jseabolt

I live at 1200 feet above sea level. I've heard of 85 in Colorado. I read an article which says if you fuel up in Colorado then enter a lower altitude state while still running on 85 then top off with 87 , to unplug a relay or the battery cable for 30 minutes to let the computer reset. Otherwise the computer has a memory and the car won't run right. I don't know how true this is. That's another thing I did the other day. There are three 30 or 50 amp relays in the fuse box. Mine are all red. I can't remember which one you are supposed to pull but I pulled all three and let the car sit overnight. It won't erase the presets or time from the radio. Around here they sell 87, 89 and 93. For some reason Knoxville which is 100 miles south at 600 feet above sea level only sells 91 or 92 as the highest octane (best that I can recall) which seems contradictory. Lower altitude but lower octane for premium but still 87 and 89. I don't know why. Large metropolitan area perhaps?

I actually ran the test after leaving the dentist so the car had been warmed up. It may have just been from sitting. However after I drove the car on the highway for about 2-3 miles, I would have imagined the air flowing through the intake pipe would have cooled everything down by then. Well it did drop a bit but was still 110F after a few miles. Just curious if the range between the air temperature sensor and the actual ambient temperature should be that much.

OK got the OBD II module in the mail the other day. I downloaded a few apps. Elm327 does not work. Or I can't get it to communicate with the module. OBD car Doctor (free) works Piston works Torque seems to work but I have no idea how to use it. OBD car Doctor seems to be the easiest so far. OK so what data do I need to look for that might indicate the problem? Or point me in the general direction. One odd thing. When running the system, it said the air intake temperature was 111F yet it was only 71F that morning. Where is the additional heat coming from? Although I got rid of the original corrugated intake system and replaced it with a pipe and two elbows, it still pulls in cold air from the outside through the duct. I might have to run this 89 out of the tank first and go back to 87 to see if the bucking comes back. I didn't get a chance to pull the EGR valve while I was off. I did stop by Advance to get a gasket and they are showing two different types. One with a screen over one port and one without and apparently I have to pull the EGR valve first to see which one my car has. But I may not even need a new gasket anyway. I thought it would be a good idea since I had the valve off. Then Tuesday was driving my 98 Chevy van and heard this scraping sound when I hit the brakes. For some reason the squealers on the pads did not make contact with the rotor before the friction material was almost gone and it was metal to metal on the inside pad. But luckily caught it in time before it did any damage to the rotor. So I put brake pads on the van Wednesday before having minor knee surgery on Thursday so I am banished to driving my automatic van for awhile. Can't drive any of my stick shifts until my bummed up left knee heels!

Someone told me that the EGR valve maybe coked up on my Baja which is why it wants to buck a times at cruise. Supposedly the valve cannot make up it's mind whether it's open or shut due to the carbon buildup. Years ago I had a 96 Ford Explorer. The check engine light came on because the sensor that detects whether the valve is open or closed was showing open. There must have been just enough carbon between the valve and the seat to make the sensor think it was open. I connected a vacuum hose to it, sucked on it open the valve and threw it in a bead blast cabinet and cleaned it up. I reset the computer and all was fine. But there is no vacuum hose going to the EGR valve on my Subaru. Instead looks like a connector with 6 pins. How can I open the valve to properly clean it (if that's the case). I still don't see how running 89 octane is making this car run smoother. Unless the higher octane is masking some other issue. Or it's just a coincidence. This weekend I'm going to get some of that MAP cleaner, pull the air box off and give it, the sensor that is mounted in the air cleaner box (air temperature sensor) and the throttle body a good cleaning. I wonder if the oil from my K&N filter has something to do with this. And install a paper filter. Seems like the problem cropped up after installing the K&N filter.

I will give the ELM327 a shot. I found one for about $7.00 on Ebay. Once it arrives I will do a diagnostic and report back. Thanks.

I'm skeptical myself. This problem is very intermittent. It seems when I try something (like driving around with the gas cap loose, running non ethanol fuel, etc), it seems to go away then may come back. but it doesn't do it all the time. Like this morning over an 8 mile course, it didn't do it at all. I knew a guy with a Nissan Stanza that would die for no apparent reason. but if the car sat for 30 minutes it would restart and maybe OK for a week or two. The dealership could not find anything wrong with it. They told him he would have to wait until whatever was wrong with it, burned out before they could pinpoint the bad component. But one mechanic did offer a suggestion. He said when the car did die, to unplug the ECU for 30 seconds and plug it back up. Then the car would restart. He finally got feed up with it and unloaded it on a trade-in. Sort of like what I did with my 94 Wrangler. It had an intermittent starting issue. I might have to hit the starter three times before the engine would fire. A mechanic said the crank sensor was bad and replaced it. 6 months later it started doing it again so I unloaded it and bought my Baja!

Although I do my own maintenance, I took it in to the dealership for a 60,000 mile checkup. I was actually suffering from an illness at the time so I had them replace the plugs and coolant while I had it up there. Last time I checked the plugs they looked OK. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to replace them. What prompted me to replace the plug wires in the the first place was I did not get one seated all the way onto the plug and 1000 miles later, my car developed a bad misfire and the check engine light came on. My code reader pointed to the cylinder. I replaced them with NGKs and the misfires went ahead. I guess the spark having to jump from the wire to the plug caused it to breakdown. At one time I had to replace the bank one O2 sensor. That's what my code reader said. On the other hand my father owned a '93 BMW 325 which called for 93 octane. When gas shot up, he started running 87 and the car started to run like crap. It developed a low RPM misfire but the check engine light would not kick on. He ended up taking it to German Motors and the guy said it was a bad O2 sensor. So could it be possibly one of the O2 sensors on my Subaru is bad but the computer is not throwing a code? So I've got three possible bad components. The knock sensor O2 sensor and the TPS. There is a local guy who works on Subarus people says is really good. Do these shops have a diagnostic machine they can plug into the OBD II port and run it through the motions and possibly pinpoint the problem without having to replace components until the problem goes away? I mean, I can buy a TPS and a knock sensor cheaper and probably replace it myself cheaper than what the guy may charge to just hook it up a machine. But thought I might just be spinning my wheels.

This maybe apples to oranges but I've heard talk here at work about people having issues with their 2 cycle weed wackers and leaf blowers not running well on 87 E10 and they run better on 93. I always run non ethanol 87 in my Trabant, lawnmowers and anything 2 cycle with no problems. I've always ran 87 in my Subaru because the owner's manual says to. So yesterday I decided to top my '03 Baja (non turbo) off with 89 octane just for kicks. It's too early to tell but this morning while driving to work I did not notice any bucking at cruise and the car seems to run smoother. I realize higher octane fuel will NOT give you more power. High octane fuel is somewhat of a misconception. The higher the octane the more the fuel will resist detonation. Particularly in a high compression or turbocharged engines. I do run 93 in my turbocharged Fiat Spider and my turbocharged Yugo. Not sure if I really need it but typically 93 is usually mandatory in turbocharged engines. However modern engines do have an engine management system. If the knock sensor detects a "ping" it will back the timing off. Despite the fact we had this Ford truck at work which never saw more than 30 miles per hour and it pinged like mad. Unless the knock sensor was bad or it had so much carbon buildup that was the best it could do. But I wonder if the system will advance the timing further on higher octane fuel until a knock is detected. I'm sure it doesn't go crazy because the EPA has limits on things like this. Any chance running 89 has allowed the computer to advance the timing a bit more causing it to run smoother? By the way, another apples to oranges story, My Fiat Spider, if the engine does not have enough advance, it will exhibit basically the same symptoms. Back in the 1970s, the EPA said these cars had to run at TDC to pass emissions. But these engines are intended to run at 10 BTDC by the factory and even better at 15 BTDC. However while tinkering with the timing on my Spider and Yugo during the tuning phases after installing my turbos, I found these cars will buck and carry on if the timing is set below 10 BTDC. So I wonder if I am on to something. I'm not experiencing any kind of knock with my Subaru. Just wondering if any of you guys had any experience running higher octane fuel in you Subarus. I run 87 in my 1998 Chevy van with 142,000 miles on it with no problems. My Subaru shouldn't need higher octane fuel because it's only got 77,000 miles on it. On a side note. My Subaru once needed new tires and just for kicks on a trip to the beach I decided to over inflate the tires to 45 PSI and run 93 octane. I'd top off before leaving the house and 300 miles later would top off again. I gained a whopping 3 extra MPG! Even if running that much tire pressure and high octane fuel did in fact improved the fuel economy, wearing out tires and the higher cost of fuel would not offset gaining 3 miles per gallon. One more thing. Last two times I've driven this car, I've noticed it is getting 20 MPG around town. Seems like it used to get 23 mpg around town and 28 on the interstate. It may just be my driving habits but does 20 mpg around town sound normal or a bit low? I got new plugs, plug wires and fuel filter.

I will check it out. Thanks.

Once again sorry for the late reply. I ASSumED because coolant was boiling in the overflow tank, it had coolant in it. Well the next day I popped the radiator cap and so no coolant. So I topped it off with my 50/50 mix. I think I added about a 3 liters! I think the capacity is around 6 liters? Started the engine and allowed it to get to normal operating temperature. Eventually the fan kick on. Then turned on the air conditioner and let it idle for about 10 minutes. Both fans kick on and needle stays in the center. Also added quite a bit of brake fluid but the pedal still goes to the floor but does stop (poorly). So I guess the bad brake caliper has sucked what fluid was in the reservoir out and now air has got into the braking system. I did not drive the car on the road due to the poor brakes and my step has no insurance on this vehicle (illegal in TN).

Still wondering where to start looking about this bucking problem which occurs when the throttle is barely open. 2003 Baja, 5 speed, 77,000 miles. I put about 100 miles on the car today. Is there any rudimentary test I can do to the TPS using an ohmmeter (measure resistance) or perhaps a 9V battery (voltage drop) to find out if there are any dead spots in it? This bucking seems to be related to the throttle position. At cruise around 3000 rpms. Either drop the RPMS to 2000 or increase to 4000, the car runs smooth. But still have not ruled out water in the gas. This problem cropped up 4 years ago after the car sat for 2 months in my garage. Since the CEL won't kick on, I have no idea where to start. I do know at times the check engine light will kick on but it says it's the air auxiliary valve which I think is just supposed to control the idle speed. The car idles fine and accelerates fine otherwise. I just clear the code and it goes away for about a year. Seems the bucking get's worse after topping off the fuel tank or when the tank get's near empty, I still have not ruled out water in the fuel tank. Or ethanol in the tank absorbing the water. Reason being if I run the car for 20 miles, the problem seems to go away. As if I get the fuel and water in the tank gets agitated. If I let the car sit for 2 weeks, it bucks for the first few miles. I have found water in the fuel tank on my lawnmower but in this case, it just blinded over the fuel filter. Is there any way to drain the fuel tank? Any harm in disconnecting the fuel return line going back to the tank and run it into a gas jug until the engine dies or start to sputter? Oh I have a new fuel filter by the way, fairly new plugs and plug wires.

Long story but today my wife and I had to take possession of her son's 2002 (or 2003) Outback from an impound lot today about 20 miles from our house. I'm trying to talk her into not letting her son have the car back since her name is still on the title. Let's just say he has "issues" he needs to sort out. It's has the H-6 engine and a whopping 280,000 miles on it. Technically the car is totaled due to it's age and mileage. I'll need a front bumper, driver's side fender, rear driver's side door but it runs. I drove the car home and noticed numerous issues. Most of which I can fix myself (popping CV joint, stuck rear brake caliper, metal to metal, low brake pedal (probably low on brake fluid because the brake light is on) but does have brakes, just not good brakes. It was around 90F today. I tried to get the A/C to work but it has this funky automatic climate control totally unlike the cabin controls on my Baja. My Baja has three knobs. I could barely read the digital readout and what mode it was in so I just turned it off. All seemed fine while driving at 55 mph on the main highway. I do know at one time I glanced over at the temperature gauge and it was in the middle just like my Baja. I got about halfway home and was sweating to death so I decided to see if I could get the A/C to work while waiting at a red light. I started messing with the climate controls and eventually it started blowing ice cold air out the floor vents then further meddling got it to blow out the dash vents, then the temperature from the vetns started to fluctuate for some reason, perhaps low on refrigerant causing the low pressure switch to kick the compressor off and on. But that's another issue... While pulling away from the red light I noticed the temperature guage was about 3/4 of the way. So I turned the A/C off. Eventually the temperature guage started to drop but was still a bit higher than what I've seen my Baja run at. When I got on the main road (30 mph) it started to run hotter, almost in the red. When I got home, I popped the hood. Both fans were running. The coolant in the overflow tank was boiling so it's not low on coolant. Not to say that the coolant may be old or the wrong ratio. I did notice the outside of the overflow tank had a rusty muddy residue like it had overflowed once before. A blown head gasket is the worst case scenario. But no oil mixing in the antifreeze and no antifreeze in the oil. I did not notice any steam coming from the exhaust. Those are three tell tale signs I know , of, of a blown head gasket. Also no surging, car runs smooth overwise. My Fiat Spider blew a head gasket and was dumping antifreeze into one of the cylinders and it would almost throw me into the dash at times. I have seen bad radiator caps on my Fiat Spider cause the engine to run hot and coolant to boil over out the overflow tank. My guess is the radiator is clogged and may need to be flushed out. This would explain why when I turned the A/C on, the hot gas in the condenser added to the problem. Could be a bad thermostat but the engine did not seem to overheat initially. Also the faster I drive, the cooler it seems to run. How can I rule out the notorious Subaru blown head gasket? My bets are the cooling system needs an enema and possibly a new radiator cap which be a good start. One last question. I'm going to try to back flush the cooling system and run some Prestone flush in it. Which heater hose do I need to install a flush tee in? The one on the driver's side or passenger side? Thanks guys!

Sorry for the late reply. My spark plugs and plug wires are not *new* but have maybe less than 10K to 15K miles on them. And a new fuel filter. One other component comes to mind. I'm wondering if the TPS has a dead spot in it? The bucking seems to occur when the accelerator is in the same position. About the same position with my foot resting on the accelerator.

I topped the tank off back in May and maybe put 20 miles on it since then. I got it out in June to pick up some mulch. Then got it out last week. My Subaru sits in my garage at all times when not being driven. I know it may seem like I don't drive this car enough but I have a bunch of "classics" I drive in the summer. When winter comes my Subaru is my daily driver. My "family" vehicle is a 98 Chevy conversion van. I prefer my 4 year old daughter not ride in my Subaru because she makes such a mess. My Fiat 124 Spider: My 1981 Trabant 601: I had an issue with my riding mower this spring. I normally top the tank off before putting it up in my yard barn but forgot to. Actually there is more to this story than simply forgetting to top off the tank. More like my wife pissed me off because she said the leaves did not need mulching in December so I drove it straight to my yard barn and parked it. Anyway I made a few laps and my mower started to sputter. I thought it was "stale gas" but when I disconnected the line, fuel just dripped out of it like the filter was clogged. So I replaced it with this one: I continued to mow for 3 hours (I have a big yard) with no issues. I parked it in my yard barn and got it out 2 weeks later. Same thing happened! This was a new filter, I see nothing in it but notice how fuel is puddling inside it. I came to the conclusion that water was blinding over the filter element not allowing gas to pass through it. I siphoned all my gas out of my tank and what was left in my gas can and ran it through one of those Mr. Funnels: It's supposed to filter water out of the fuel. I actually tested it one day using two glass jars and sure enough it does work! I still have that filter. It's dried out now and I can blow through it.

I didn't want to mention this because it seems totally unrelated but this bucking is much worse after: 1) I top the tank off with gas. Bucks for about 5 miles then either goes away or if I fill up on the way home from work, park the car overnight and then it's fine the next day. 2) If the car has sat more than 2 weeks. 3) Sometimes bucks at half a tank, sometimes worse with the low fuel light on. I want to blame ethanol. After all it absorbs water and maybe if some of it has settled to the bottom of the tank explains why it bucks until the fuel in the tank is stired up after it runs for about 15 minutes. I've tried running the tank down to near empty and running 100% gasoline to no avail. Someone gave me instructions on how to check the fuel evaporation system but have not gotten around to it yet. OH, one day when the car was bucking, I tried driving around with the gas cap loose to see if this had any effect but it didn't seem to. The check engine light never kicked on!

I've posted this before and thought I might recap on it. The car: 2003 Baja, 2.5 non turbo, 5 speed, 77,000 miles (Yeah really) The problem: Car sometimes bucks between 2500 and 3000 RPMs with foot slightly rested on accelerator. If I shift up to the next gear and lower the RPMs where I have to put more pressure on the accelerator to maintain the same speed, the bucking goes away. Otherwise the engine idles fine, accelerates smoothly and has never stalled. It's a "cruise" issue. The weird thing is if I set my cruise control so the engine runs at 2700 rpms (just to see if there is a difference). the bucking goes away. I'm somehow lead to believe it has something to do with the throttle mechanism. I popped the hood and noticed both the mechanism that throttle cable is attached to and the mechanism the cruise control cable is attached to moves side to side. I know there is supposed to be some slack in the cables so that's normal but should there be side to side movement? The cruise control cable seems worse. Also I checked to see if the nut had backed off but when I turn it with a wrench it turns the throttle shaft with it so the nut is either bottomed out or must have LockTite on it. I have never monkeyed with it. Please watch this video and see what you think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2zJ0eDs318 Couple of thoughts: Could there be a dead spot in the throttle positioning sensor? Could the throttle body be coked up with oil residue from the crankcase ventilation system? Once a year the air auxiliary valve hiccups and kicks the check engine light on. I just reset it with my code reader and it stays off for another year. I understand this valve controls the idle speed? I'm not having any idling problems. I'd imagine it's not uncommon for a 13 year old car to hiccup occasionally.

Thanks! I currently have my 68 Ford out this week and my Subaru in it's place. I printed off your instructions and I'll check it and get back with you. I know that sounds like a big deal but I have six cars in my garage and have to strategically park them in order to fit them all in. Sometimes I have to move two of them just to get one of them out!

No, I don't detect any vacuum or positive pressure when I remove the fuel cap.

I don't know what's wrong with this computer but the copy and paste function does not work! When I try posting a breakdown of the fuel system and the photo CYN_Dave posted from the link you posted using the image button, the computer locks up so I have to hit reload. What is this problem with the fuel pump cap your referring to? When the cap is broken what does this do? Cause the tank to not be under atmospheric pressure and the check engine light kicks on? Causes air to be sucked into the fuel system? I'm assuming the part in question is the metal piece on the bottom of the fuel pump with the ground wire connected to it. By the way. My "03 Baja has the fuel filter mounted in the corner of the engine compartment. It's not mounted in the tank. If that matters. If I had to say when the car starts this bucking: Every time it's after topping off the tank but the problem goes away after 6 miles. Reason being I monitor my odometer and notice it starts running normally at the 6 mile mark. 10% of the time it happens when there is about 1 to 2 gallons in the tank. Very seldom it may happen at half a tank but very seldom. I have not driven the car with the fuel cap loose directly after topping off the tank. If that somehow effects the bucking, what would that tell me? I somehow think that the reason the bucking occurs worse after topping off the tank is the negative pressure inside the fuel tank is worse when full than say half a tank. Sort of like topping off the tank on a lawnmower with the vent closed on the fuel cap. Then after a few minutes the tank builds up negative pressure and the engine stalls. But not as bad if the tank was near empty. In other worse more of an empty void inside the tank. If any of that makes any sense. Am I on the right track or looking in the wrong place? Otherwise I'm never had the engine stall on me.

Well that's possible. For some reason I keep thinking fuel is getting sucked into the engine through the fuel evaporative system causing it to run lean at times. So I'm not sure if it's a fuel starvation issue or too much fuel at times issue.

I thought I already posted this a couple of times but this thread seems to disappear. My 2003 Baja, 5 speed, 76K miles. About two years ago my Baja started this bucking condition, usually around 3K RPMs in 3rd gear. I replaced the fuel filter but it didn't seem to make any difference. The bucking is worse after topping the fuel tank off but can buck when the tank is near empty. When it does buck after topping the fuel tank off, after 5 miles, the car runs smooth. I usually try to run the tank down until the low fuel light kicks on to get that crap (ethanol) out of my tank then start with fresh fuel. I've tried treating the fuel with Stabil ethanol treatment which is supposed to keep any ethanol/water/gas suspended. I don't know if it works or not but it doesn't seem to help any. In case your wondering, I never keep pumping into the tank after the pump kicks off. What does the fuel level have to do with the bucking? I tried driving around with the fuel cap off to see if it makes a difference. I couldn't tell. No check engine light either. But I have not hooked my OBD II read up to the car in awhile to see if there are any stored messages. Any ideas?

I need to change the coolant in my Baja. I have a few questions: 1) As with all my car's I've added a coolant tee to backwash the cooling system. If I remember correctly the tee goes in the heater hose coming off the water pump but I can't figure out which heater hose this is on my Baja because both hoses sort of lead toward the same area in the engine. Let's just say one hose connects to firewall on the driver's side and the other one connects to the passenger side of the firewall. Which hose should I place the coolant tee in? 2) Some cars require bleeding. Is there any special procedure on this engine? Any bleeder screws I need to open up when filling the system? 3) Last and this maybe a dumb question but have not had a chance to look but is there a drain port on the bottom of the radiator or do I need to disconnect the lower radiator hose? Thanks!

Well I did find four struts w/coil springs from Rock Auto for $352 a set. But I have a coil spring compressor so I don't care to swap out just the springs. I checked for just the springs and they are pulling up a whole host of different springs for the 2003 Legacy. The descriptions are misleading (4WD not AWD ) and confusing. It mentions models sold in the UK and Ireland using difference springs. WTF? Maybe I need to check somewhere's else for a better description of what they are trying to sell such as 2003 Legacy station wagon...

That's odd. I always thought the Outbacks and Bajas had about the same ride height and possibly used the same springs or suspension.

Sorry if I sound hard headed about this or missed something in someone's post but there are tons of Legacy wagon lowering springs on Ebay but none listed for the Baja. And they always say "not compatible with your vehicle". There could a reason for this. Such as the outer diameter of the spring itself will not fit a Baja strut. I did a search for some used Legacy struts and came up with $188 (each) used. God only knows how many miles they have on them, if they are rusty, worn out, bent which came from a northern state with crappy roads with allot of salt. Round here you can get almost 200,000 miles out of a set of struts before they wear out. A friend in Vermont says 60,000 miles is the life of a strut up there. I could buy a new set of lowering springs for that and use my known good struts. I did find some adjustable coilovers for my Baja but at $900 they are out of my price range. I'm thinking if I used a set of 1.5 lowering springs for a Legacy wagon not only will this lower my car 1.5" but maybe an additional 1-2" which will give me the look I am after. Just guessing. I'm not wanting to slame it or anything. Just make it sit like a Legacy GT version. About a 1" gap between the tire and wheelwell. Someone mentioned there is a spacer that goes between the body and the strut assembly on the Baja makes it sit higher than a standard Legacy. So could the standard Legacy and Baja possibly use the same springs? So other than cutting the springs with a cutting disc, what's the cheapest alternative to lowering a Baja? I just want to know if the springs between a standard Legacy and a Baja are interchangable between the strutt assemblies. Has anyone ever compared the two together to see what the actual difference is?