bstone

This might be a good hobby car to learn how to fix on. Everyone needs one of those.

Is there a CEL for the misfire? I recent had a misfire that wasn't causing a CEL unless it was wet. Turned out to be the coil. Replaced the coil and life was good again.

Get a multimeter and check the voltage on the battery. If it's good, then you might have a dead fuse somewhere. Get a test light and test the fuses.

Check the coolant for hydrocarbons and do a pressure leakdown test on the radiator. In the meantime, I would change the oil, rad cap, t-stat and coolant.

It's been in the negative digits and snowing a lot, so replacement of the O2 sensor will have to wait for a while. In the meantime I cleared the code and it hasn't yet come back.

Unsure, but in the summers I regularly run my radiator on 100% water.

I am unsure as I bought the car in May 2010 with 220k on it. So this is the SECOND cat's O2 sensor? I'll swap it out and hope that helps.

The primary cat was replaced over the summer from a cheap muffler shop and the O2 sensor was reused. Got 235k miles. Have another cat to put on if necessary.

CEL came on while driving this afternoon. Scanned and it came up as P0136 Oxygen O2 Sensor Circuit Low Voltage (Bank 1, Sensor 2). I have a new OE O2 sensor that I can swap but it appears this is a CIRCUIT issue, not a cat below efficiency or a O2 sensor failure, per se. So, folks, talk to me about what to do. Is this the first or second cat? Should I check the wires going from that cat up to the wiring harness? Should I pull out the O2 sensor and clean it off? Your ideas are welcome.

It works for OBD 2 cars. THe other way to get the code is to use a Subaru scanner, but those cost many thousands of dollars.

No you just need to follow the instructions. No grounding necessary.

A HowTo I wrote: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=117234&highlight=read+transmission+codes

You have to see if the fans are getting power and a command to turn on. You can use a power probe on the wires, I believe. If they are getting a command to turn on but aren't turning on then you might have a bad fan.

Good point. Fortunately for me I replaced the intake, head, cam, crank and oil gaskets over the summer. Tho I have been tempted to rent an engine smoker and check to see how they are holding.

Update: I replaced the coil with an OE one I had sitting in the basement (got it from a junkyard a few months ago). Started her up and all was beautiful. No more stumbling, no more low lower, no more misfire. Just for good measure I drove to the Subaru dealership 5 miles away, still with no misfire or stumbling. I figured I may as well buy the wires and I had a 15% off discount coupon, which got me the wires for $57, including tax. Replaced the wires and filled the boot tubes with dielectric grease in the parking lot and she now drives like a dream. Thanks everyone for your help. I was hoping not to have to replace the plugs and with your help I didn't have to. It also seems that I preformed a tune up! Shalom!

I am headed to the dealer now to get OE wires. They have them $64 and I printed up a 15% off coupon from their website. I have an OE coil in the basement that I will put on before heading out, just in case that solves the issue and I can save the coin. If neither the new coil or wires fix the problem then I'll replace the plugs, but that's a PITA as we all know. I can do it in about an hour if all goes perfectly.

No oil on the boots. I replaced the valve cover gaskets a while ago and it's holding well.

It didn't help. See my update post, immediately above yours.

Update: Went to Advance Auto Parts today and got WD-40 and dielectric grease. Took the boots off, sprayed them out with WD-40, let them dry and then filled them with the dielectric grease. Also took off the wires from the coil pack and sprayed them down. It didn't help. I am still misfiring, but it's not turning on the CEL. I am going to get new wires tomorrow from the local dealer (I have a 15% off coupon) and will also put on an OE coil pack that I have in my basement. If that doesn't solve it then I'll have to replace the plugs, but that may have to wait until a really sun and relatively warm day.

Oh I know we have drain plugs, but this is easier than climbing under the car. Not by much, but it is easier and cleaner.

This guy has a good idea. You can remove a lot of trans fluid this way without every dropping the pan. My question is will it pull it out of the torque converter also? He says to replace 2qt every time you do an oil change. Seems reasonable.

Ahh, WD40. Not a bad idea. Should I also get some dielectric grease?

Does anyone have a part number for the wires for my 97 OBW AT?

NGK wires aren't OE? Wow. I thought they totally were. Does anyone have a part number for the most recent OE wires?

I am using NGK Laser Platinum plugs (same as OE plugs), NGK wires (same as OE) and a coil I got at the parts store (tho I have an OE coil that I can put on). I did replace the knock sensor over the summer as I was getting a code for it. It was nice and tight when I got it in. You think there might be some moisture getting into the electrical connector? Like I said, once I cleared the codes after the engine was on for a few minutes the problem didn't come back and power was restored.