Stevo F Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 1998 legacy L, EJ22 engine, 4EAT transmission, 103K miles. My son has been driving the Legacy for the past couple of months back and forth to school. One thing I need to do is replace the front driver's side caliper (the brakes are running hot), but couldn't break loose the upper caliper bolt, so we took it over to a friend who runs a garage and they broke loose the bolts and snugged them back up last Monday, so I can get to the caliper this weekend. No problem there.Then this morning my son tells me that car feels a little jerky when he is braking (he says it like it's changing gears). I figure maybe the caliper's a little loose and I'll take of it tomorrow anyway.Then there's more... when he got home tonight my son pointed out that sometimes the engine doesn't catch right away when you crank it (sounds like like it's half starting for a couple of seconds) then it fires up and runs OK...Then when I tried starting it again to duplicate the not catching right away issue I noticed the idle won't go below 1,500 RPM even at operating temperate. I wonder if that's related to the starting glitch?I checked under the hood to make sure all vacuum lines looked OK. My son told me all of this started Monday after we had the caliper bolts loosened (and they were never under the hood).But wait, there's more. When I was poking around under the hood I could hear a pretty noticeable ratting coming from somewhere on the driver's side front of the engine. It's not rhythmic (like a bearing noise that is timed with the engine) but the rattle is irregular.What the heck is happening with this car? Not blaming my 17 year son for any of it, but I miss driving it everyday where i would notice any irregularities right away.There were CEL's then , but I decided to do an ECU reset. Afterwards, the engine seems to start and run normally. While resetting all of the stuff on the radio, it threw a CEL (which stayed on after multiple restarts). I need to get an OBD2 code reader I guess. Actually I few weeks ago my son got a CEL, but it went away and didn't return until after the ECU reset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEROCOOK Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 (edited) I feel your pain, I also have a 98 Legacy wagon and a 17 year old son who's effectively become the car's sole driver, every time I drive it now I seem to find new problems. Step 1, find out which DTC codes are stored. As for the rattling noise, it could be a lot of things, try to narrow in on the specific area using a stethoscope or another suitable tool. When were the timing belt, water pump and idlers last replaced? Edited October 4, 2014 by AEROCOOK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 Timing belt was last done 12K miles ago. Idlers, seals, water pump were all done at that time (right after we bought it since I didn't know when the timing belt had last been changed). I feel I've heard the noise before, but it's noticeably louder now. I feel it is coming from the drivers side timing cover area, but I may pull off the drive belts to eliminate the A/C compressor or idler pulley from being the culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 The AC idler bearings fail often and can rattle some. The other main things in the area of the timing belt are the tensioner and the cogged idler. The tensioners fail often especially after a timing belt job. If that wasn't changed that could very well be the issue, though that is unlikely to cause the high idle problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 I reset the ECU again and the CEL, and the previous high idle/ hard start and no CEL issue are apparently gone. I'll go ahead and get a code reader for if the CEL comes back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dj7291993 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 The rattle could also be from your exhaust heat shields. Hate to go replacing parts over that. Get the codes checked, as others have said. Those will help a lot. Also, have you tried spraying something like brake clean around the intake? Vacuum lines aren't the only things that leak. Intake gasket can do it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Actually the exhaust heat shields rattled like crazy when I first got the car. I stuck pieces of coat hanger in them and they haven't made a peep since. I listened to the noise again, it's not terribly loud, but noticeable if you stand in front of the car. I pulled the drive belts and it didn't go away, so it's in the engine somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 If you have an android phone I would recommend getting a cheap bluetooth scanner off eBay and downloading the torque app from the play store. I've been using one for about a year and a half and it has served me well. I think I paid something like $15 for the scanner, and the basic app is free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzam Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 iPhone OS can use an ELM327 WiFi scanners. I purchased one on Amazon for $14.95 and downloaded several free basic apps and it works well with our MY99, MY01 and MY13 Subies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 I was thinking of getting a basic scanner like this. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LHVOVK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2I5KOU3KZ6JLQ Unfortunately my phone (LG840) is just a Tracfone and won't run Android apps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEROCOOK Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I have one similar to that, it's a Geniscan GS300, and I use it all the time. I read the specs / features on the Maxiscan MS300 and I didn't see OBD II readiness monitor listed, this is a feature that my Geniscan GS300 has and I use it quite often. If the Maxiscan doesn't have this feature, I'd recommend spending a few more bucks and getting one that does. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I was thinking of getting a basic scanner like this. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LHVOVK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2I5KOU3KZ6JLQ Unfortunately my phone (LG840) is just a Tracfone and won't run Android apps. That exact one works great for me and does have readiness monitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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