unibrook

Have you ever replaced the front o2 sensor? Since the car misfires only when warm, not when cold, Nipper will tell you that this is a sign of a sensor failing. The car operates in sensor lockout mode when cold.

Hi Mike Van, Yes, please do post what the cure/problem was for your codes. I am having the same problem on my 2001 Forester with 83k on it. thanks.

Hi D-Sheets, dunno what you mean by 1 plug at a time. I replaced all 4 plugs and wires. I keep getting the misfire codes for the 2 & 4 cyl's only. Never the 1 or 3 cyl's. It is intermittent. Best price I am seeing is $125.88 via 1stSubaru parts. Any other good parts place to try?

Oh dang. Spoke too soon again. Got same misfire codes thrown again after 2 months of smooth operation. Both the #2 and #4 cyl's. Hmmm, I have so far replaced plugs, wires, air filter. Next is coil. AutoZone said pull it off and look for cracks on bottom, there were none. Anyone want to email me the testing procedure for the coil before I buy a new one?? Thx in advance. It is a 2001 Forester with 83k on it. nwlovell@yahoo.com

Your wife can probably do the timing belt in her sleep.

In MA, the last time I tried to roll into the gas stn for my inspection the guy got all snitty because I didn't have the front plate on my car. He wouldn't inspect it until I went home and attached it.

The slow leaks might be due to chewed up bead. You can have NTW or such pull them off and slap goo around them to seal better against the rim. about $23 per tire should do it. Or just get 4 new tires. Depends how much life is left in them.

I have had no further hesitation symptoms or CEL's, so I am declaring the fix complete. Replacing the wires seemed to be the cure.

My bro (the mechanic) and I make it a point to only buy old used, but decent condition cars that we just insure for liability. We save tons on insurance not having to insure vs theft or damage. From that point of view, the car will pay for itself over enough years of driving it. (at least, here in Mass it will)

Since the CEL misfire codes on cyl's 2&4 came back again. (more frequently now). I bot replacement OEM wires from Cityside Subaru here in Belmont, MA ($39). Interestingly, they are not the exact same lengths as the original wires....but near enough to use. If anyone cares, the #4 wire needs to be the longest, the #1 wire should be the shortest. The connector points on the coil housing seemed to be perfectly clean, so I just slapped some dielectric goop on them and in the plug ends of the wires and installed them. Naturally, the car is running like new.......but. It also ran like new when I first put in the new plugs and air filter, so let's not count our chickens yet. I will report back in a month if it continues to run well and I get no further CEL action.

I have been using the Fumoto for over a year. Trust me, it cannot pop open by itself as the lever locks in place. It is not recommended if you are offroading because you could perhaps damage it by whacking it on a rock.

Just a small upgrade tip. If you are doing strictly street driving (not much chance of hitting a rock under the car), I suggest you buy your car a Fumoto oil valve to replace the plug. Makes draining off excess oil reeeeeeeeeeeally easy. For that matter, makes changing oil reeeeeeeeally easy and less messy. http://www.fumotovalve.com/

I am still trouble shooting my misfires in cyl's 2&4. I bot the car used, so I am guessing the wires are original. They have white printing on them that identify the cyl #, and they say Packard on them. Are these OEM?

My experience, and my bro's experience (he is a cert.mechanic) is that if you are physically capable, and mentally willing, and can put the time into it.......you should: change your own oil, maintain your own car, etc. How often do you hear about a symptom, the person drops off the car, mechanics say car is fine--COULD NOT REPRODUCE SYMPTOM? A week later, symptom reappears, frustrated owner drops car at dealer again, mechanics start the ole "parts replacement expedition" until something seems to work for awhile. Owner drives car for awhile, then symptoms reappear. Owner drops car at dealer, they continue the parts replacement expedition........etc, etc. Just cut out the middle man, start replacing/cleaning parts yourself until you figure out what the problem was. Save yourself the time and money of dropping it off to the shop multiple times. And learn about your car in the process. JMHO, and yes, I am spoiled cuz I have an awesome bro who is a cert. mech. (but even still, he tells me to consult this ultimatesubaru chatgroup when I have trouble diagnosing).

Silver, I am very interested in how this all works out for you because my 2001 Forester 85k miles on it exhibits same symptoms. So far I have replaced plugs and tightened my valve cover bolts 1/8 turn. I will replace wires this weekend (and hey, maybe O2 sensor too after reading your report). The problem has been intermittant. Codes say misfire in cyl's 2&4. But I had no oil at all on cyl 2 plug boot.....had a fair bit on cyl 4 plug boot. Has your hesitation problem come back at all?

Oh damn, I spoke too soon. I am getting intermittant severe hesitation again. CEL came on this time, I went to AutoZone to pull codes: misfire at both #2 and #4 cylinders (those are the driver side cyl's). Hmmm. Well, I have changed the plugs, so next step is to change wires and coil since they are easily accessible. Let me know if anyone has any other ideas. I have not yet replaced the valve cover gaskets and sp plug donut grommets.

Brama you beat me to my post......my bro the pro mechanic says exactly the same. It might be pieces of your cat breaking up then plugging the exhaust, choking your engine with its own backpressure fumes. My 2001 Forester (85k miles) lost power up hill, so I replaced the plugs and tightened down the valve cover bolts (cuz I found oil around sp plug boots) and haven't had a problem since.

Well, here is one in a similar state of confunktion that seems to be only worth $500: http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/car/222800078.html

We have a 1982 Wagon GL with the 1.8L in it. 150k on her and she never complains. Gets 35 mpg. Can't find anything wrong with it to fix, except: The keyhole is reamed out, so we start it with a paperclip, and it does have a leak in the gas tank above 1/3 full. Only things outside of routine maint. we have ever done to the car: Wheel bearings, axles, exhaust, 1 rebuilt carb. We love her and she loves us.......forever, until rust do we part.

I went back under the hood and tightened the valve cover bolts 1/8th turn as some of you suggested. My 2001 has been running perfectly ever since. I guess I will hold off on the valve cover gasket and spark plug donut seals change for now.

thx Nickb! those pics are what I needed. Wow, that dipstick must really be buried, cuz I was probing all around last night with a flashlight and still couldn't find it. But with the pics showing its location, I hope to have better luck.

Ok, thx for the help. I will dig for it this weekend.

fluid dipstick? I can't find it anywhere near where the owner's manual says it should be. Thx for any guidance.

2001 Forester EJ251 engine. 82,500 miles. I had that one cylinder hesitation on acceleration and slight miss at idle problem, so I figured I would replace plugs first since I bot this car with 75k on it and I think the plugs were changed at 60k. If you are new at it, expect plug change to take 2 hrs start to finish. U need 10mm and 12mm sockets to remove the windshield reservoir and the plastic air channel assembly. Good idea to plan in advance and run your reservoir nearly empty. U need a 5/8" plug socket with rubber insert, 6" rachet extension, clean rags, a torque wrench would be nice too. It seems recommended to use the anti-seize lube on the plug threads and dielectric goop in the plug boots, so I did. People seem to recommend using 6" of surgical tube to get the plug threads started so you don't cross-thread them. I had less feel with the tubing, so I just used the plug socket attached to the 6" extender and gently threaded the plugs in by hand before attaching the rachet driver to tighten them up. I have a pretty good feel for 21 ft/lbs of torque, so I didn't use a torque wrench. The feeling you want is snug-tight....without forcing at all. All 4 old plugs were pretty clean and free of carbon buildup, and the forward 2 boots were clean and dry inside and out. The old plugs all came out with about .047" gap on them. I installed the new ones with .040" gap. The driver's side rear plug (#4 cylinder) had oil around the outside of the boot, around the hex nut part of the plug and the nearby 2 threads and up about 1/8" on the porcelin....there was no oil inside the boot or on the tip or base of the plug. The passenger side rear plug (#3 cylinder) was dry and clean as was the inside of the boot, but the outside of the boot shaft up towards the wire end was oily. My guess is that since this oil was present, I am due to take off the valve covers and replace the spark plug donut grommets and the valve cover gasket (new ones are rubber, Subaru says don't use any goop on it). Anyway, the car is running like new with the new plugs, so I will do the valve cover grommet project next month maybe.

My 2001 Forester had a slight positive camber to one of the front wheels. The alignment shop said not bad enough to bother putting on a rack and pulling on frame. But the camber was definitely enought to cause noticable wear on outside edge of my tire. My bro and I were able to correct it a bit ourselves by loosening the strut retainer bolts and pulling strut at bottom. Just enough play to get minimal adjustment. If you need more adjustment, do what guy above says and get the replacement bolts that will allow greater swing. ****oh yes, it helps to have the air-wrench for working those bolts***