Phugoid Posted April 1, 2005 Share Posted April 1, 2005 I LOVE my "new" '97 Outback Limited. Great car. It's got just shy of 100k miles on it and is going strong. One question though... What controls the idling rpm? I've noticed that sometimes it'll idle at 1500 and sometimes at 800. Why would this change? My old car did this too. Thanks, Reid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted April 1, 2005 Share Posted April 1, 2005 The Idle is controled by the ECU. The ECU will very the idle speed based on engine temp and load. When the engine is warm 800 rpm is about right and when the engine is cold 1500 is about right. Also if the AC or Defroster is on, the engine will idle faster to compensate for the added load of the AC compressor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 GLCraigGT: That little blue fella to the left of your name? Is that what a head-gasket leak looks like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 GLCraigGT: That little blue fella to the left of your name? Is that what a head-gasket leak looks like? No, that is what a Subaru Owner looks like when his (or her) headgasket blows, and they see the bill. . . I also have a question about idle speed. On my '92, it tends to "hunt" a bit. Is this a clear indication of some condition or other (O2 sensor going? TPS? Something else?)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasquatch Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 No, that is what a Subaru Owner looks like when his (or her) headgasket blows, and they see the bill. . . I also have a question about idle speed. On my '92, it tends to "hunt" a bit. Is this a clear indication of some condition or other (O2 sensor going? TPS? Something else?)? The hunting is usually either a vacuum leak (check all the hoses around the throttle body or perhaps the MAF air flow unit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 what about cleaning the idle air control valve (IAC)? That seems to remedy some of these high rpm problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanurys Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 what about cleaning the idle air control valve (IAC)? That seems to remedy some of these high rpm problems. I agree that it is also very likely a vac leak or bad ECU temp sensor (on the coolant pipe that runs over the bock and under the intake manifold, passenger side). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 my 97 Legacy OBW had a terrible erratic idle about 2 months ago. i checked every hose on that thing. no vacuum leaks. i removed and cleaned the iacv and that fixed it. btw, if you do clean the iacv make sure to replace the gasket with a new one. curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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