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Did a bit more digging here on the forums. Tried the "dollar bill" test and the exhaust wants to suck the bill in momentarily a couple times per revolution. There's a definite unsteady exhaust sound, like "put-put-p-put-p-p-put-put-p-put... What are the chances that the belt could've skipped a tooth on the RH side cam? From what I understand the dollar bill trick helps determine a bad valve. But does the valve HAVE to be bad? If it jumped a tooth, wouldn't the engine exhibit the same symptoms?

Not sure what a vacuum gauge looks like or what it's supposed to do? I assume you hook it to a point in your vacuum system (plug the other end?) draw a vacuum and notice if the pressure drops off? The timing belt kit was an ebay kit (PCI if I recall). I did a lot of searching and they seemed pretty solid. Compression test will be next. I don't have one though...

Yeah, 103k miles. All new belt, idlers and tensioner. Car's at 111k now...

Okay, replaced the air filter, and plugs (no dealers open on Saturday to buy wires). I'm scared now because I pulled #1 & 3 plugs and there's unburned fuel on the ends. The first time I checked the plugs back in the beginning of all this, it had been sitting for a few hours so the plugs looked normal. This time I had to start the car and back it out from under the carport so I could get some light. Ran for maybe 1 minute, and shut it off to change plugs. When I got to the passenger side plugs, they were BOTH wet with raw gas! Started up after the plug change and still runs poorly, CEL flashes madly. OMG what is happening to my car!?!

Quick question: Placing an order for inner and outer CV boots for an axle reboot on my 2k OBW. NAPA says they don't have a listing for 2000 year models but they have one for 2001. Are they the same? I'm assuming so since not much changed in the EJ models but just double checking. BTW; 15$ for the outer and 17$ for the inner. Non-split type. Reman'd they're $57 and both sides need to be done. Figured I'd save a couple bucks by doing it myself.

Plugs were replaced at 103k when I did the timing belt (now at 111k) so 8,000 miles ago. No oil at all on any of the boots. I will try the water method tonight and give an update. One other thing I might add. The car idles rough, has a noticeable lack of power under acceleration. I'm not sure if this misfire code is happening all the time or just once in a while, but as mentioned, the car runs rough ALL the time. Also, while driving around yesterday after swapping #2 & #4 wires the CEL started blinking. A Subaru buddy of mine says a blinking CEL means the engine is "CURRENTLY" misfiring. Any truth to that? Thanks for the help guys- I'll be back...

most likely toast. Did she try and start it after the car died (most wifes would that's why I ask). If she did then it's 99.999% toast, if not... well, you could get lucky but it will take time and money to find out how much more time and money you'll need to put into it.

2000 OBW 111k. front O2 sensor at 80k, Timing Belt, pulleys, WP, etc. 103K along w/ new plugs (NGK of course). This originally started as a Knock Sensor CEL code thread titled High-pitched whine, jerky acceleration, rough idle, check engine light I've since replaced the knock sensor but when I went to clear the code there was a second code; P0304- Misfire Cylinder 4. Wires look great (OEM Subaru) and I believe they were changed at 60k but just to double check, I swapped the cylinder 4 wire with cyl. 2 and cleared the code. Code came back about 5 miles later as cyl 4 misfire (P0304). I do tune ups regularly and plugs look mint (just checked)! I need some advice as to what to check next? I've read that there's a pretty simple technique to checking the ignition coil but I don't have a manual. Can someone give some steps for coil diagnosis? Also, what else should I be looking for? Worst case is it's the valves from what I've read EDIT~ Just talked on the phone w/ a buddy who has a manual. My coil appears to check out OK. Here's what we did: Measure resistance between the 1-2 coil terminals @ 13.6Kohm and 13.9Kohm between terminals 3-4. Spec is IIRC between 10-15k. Also Ohm'd out all the wires and they're within spec.

I'm throwing up the exact code (misfire Cylinder #4) I'd have to run a search again since I don't remember the exact thread but for one guy with a similar problem it ended up needing a valve adjustment. How many miles are on it? One thing you can do is swap cylinder 4's wire with cylinder two and see if the misfire code changes location. That will rule out a bogus plug. Otherwise I'm curious to know what you come up with; as I said I'm throwing the same code

That was sort of my understanding too, which is why I went so long before replacing my knock sensor. Ultimately my car did start to run rough which prompted my original post. I should've pulled the codes again because I bet the misfire code cropped up later and is the REAL culprit for why the engine is running so poorly. Now I'm 80$ into this for a new knock sensor and the car still runs like poo. I need to know what to do next because blindly throwing money at this thing is not an option. Oh yeah, and I just noticed BOTH my CV axles are shot (spewing grease); but that's for another thread

Okay I'm back. Replaced the knock sensor (dealer part). Went to check/clear the CEL code and found a Misfire Cylinder 4 code present along with the Knock Sensor I knew was already there. So that explains the jerky acceleration and rough idle, but now I'm wondering if the misfire is what caused the knock sensor code to trip or if the knock sensor failing caused the ECU to go into limp-mode and thus cause a misfire in cylinder 4. Either way the car still runs like crap but with the ECU just being cleared it's still going through its learning curve. Any ideas is appreciated Thanks

Interesting! Maybe I should focus on that then for now. Needs to happen anyway. It's just that the knock sensor CEL has been intermittent for quite a while and the other symptoms mentioned are just now appearing.

For the last couple months I’ve had an intermittent CEL. I’ve pulled the code numerous times (buddy has an OBDII code reader and laptop), it’s always the same; KNOCK SENSOR. It’s intermittent so the CEL will go out for a week or so then come back on for a couple days, then for some reason just go out for another week or two… …but recently I’ve been experiencing some other issues. When I accelerate there’s a high pitched ‘whistle’ or whine right around 4k, this happens in all the gears and only in the upper RPM range. At first I thought it was one of the belts but they seem pretty tight; it almost sounds like it’s sucking air in from somewhere like a crack or split in a boot or something, but I’ve checked and I don’t’ see anything obvious. Anyone else ever experience this? Also (and this may or may not be related to the above), acceleration has not been so smooth. The car is noticeably jerky and the idle has been rough. This is a 2000 OBW 110k miles. I replaced the plugs at 103k (when I did the timing belt, W/P, idlers, belts etc). Plug wires are OEM and I think they were replaced during the car’s 60k mi major service interval (previous owner, done at dealership). My first hunch is the plug wires but how do you know when they need replacement? There’s no service interval in the Subaru Maintenance Schedule for plug wires, just plugs. I realize I need to replace the knock sensor, but these little buggers aren't free! 80$ for one of these and I'm not sure it will make the car run smoother. Need to prioritize at the moment.

It was on my way to the alignment shop that I discovered the judder issue :-\, like literally pulling into the driveway. Alignment is done and the problem is there. The alignment shop was not able to replicate the issue because (as I'm discovering) it only does it after the car is warm (warm oil, warm pump?) I did not think to look or even check the bushings. What bushings? are they inside the inner tierod boot? @ wtdash: It's a manual transmission so no, it doesn't matter

My car has 108K. I don't know what the donor car had for mileage before the rack came out. But yes, the donor car was in a wreck but not bad; drivers side door. The reason for replacing the rack out of my car is because I had a worn tie-rod that I let get a lot worse before I replaced it. Heavy shimmy while breaking- evidently this wear worked it's way into the rack causing it to get 'sloppy'. Not to mention I shuttle my Mt. Bike so I take the car off road (logging roads) a lot which didn't help the condition of the rack any. The juddering in the steering only happens when the tires are on the ground and stopped.

I did this initially. You're saying I should do it some more?

I suppose this is similar in nature to my other PS/Steering rack thread but for 'search' sake I'm restating my question. 2K OBW (108k mi). Replaced the steering rack this week with a used (but good) one. Removal/installation went well. However, now when I turn the wheel (right or left) at a stand-still I get a juddering feedback through the steering system. Almost like the power steering pump is not keeping up. I’m hoping it’s just air in the system still but I’ve given plenty of time to ‘burp’ the system out. Fluid levels are okay, belt is tight, and PS pump never did this before. Is there a way to help ‘bleed’ the system out? Or is this a sign of something else? A couple things I did notice however; immediately after replacing the rack and while the car was still on jack stands. I turned the wheel lock-to-lock several times to get the fluids to settle. I then started the car to run the pump, went full lock one way, then went full lock the other way and right near the end of travel the pump made a horrible squeal and continued squealing until I shut the car off. That was semi-expected since the fluid level dropped considerably; topped off and everything sounded fine. As a second thought I’m wondering if that ‘squealing’ noise was the pump burning up or something.

Just installed a used rack to replace a clunky one out of my 2K OBW (used rack came complete w/ tie rods). I did my best to ‘center’ the rack with respect to itself, and installed the steering coupler so the steering wheel is centered. Once I had it all together and the steering wheel centered the drivers side wheel was pointing slightly ‘left’. Realizing that I’ll need an alignment anyway, I adjusted the tie rod so the drivers’ side wheel pointed straight. So now the steering wheel is centered, and both wheels are pointing straight; HOWEVER, when I turn lock-to-lock the passenger tire rubs on the wheel well. I think it turns sharper one way than the other. Driving down the road it doesn’t pull and the steering wheel is maybe one spline off center; not bad at all. I’m a little concerned now because I called Les Schwab to get a quote on an alignment and asked if they are able to center the rack and wheel as part of the alignment procedure if necessary and he said ‘no’. So now I’m wondering if I should try and start over, get the rack and wheel centered PERFECTLY before I take it in? I’d hate to pay 80$ to align it only to find I have to drop the rack again. Then again maybe this is something the alignment will take care of? I guess my main question is, is there a solid procedure that makes this installation easier in the event that I should have to start over?

Dextron IIE or Dextron III ...says so in the manual.

2K OBW. I'm replacing the steering rack with a used unit. Removal was pretty straight forward. One question regarding fluids though; I have a quart of straight up Power Steering Fluid (not ATF). Is this okay to use? Not sure what they used in the replacement rack and not sure what was used in my original rack (never had to refill it). I guess my other concern is if I use the PSF and there's residual ATF in the new rack if that's a bad thing. I always thought PSF was ATF but with conditioners added (or maybe I have that backwards...

Had this same dilema a while back when I did my belt. You can read the thread I started HERE. Ultimately I stuck with the kit from ebay. It included the belt, tensioner and idlers. I also got a water pump kit from ebay (GMB I think?). The items I did buy OEM were the Thermostat, t-stat gasket, upper/lower radiator hose, radiator cap, subaru slime. Also, if you buy a water pump kit from ebay or anywhere else I would also highly recommend buying the gasket from Subaru. I wish I did but at the time I had the car apart, no way to get to the dealer and it was a Saturday. The aftermarket gaskets are paper, wheras the Subaru ones are metal; way burlier! If you do get an Ebay timing belt kit you may also want to read this thread. I scared myself by thinking I bought the wrong kit. But with your model year I don't think you have to worry.

I have a 2k OBW with a steering rack that needs attention. Looking to get a used part for this since it's my understanding that they "normally" don't go out. Anyone know what years these racks were used? I.E. "anything between 199x-200x will work". Also, are these racks pretty difficult to remove/install?

It's this remote HERE. CR2032 then- thanks for the prompt reply!

Hope someone could toss a quick answer out for me. I'm at work, don't have my keys on me and need to know what battery is in the keyless remotes. Is it a standard CR2032? This is for an OE remote with two buttons (2000 OBW) nothing fancy just your standard Subaru Keyless remote. Thanks

Nevermind, called the dealer. May, 2000 is the mfg date