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Finally solved this one. Put the pressure tester back on, and it was still only reading about 8 psi, even with the new pump. So I knew it was definitely fuel delivery, somewhere between the pump and the filter (and there's not much in between). Pulled the pump assembly back out today and found that the o-ring under the metal twisting cap (on the canister beside the pump) had bulged and expanded, and one of the metal tabs on the cap was broken. So, long story short, we found an o-ring to fit, put the metal cap back on, and put a big hose clamp over the tabs of the metal cap to correct the compromised tab. She purrs like a kitten. Of course, now that I have it resolved, I've found several stories of the same situation on various forums/blogs. Wish I would have found those last week! But all is well now.

The only code that was thrown was P0031 - HO2s Heater Control Circuit Low Band 1 Sensor 1. I thought about that, but wouldn't expect it to run intermittently perfect if there was a vacuum leak, but perhaps I am mistaken. I will check on it. My father's mechanic friend who looked at it initially the other day seemed to think all cylinders were getting proper spark. No. Now that you mention it, some time back, maybe a few months ago, it was throwing a Cylinder 6 Misfire code. Perhaps the coils/plugs are worth digging into. Thanks for the ideas.

Replaced the fuel filter, so that's out. No golf balls in the exhaust. Do you suppose bad gas could actually cause this? I know bad gas can leave you running rough, but this is really rough. Although, admittedly, he was down below 1/8 of a tank. He even brought a few extra gallons of 93 to put in it, also to no avail. From replacing the fuel pump, I can tell you there was plenty of fuel in it. But again, do you think water in the fuel could actually be the culprit? Is it worth siphoning and refilling with good, fresh 93? Don't know about the cat. Is there any quick/easy way to check it?

My father has an '02 Outback with the H6 3.0 (automatic), about 145k on the car, 130k or so on the motor. When it works, it's great, although he's had a few issues with it. The most recent issue is as follows: About a week ago, he started the car, put it in reverse to back out of a parking stall, backed up about 15 feet, and it stalled. Nothing dramatic, it just shut off. It had been running just fine before that. He tried to start it again; it would crank like a champ, but not fire. He called a mechanic friend who came and looked at it, and when he cranked it, he could get it to sputter a little, but not start. He thought it sounded like a failing fuel pump. Soooooo... we replaced the fuel pump yesterday. Cranked it a few times. It would still sputter and try to start, but still no luck. Could definitely hear the fuel pump working. We tried cranking it (giving it plenty of time between tries) for about a half hour. Sometimes it would get close to starting, but just couldn't make it all the way, except once....... It did start once, and it was quite odd. It would run smooth for a couple of seconds, and then start missing and sputtering. If I pumped the pedal a little it would sometimes "catch up" and start running smooth again, even up over 3k rpms it would purr like a kitten (albeit only for a couple of seconds). It would idle okay for a couple seconds, then miss and nearly stall. I would pump the pedal, it might or might not smooth out. After about 3 or 4 minutes of this, it stalled again and wouldn't start. Electrical? Injectors? Plugs? Coils (the H6 is coil on plug, right?)? Timing? Something else? I can't imagine it's any sort of catastrophic mechanical failure, since it did run intermittently smoothly yesterday. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. He is supposed to be making a 500 mile trip in it on Tuesday, so time is unfortunately of the essence. I'll probably check on getting it into a a local shop tomorrow, but the likelihood of same-day call, diagnosis, and service is probably not great!