mikeamondo

Everyone was pretty much spot on … my brother took the car to local a Subie shop and they fixed the car in the parking lot while he waited. Thanks for the quick responses and expert info as always!

As a follow up … can all that be done with the motor still in the car? Sounds like it …

Thanks for the replies and the fantastic info … as always. I knew it didn’t sound correct when I heard what he had been told. In all fairness … I can’t be 100% certain what was said … but I know a replacement car is being shopped for…. Thanks again!

This is my brothers car… mechanic said the crank pulley was digging into the timing cover and he needs a new engine. I’ve never seen this … any thoughts? Does this alone mean the motor is toast? 05 legacy 2.5 … probably 150k on it now.

Guys.... thanks for all the great tips.... this and other reading leads me to think the issue is the speed sensor ... or rather one of them. I'll pass the info on to my daughter and we'll most likely get the car to a repair shop.... been a crazy few weeks... just realized I posted this a month ago!

Hi Guys... been a while! My daughter's 95 Legacy Sedan has a strange ABS issue.... when you first start out from park, it can engage... sound and brake pulsing just like you'd hear while on ice. It only lasts a second or two then quits. Also, as you come to a gentle stop, it will come on for a second.... and, my daughter has reported that during a hard deceleration from 50 mph or so, it will kick on in the same manner, and if feels as though the car is not slowing while it's engaged. The car is in Colorado and I'm in WV. We visited this weekend, and I test drove the car, but the traffic was too heavy for me to replicate the higher speed symptom. I couldn't find any direct posts here (I'm sure there are, but the search terms are highly varied) .... On another site, I found a thread about later cars... 98 and 04 ... that indicated sensor issues and something called a 'tone ring' .... which I am unfamiliar with. I'm going to have her take it to a Subie guy there, but I wanted to get some info from the experts here, first, so I can have a semi-intelligent conversation with him about the issues via phone. As always, thanks in advance for your help! Mike

I think we might be onto something with the connector.... climbed under there and wiggled the wires a good bit while hooked up to the scanner... came on once and went back off. Problem is.... anyone know how to get the obd connector out of the bracket that holds it? No screws.... looks like clips but I can't get it to release. Can't find anything on YouTube. Without dropping it I can't really see the wires at the back... Thanks.... This is 03 Outback... mounts thru a metal bracket attached to the dash framework, right behind the hood release....

Yeah.. the scanner does not work in any operation mode on the car. That had caused me trouble in diagnosing another problem. The scanner has always worked before and connected just fine, so when the car quickly started running like crap last week, I popped on the scanner and it wasn't connecting.... I naturally connected those two issues in my mind and decided the ECU was toast. Turned out it was the plugs or wires. Car is running fine now, but still no connection to the computer with a scanner. I was thinking about taking it to Subaru and seeing if they can scan it. Advance uses the same scanner I use.

2004 Outback, 2.5L, 140k miles, automatic AWD. My scanner which I've used for years on this car suddenly won't connect to the car. It flashed on and off a couple times then just went blank. Same with car running, car off, key on, etc. I've also tested the scanner in my other car.... good to go. So it must be in the OBD connector or something near the ECU itself..... Can't remember if it's ECU (unit) or ECM (module) on the Subie. Right now, the car seems to be running fine... just want to fix it for future diagnostics and make sure it's not a larger issue with the ECU... Any ideas? Thanks! Mike

It is a cheap scanner, but I've used it on this car for years.... So the test drive went great... drove 30 miles or so, no miss. No problems at all. Back his usual great running self. So I'm going to consider the sputtering issue solved for now. As a note for others, I find it interesting that the issue came on so fast.... from an intermittent miss to not starting in 2 days and a 100 miles. Problem was most likely plugs from the condition of them, but may also have been the wires. If you're doing plugs, just do wires at the same time since you'll have them out anyway. And take out the windshield washer fluid jug to access the driver's side plugs... super easy. Same for the plastic box under the air intake hoses on the passenger side. Thanks for the help and for pointing me toward the plugs. I'll start a new thread for the Computer Communication issue under the title '04 Outback no communication Computer to Scanner.'

sorry... thought it might make someone smile. So I did buy NGK plugs... carquest wires were all they had. Old plugs were AC Delco. So.... looks like a case of misdirection. New plugs and wires are in, and the car started right up, and idles smoothly. The scanner, however, still can't see the CEM. I'm gong to take the car for a test drive. If it looks like it's running okay, I'll take a longer run of about 20 miles home which will get it nice and hot. I'll post the results after that. If anyone has any other thoughts on the CEM communication issue, let me know.

Could head gasket failure lead to fouled plugs? Mine just looked really old, and now I've gone out and bought new ones, and the gap should be .044... the one I took out is 060. I going to replace those and the plug wires as soon as I get done with my incredibly delicious Sheetz salad.... I'll post the results.... of the new plugs and wires, not the salad. Thanks! Mike

Ok... pulled one plug... it's a mess. Also, the gap is about .060 which seems way large. Obviously I need to swap out the plugs to diagnose... I assuming with the over heating there is a concern that the head gasket may be blown... car ran perfectly cool. There is no frothiness in the oil, and no sludge/ brown in the fluid jug... coolant is still nice and green in the jug...

By the way... after replacing the thermostat, and test driving it, i was able to maintain full speed on the highway, only miss was at low rpms before an downsift on hills.... I'd say it was running 90% at first....

Not sure how hot it got... my daughter was driving it and I think she pulled over due to the sputtering on the hill she was pulling more than the overheat, but it was def boiling over at the jug. She was 1/4 mile from home, all down hill so once it cooled off I had her pull out get up to speed and put it into neutral, drifted into the drive and shut it off. I added fluid and took it for a drive.... watched it heat up to 3/4 range and took it home.... lower hose cold, upper hose boiling.... swapped out the thermostat and she ran pegged at at the middle. Also... ran pretty good... only a slight miss... which over the next 2 days and maybe 100 miles turned into a sputter and then the current non-starting condition with no ECM communication. I hooked back up the battery and there was no change in the status. i can pull a plug and see what it looks like.... I'm looking for fouled plugs, I assume....