

If you're curious about the oil pan, where the baffle is welded to the inside of the pan, the welding weakened the metal enough that it cracked over time, meaning that the baffle literelly was only connected to one side of the pan. It also meant that oil was able to leak out the oil pan and onto my exhaust. It took $1,500 of repair work to figure this out, including new rear main seals. :(

[95legacyl]

my CE came on like 6 months ago for a misfire but it hasnt done it agian since