upnorthguy

I did have the cam position sensor unbuckled when I was replacing the fill tube o-ring and valve cover gaskets, so I popped it off again and cleaned a bit of residue from the connections and reconnected to make sure it was solid. That seemed to solve the P0340. I followed the FSM info on checking the resistance of the primary and secondary connections on the ignition coil. The secondary (across 1 & 2 contacts and 3 & 4 contacts) checked out within the range in the FSM, but I was unable to get any resistance readings through the primary pins combos (1 & 2 and 2 & 4). I went to a salvage yard today and checked a couple of coil packs there, there were two that mimicked the same behavior (secondary resistance within range, unable to get any resistance readings across primary pin combos). I bought one of the coil packs and fired up the Foz a couple of hours ago and no codes are coming up and the engine runs smooth, so there do not seem to be any misfires. One test drive was without trouble. I'm going to take it on a few more spins around the 'hood and make sure it does not pop codes again. Interesting problem with an interesting assortment of suggestions. Thanks to all for the input.

Yeah, I have an OBD reader. No codes to start. I tried starting it a bit ago and it was turning over, but wouldn't catch. I tried a few times and got it go after giving it some gas, but it was tough. Checked codes tonight and got P0301, P0340, and P0302. Very strange, as it had no trouble turning over last night and did not run rough. Definitely shook more tonight, which makes sense if I'm getting a misfire on cyliners 1 and 2. I have no idea why the camshaft position sensor would now be kicking a code.

Hey gang! Long time. I did some searching and didn't find what I was looking for, so... My 2001 Forester (I got it with 153k, it has 178k now) started with some flashing CEL and rough running ("the muffler was banging"), causing the mrs to smartly circle back to the compound and park it. I've done some digging on the Google and it looks like this is likely tied to a misfire of some kind. I replaced plugs and wires with new NGKs (along with new valve cover gaskets and a new fill tube o-ring as there was a decent amount of oil buildup on that side of the engine). Took it for a test drive and all seemed fine- no flashing CEL, ran like normal. A few days later, I fired it up to take it for another spin around the neighborhood and the CEL was flashing right away and exhaust smells rich. What should be my plan for trying to chase down the misfire? Check ignition coil pack next? What about after that?

I'm guessing someone smarter will chime in, but you can do some comparison on opposedforces.com and match part numbers. You can also do a similar maneuver by looking for the part on an auto parts site (e.g., Advanced Auto). Assuming you are going to get a used knuckle from a salvage yard, have it include the ABS sensor if you can. Removing your old ABS sensor to reuse almost never works as they get frozen into the knuckle and you end up breaking it while trying to remove. I've had success with $15 ABS sensors from eBay.

After on and off problems, including a different code (71) eventually, it was determined that the transmission control module (TCM) was intermittently bad. A new (used) TCM seems to have finally stopped the transmission codes.

Bumping this one again. Anyone with thoughts on this?

Had a used 4EAT (with ~80k) installed on my 2001 Forester a month or so ago and it has recently started flashing the A/T oil temp light. Did the handshake today and I think it is code 78 SPORT shift solenoid - detects open or shorted output signal circuit.. I'm not finding much on this. Can anyone smarter shed some light on this one for me? Is this internal to the transmission? Anything external I can check?

I have not heard of that outfit, but I like the idea. I will investigate. Thanks! NB: Looks like First Gear Garage closed in March 2013. Interesting idea.

First shop diagnosis confirmed my hunch that the front diff is toast on my 01 Forester. Quote for installation of used transmission was crazy. Anyone near me with transmission swap experience up for a Saturday or Sunday fun day? All the beer and food you could consume plus some bucks for your expertise! I'm mostly of up for the challenge (although the mrs is trying to rule against me). I had the EJ22 out of my old gen 2 Legacy, but no transmission work yet. Having an experienced pilot to help this co-pilot along would definitely help.

If autopsy pics become available I will certainly share! Update: No "open body" autopsy was done. Diagnosis was likely a bad pinion gear (or more) and the entire transmission was swapped.

Definitely not driveable more than a few feet without feeling like one of the wheels is going to fly off. The clunk is very significant. I had it towed home (I realize my statement that I "got it home" was way too generic!). For shiz and giggles, I'll install the FWD fuse later and see what happens. After searching for a decent walkthrough of the 4EAT removal/install, I just finally found it in the FSM (it was in the engine section, not the transmission or transmission/differential). I think I'll be in the market for a used tranny. I think best fit is a 4EAT from a 00-02, right?

I think my 01 Fozzy just developed this. Daughter was driving it yesterday and big clunk, then a big clunk each tire rev that got worse apparently. Got it towed home. Jacked it up with all four wheels off the ground and in drive to do some testing and without engine load there is no noise. Spinning the wheels by hand does not generate the clunk. Once you give it some gas (~2k rpm) the wheels spin with enough power to feel the clunk. I thought it sounded like a bad inner CV joint on the passenger side. I replaced the passenger half shaft and the big clunk is still there.

I'm with Caboobaroo on this. I've replaced a couple of units with salvage linkages without having to mess around with the Dorman type replacement parts. I check the linkage at the yard before I remove it to see how tight they feel with regards to slop. So far I am 2 for 2 on good replacements. This time of year, an ebay linkage can work nicely too...warmer for the hands.

I already did a 3x fluid swap. I did not replace the spin on filter, though. Maybe I'll think about that next summer. Thanks!

Ah, that helps explain why my ABS light was on (but has subsequently gone out). Of course I had packed up the stands and moved on to some other projects. Rejacked/standed and tested. Throttle increase does cause rear wheels to spin. I guess the spin I feel at the front wheels is the initial slip before the rears have kicked in as the throttle increases. Seems like this feels different compared to the 95 EJ22 I had (I don't recall it having the same amount of front wheel slip during a slippery start from zero). Maybe a little more torque/HP with the EJ25 causes that? Thanks for the clarification on my misunderstanding of VC/center diff (or lack thereof) on the AT.

I'm messing around with the '01 Fozzy I got last summer. I'm not convinced the AWD is working correctly as the front wheels seem to spin easier than I think when starting out in some slop (not a ton of snow yet, so I haven't had the best conditions to test). I found a few threads (including this one) about testing AWD, but I'm wondering if that applies to my rig. This one is the S model with, I think, the LSD in the rear. I have it on jack stands and when placed in drive, the front wheels spin and the rears sit there like slugs with no rotation. Transmission number is TZ1A3ZC2AA-P8. Am I looking at a bad VC, center diff or something else? Thanks!

OK, so the search took a longer path, but I'm comfortably back on the Scooby family. "New" 01 Forester S with only 153k. Pretty sweet ride. Stopped by the dealer on the way home to get some keys made and found out from the service department (they sold it to the guy I bought it from) replaced the HGs in 2013 at 109k as they were leaking. It's good to be back in the fold.

Or just look for another power antenna unit (or two) at a salvage yard. Should be easy to find and be minimal cost.

The EJ22 in your '95 is generally pretty bulletproof (considered by many here to be one of Subaru's better/best engines). The HGs are pretty bad on the EJ25. Not that the EJ22 can't ever have bad HGs, but it is much less common.

Check the oil separator plate for metal/non-metal. If metal, reseal. If not metal, install metal. Plus replace the wrist pin access o-ring next to it. Tighten the oil pump screws/change o-ring.

The DIY is the post-apocalytic method here.

The dust is settling some now from my move (back) to MN. I'm starting to think about early summer when college kid will be home and I'll likely need another vehicle. Time to look for another wagon! I've been to the three salvage yards around the Twin Cities looking for parts for other vehicles. Good to see a nice selection of Legacy/Outbacks. I even saw a nice EA81 wagon (tan) with a decent interior. You don't see many of those in the yards or rolling on the streets around here in saltesota. I'll be diving into a head gasket on my 01 Civic in the next couple of weeks, so that should give me some nice warm up to some EJ25 work that I'll be looking for as I search for a gen 1 Outback. Being back in Subaru country feels good.

Interesting, I never even looked at that (at least not with alignment issues in mind). I was cheap and never paid for an alignment as I wasn't sure how long I would have this wagon and I picked up cheap and was trying to minimize costs. Nice catch (and great use of the arrow in the photo).

Good to see you made, trivalence! Yeah, the rear brakes were one of the few spots on my wagon that I didn't get around to addressing. I probably should have dug into those and done what you are going to do (grease the slides, etc.). They didn't cause a failure of the VA safety inspection, so I was still riding along. The rear rotors were definitely scored some. When I replaced the front calipers with the dual piston Outbacks I did flush brake fluid through the front end, but I didn't do a full flush through the rear calipers. I replaced just about everything else along the way while working on the mileage. It seemed better on the drive to C-ville, and I rarely took it on long road trips as my Civic was the designated long haul vehicle of the family (due to the really good mileage) so I chalked some of it to the very short trips around NoVA. I forgot to add into the info I passed along that I replaced the front O2 sensor with a Denso from Rockauto so that is only a few months old (the old one was in one of the parts boxes I gave you since I wasn't sure it was bad).

And to circle back to my "best" thread of work...I sold my '95 wagon today. A guy from C-Ville bought it and he should be showing up here as he needs info. Fairtax will be getting all the heat now due to proximity! I'm moving in a month and didn't want to move the rig along with me, despite all the fun hours I had wrenching on it. It was too stinking hot for me to mess with the awesome fog lights I got from Grossgary-I'll miss those. They really did help out the night driving with the crappy headlights. Next acquisition should hopefully be an Outback with a blown/bad EJ25. However, I'm moving back into the rust belt so it will probably require a road trip to pick something up that isn't about to fall apart.