1 Lucky Texan

I have little experience with this stuff, but I will say, I recently used the 'blue wrench' and was impressed by what a little heat could do.

you could try something similar to this; Probably have to try different size sockets or hammerheads or tool handles. Whatever fits tightest I guess.

yep, TGV is present too. And, due to being above the injectors, could only be cleaned with 'induction service' or some other solvent introduced thru the throttlebody. If I hadn't paid a dealership to do that a few months ago, I'd try the SeaFoam Spray kit on it. (If I had more time and money, I'd do a TGV delete mod.) Tried cleaning the MAF last night, took a little drive this morning to bring back some breakfast goodies. Still missing. beginning to rain but, I may swap pl;aces with the wife's car in the garage and hook up the vacuum gauge. quickly running out of stuff I can try myself. I DO have RomRaider on my laptop and a tactrix cable. I just need to educate myself on how to log with it while driving - but, since I have no MIL or even pending codes, I don't see how logging OBDII data would detect anything.

yep - active valve lift/timing w'ever. dunno what rpm that starts kicking in though. I've had misses at every RPM below 3K. not too sure above that as noise and torque/power start taking over.

well, I'm at work and am usually short, often posting while parts program. sorry for the confusion - no comp test yet. Just wondering IF the numbers were close, you'd STILL check valve lash. supposedly the 06 WRX does have buckets, not sure if the STI only has the selectable bucket sizes or if the WRX has shims as well. def. not screw-with-locknut though. evidently, the device to adjust in car is $300.

OK, if the car passed a compression test, would you still check valve lash?

bucket/shim or bucket only so, even the coil on plug is wasted spark? I have a message in to a 'tuner' shop several cities away. Not convenient if I have to rent a car, but, if he had to, I suppose he could monitor the car on the dyno to see what's going on. I hate spending hundreds, but if i wait and a valve is compromised, it's thousands.

again - just 44.5 K miles, but, yeah, thinking having the clearances checked is coming up soon. I guess I'd like to know if there are coil and/or injector tests the dealer or a shop can do.

pretty sure the problem is still there after this morning's drive. still no CEL. sigh I may try that oil filler cap test again and have someone rev the engine, probably should observe it for several minutes anyway. I did re-seat the connector on each coil when I installed the new plugs, they looked OK. Indeed, most everything on the car is still new-ish looking and grime free. last night I installed the new CPS (rockauto shipped that thing fast!) and refreshed a ground on the other side of the intake mani. Kinda of thinking about buying a coil and just start at cylinder one and swap it around but - I dunno. Even though i asked the dealership to do a throttlebody cleaning the last time it was there, I may buy that SeaFoam spray with the curved tube and try that. (long story but, I paid them to change a bad rear wheel bearing, since it was in and they loaned me a car, I had the PCV valve replaced and asked for thottlebody cleaning. they said they did something called 'induction service' or something like that, I don't recall exactly) It occurs to me also that, I have a vacuum gauge - so this weekend I will try to monitor vacuum with it. i wonder if the dealer has a way to test coils and injectors? Tell me more about the connectors and the ignition module, any diagrams or pics around?

cal has good points, I guess I feel the way I do mainly because, as delivered new, the Subaru is better prepared/designed/engineered w'ever for the track. if you look at turn 8 on the track up there (we ran it CCW), the FWD guys were having to decel hard while they plowed right past turn-in (you can't see on the plan, but it's also down hill and maybe slightly off-camber IIRC) , then took a hard left. The rest of us just rolled-off throttle early and or braked, turned in, apex a little late, then gunned it. basically treated it like any other turn, just carry less velocity through. My first instructor had me try that turn the same way at first, it felt very unnatural and the rear would try to come around on me when i hit the throttle. The Viper driver helped me a lot more. later in the day, I had some of the turns up to within 2-3 mph of his speeds he said. Buned through 3/4 tank of gas - probably 3.5-4 hours of track time (the rest was 'class time' and lunch and taking a break so another group ran.) so awesome. I ran with these guys; http://www.apexdrivingacademy.com/

No helper to rev the engine but, is it normal for the filler tube to be pulsing? Our 03 H6 outback doesn't.(yeah, I went and fired it up in a panic if you must know) Kinda freaks me out - it seems much faster than just one cylinder, like each of the 4 causes a pulse. maybe the PCV system is different for the turbo so it behaves differently than the H6? I didn't see any smoke or vapor. I received the Beck-Arnley CP sensor and installed it so, I will be paying VERY CLOSE attention the car for a coupla days. (couldn't find my voltmeter, but I did refresh another ground though, it was all bright and shiny...)

well, you did say 'who', not 'which car'. I'm giving the edge to the Subaru.

There were 'track preppared' cars both times I went - and the Subarus dominated most of the time - but, almost by definition, if you saw a track-prepped car, it had a track-experienced driver too. Among the noobs, byt the end of the day, you could draw a few general conclusions. I had a Porsche Boxster beat, a Miata and some kind of Audi wagon for instance. But again, real world, some drivers may have been more cautious with their cars than other drivers, or it could have been crappy stock tires, or they just didn't understand how to hit the apexes just right, etc. maybe subisailor or some other real motorsport guys will post. here's a pic;

Too hypothetical I think. Find a real track! here's the track I went to a coupla times; I've done one AutoX too. From what I saw and experienced, the FWD guys just lose a lot of speed in the hairpins that everyone else carries thru. But, there are so many other factors. It isn't like a drag race or hole shots at all. It could take half a day finding the best tire pressure!

from my extremely limited experience, it likely would come down to the driver. I will say, that the first time I went to Motor Sport Ranch in Cresson, the first instructor had me take a specific turn in a manner better fitting FWD cars. It was horrible, my second instructor had me take the corner more like he does in his Viper and it felt much better. So, it may also be track and training dependent. Car prep and tire selection is gonna figure in, but for 2 noob drivers, may not be terribly significant compared to memorizing the course and picking the right entry-apex-exit points. There also is something to say for low power - by that I mean, the track record at MSR is held by a 134 hp Miata. I think keith just keeps the go pedal on the floor for 90% of the time - but has the handling and the skill to pick the lines 'just' right. The course sees a LOT more powerful cars - domestic and foreign 'torque monsters', but they don't have the course record. They have judge when to 'roll-off' the throttle and brake more often than a car that may only need to brake once or twice. Less opportunity for an error. Might be interesting to drive 3 times, then swap cars and drive 3 times! It's a lot of fun and I definitely could use more driver training - just don't have the money for track time, tires and brakes!

Seriously, I perhaps have detected it once or twice at idle. Certainly no more frequent than driving at 2K rpm. yesterday had to get my inspection sticker. I asked the guy if there were any pending codes, he said no. haven't really done anything new yet to diagnose, perhaps after work today , certainly this weekend I will try taking the oil filler cap off and idling/reving. I also have a ground on the other side of the intake manifold to 'refresh'. And I have a replacement CP sensor on the way. I think I'll measure the voltage across the battery too. wish I had a code, then I could swap coils and injectors....

no way it's the first. could be first for 2013 I guess.

any chance of rodent damage to some wiring?

bad cables or other charging issue. (intermittent alternator, slipping belt, etc.) You are gonna need to measure voltage drops at battery, batt pos with chassis ground, batt and chassis ground to starter terminal, etc. while cranking as well as for bad grounds. internally corroded cables, etc.

yeah, from what I've read, could be rotted filler neck. knock sensor may be cracked. Still, could be worth clearing the codes to see which ones come back. I've had a bad battery set 'spurious' codes. But, on a '98 , those both easily could be legit.

I have tried to 'force' some missing - no go. Even lugging it in high gear up a hill - it's just as random as 'regular' driving. @ days agao I tried to let the tank get really low and 'thought' , maybe turning with a low tank would cause it cause it happened a coupla times. Then, on a straight section, I tried some hard 'slalom' maneuvering - nothing. it seems completely random. if I get to a point that I want to take it to a real mechanic, what should I ask, suggest is done? Would a borescope show any scoring from a cracked ring land? Then what, comp/leakdown, then check the valve lash clearances? I just now ordered a beck/arnley CPS. cheap enough from rockauto to try. ($26)

thanx, I think a compression/leakdown test might be the step to go to after I try ; refreshing more ground connections (they have all looked good - wonder where exactly the CPS is grounded?) wiggling cable harnesses while idling inspect cam sensors replace crank sensor double check for pending codes and read fuel trim data again It still happens at 1800 to 3K or so (maybe above and below but perhaps not noticed?), stone cold engine or warmed-up. after a turn, during accel OR deceleration (in gear, like engine braking - this seems weird???) still goes 'chk' and bucks/jerks a little. If I really put my foot in it, it still pulls strong. (but I admit to driving more like a granny since this started) Just filled the tank - this is probably the 5th tank of gas since the problem started/was noticed. There has been no rain or other odd weather.

nvrmd

I AM wondering about that. It wasn't a lot, and, evidently, may not have been a problem - though, for a day, it seemed to be working after I cleaned it. But, could an idler bearing be failing? Is it because the car gets so few miles a little corrosion is forming on some pulley surfaces? (the debris is black, not rust-colored), The theory at a thread at NASIOC is, since the sensor has a magnet and coil inside, any magnetic particles that build up o the sensor could confuse the timing. I wish I had a CEL. I may check again for pending codes, and try some longer 'pulls' like fairtax suggested. I tried a few but, it didn't seem to 'force' a miss. I may pull the cam sensors for inspection next(but they are at the rear of the engine right?) - then put a new crank sensor in if they seem OK. Is Delphi a good brand, Beck/Arnley? It's so random.

In Mother Russia, car takes YOU for spin!