kingweaver88 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Ok so I have a 2000 Outback limited 5 speed with 180,000 miles on it. It was running fine until a few weeks ago, I blew out the front passenger side CV axle and had to rebuild/repack it. After I was done with that repair I decided to run some fuel system cleaner through it... this is when the problems began, either I damaged something in the engine bay while fixing the CV axle or that fuel system cleaner screwed something up. Anyway here are the symptoms... Terrible gas mileage, 9mpg in the city and about 13mpg on the highway. Power comes in surges, I can rev the engine up and let out the clutch and it just bogs down like I have a lawn mower engine under the hood, then a few seconds later the power comes in a surge. Finally it has an idling and stalling problem at low speeds or at a stop, instead of stopping and idling at around 1000 rpm's like its supposed to sometimes it drops down to about 200 rpm for a few seconds then dies completely... if I catch it before it dies and rev it back up it wont die but sometimes I don't catch it in time (almost got me in an accident the other day when it stalled during a turn and I lost my power steering...scared the crap out of me). The first two problems are persistent but the stalling problem is erratic and comes and goes, also it doesnt matter if the A/C is on or not. The check engine light hasn't come on and I haven't had the computer scanned so I am kind shooting in the dark here. I have replaced the fuel filter, coil pack and wires, spark plugs (with ngk iridiums), cleaned out the throttle body with carb cleaner, replaced the air filter, double checked the intake to make sure there are no leaks, and reset the ECU. So far the problems are still there, I am hesitant to spend the money replacing more parts until I can know for sure what the issue is. Btw, I am sort of a beginner car person, I know bikes so I get the fundamentals but not necessarily the practical aspects of car repair so keep that in mind. Anyway any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayedid Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Have you tried using a stick (broom handle / pipe / stethoscope) to listen to the each injector to see if you hear a problem with one of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingweaver88 Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 hmmm never thought to do that... pretty good idea, Ill get back to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingweaver88 Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 the engine is too loud for me to hear a darn thing, I actually have a stethoscope (don't have the faintest idea how it came into my possession) I took a long screwdriver and placed it against the top of the injector right where the wire plugs in and placed the stethoscope against the handle... again the engine is just too loud for me to hear anything so I only tried the one injector. Any other way to test them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 A dead injector (not spraying at all) would almost certainly show a misfire code. Does the CEL come on during the bulb test? Grease can foul certain types of O2 sensors. If the sensor on the front Cat has any grease on it that could be causing trouble. Double double check the connections on the intake tube and airbox. Make sure the breather hoses are attached correctly. Any source of air entering the intake tubing behind the MAF (if it has one) will cause problems like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingweaver88 Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 im not sure what you mean by bulb test, if you mean have I tested to see if its just the check engine light bulb thats out (hence why I am not seeing the check engine light) yes I have tested it, I started it up with the MAF sensor disconnected and the CEL came on so I know its not just the bulb (I reset the ECU after this). I've quadrupled checked the intake for leaks so I dont believe that is the issue. The grease thing could be it, when the CV axle went, the boot split open and slung axle grease all over the front cat... I cleaned it off pretty good though but it still could have fouled it up... wouldnt that throw a code though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Bulb test occurs when the ignition is turned to ON. all of the bulbs in the dash light up. The CEL comes on for a few seconds then goes out. It's just to verify that the bulb is working. Does this start immediately after starting when the engine is cold, or does it happen after the engine warms up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingweaver88 Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 Does this start immediately after starting when the engine is cold, or does it happen after the engine warms up? Both when cold and warm, sometimes it does it alot and sometimes it doesnt do it all. I just went to autozone a min ago and the engine was cold and it stalled twice on the way there... the other day I was on I-75 for an hour and hit stop go traffic, the engine of course was warm and as soon as I hit the traffic it wanted to stall every few seconds. It never does it with the throttle open only when idling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingweaver88 Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 I got the idle issue fixed (well I think so, I haven't had it do it yet) I noticed that the tube going from the IACV to the intake manifold was loose, really loose. I guess it had formed a seal before but I may have knocked it just enough to break it free when I pulled the air box out to put the new air filter in. So I put a hose clamp on it and it idles at about 1100 rpm when cold and about 900 rpm when warm without fluctuating or stalling so I think I got it. Still having the power issue and gas mileage issue though. I pulled the MAP sensor earlier and cleaned it with crc MAF cleaner (although it looked really clean and fairly new already, I think the previous owner replaced it). Tomorrow I'm gonna pull both O2 sensors and see if I can clean them, if not and they are nasty I guess I will just replace them and see if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 it made an immediate jump to decent gas mileage to this? wow - 9mpg !!! that is terrible. i have you pulled the intake back out from when you replaced the air filter? i wonder if something got left in there or installed crooked or something is wrong with the air filter, stuck in the throttle plate, i'd go back in there and see if you can find something. i'm not sure how fuel pressure is regulated on these but i wonder if you accidentally affected the fuel pressure regulator hoses/lines when working on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Fuel pressure test it and if it shows under ~35 PSI, pull the pump out and check the O-ring on the metal cap of the fuel pump assembly. the ear on the metal cap breaks, causing the pump to lose its pressure Theres been 2 2000+ Legos that have had that issue already this week, wouldnt surprise me if yours was the 3rd. your symptoms are almost identical to my buddies that we fixed yesterday. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=135288 thats the link, has pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingweaver88 Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Ok im gonna check the O2 sensor's today as soon as I get a chance, after that I will check the fuel pump assembly... Im determined to get this fixed, I appreciate the help btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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