deadend9009 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Hello there, my name is Guillaume and I've been working mostly on Hondas ion the past. I do love Japanese engineering...they use common sense and make it easy to work on them. I've always been a WRC fan and always loved Subarus for their AWD system and very distinctive noise. Anyways, I've been lurking around this website for quite a while now, but have never bought or driven a Subaru until this morning. Its a 1999 Legacy wagon with an EJ22 in it. It has about 178k miles on it and is a manual, which is all that i would consider. I went to look at it and when it started, the engine was vibrating and shaking pretty good. The car had a solid CEL on, but at time it would blink, mostly when the car was stopped. My questions are: 1- Blinking CEL means what? I've read it was misfire, other posts warned about it being a very bad sign that the engine was going to blow. Obviously they are very different. What does the blinking CEL mean? 2- Any Subaru specific advice on buying a used one? I know Hondas you gotta watch for a few things like oil burning and rear trailing arm bushigns. Anything like that on a subbie? I've searched a bit, but the search function is not all as helpful as im used to on VWVortex.com and Honda-tech.com. I have noticed, though, that people around here are not about bashing on each other and I like it. Sorry for the noob-ish question, but i can't put my finger on the problem. Thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana105 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Any other warning lights on? such as ABS or brake.Drive the car down to the local parts store and hook it up to a code reader,if it blows up you aren't responsible!!! Get the codes and then get back to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Welcome! Generally for the soob the flashing cel is when cylinder misfire is detected, then it stays on steady. There are other things that can make the cel flash. You could also have multiple codes stored, so yes reading the codes would be a good idea. The misfire can be valve issues (ie not closing completely or carboned up really bad), non ngk spark plugs, plug wire issues, sometimes coil pack, injector, once in a while ignitor, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadend9009 Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 nope no other lights are on. I can't just drive it to a place to have it read, they charge for that here in Canada. I knew it'd be something around a misfire because the engine moves violently under that hood: the shifter itself is moving!! I'll be driving the car on the highway tomorrow so i'll see if it gets better when it warms up a bit. If its better when warm, i expect it to be ignition related, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana105 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Only trying to help,wasn't aware you didn't have any of the same auto parts dealers we have since you're listed in Michigan.by the way welcome to the board.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadend9009 Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 Only trying to help,wasn't aware you didn't have any of the same auto parts dealers we have since you're listed in Michigan.by the way welcome to the board.... Hey thanks for the reply though! And I live in Montreal...used to live in Michigan. Anyone else have some input on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana105 Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Is this a private transaction or through a dealer? If through a dealer they should be able to read the codes for you.And by now any independent mechanic should have the equipment to read codes on this age of car if you have any buddies with code readers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reveeen Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Please keep in mind that there isn't a worse place in Canada to buy a Subaru (or any car) than in the province where you find yourself. Any car rusts badly there, more so, than on the east coast. A 6 hour drive west, to the Toronto area, will get you a car about 100 times better. Check Craigs list Toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-fleet-feet Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Unfortunately, you'll need to have the code read, even if you must pay for it to be done. Call around and compare prices, then do it ASAP. That code will tell you what's wrong, and once you have it, and post it here, I know someone will be along to help. But we need the code first! Sorry about the cost, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadend9009 Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 All the help is greatly appreciated. The more i think about it, the more im afraid about buying this car. I would rather not buy a car from Toronto as the car will have to be inspected and most likely will not pass with the budget I had in mind. I'll try to have it scanned, as I am not buying it from a dealership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana105 Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 We all understand frugalness and staying within our budget.Unless this car is a hell of a deal I'd stay away from it. If you really like the car then a code scan is imperative in determining whether you can afford to first buy it then fix it and then maintain it,Gary could probably fill you in more on what this car may be worth,maybe he'll chime in. I'd personally back away if it's more than 2000.00 US,and I'd still be sweating it not knowing what's wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadend9009 Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 We all understand frugalness and staying within our budget.Unless this car is a hell of a deal I'd stay away from it. If you really like the car then a code scan is imperative in determining whether you can afford to first buy it then fix it and then maintain it,Gary could probably fill you in more on what this car may be worth,maybe he'll chime in. I'd personally back away if it's more than 2000.00 US,and I'd still be sweating it not knowing what's wrong. thing is, the guy wants 1650 OBO for it...but its an L model and doesn't even have a tachometer. All i really want is AWD and a manual transmission, which this car has. I'll go have a look at it tomorrow, see if the codes go away. Will the codes clear if the misfire stops or will they be stored and the light stay on? I know in my VW, they WILL NOT turn off unless you have it dealer checked (BS in my opinion!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana105 Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Gotta be frustrating. I haven't worked on Subies for quite some time but I'm sure that in most instances if the ECM goes through enough cycles without the same problem it will shut off the CEL,don't know if it will clear it from memory though.the problems described before aren't gonna disappear though,they need attention.Are there any maintenance or repair records available?Like possibly problem happened after some repairs or timing work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadend9009 Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 Gotta be frustrating. I haven't worked on Subies for quite some time but I'm sure that in most instances if the ECM goes through enough cycles without the same problem it will shut off the CEL,don't know if it will clear it from memory though.the problems described before aren't gonna disappear though,they need attention.Are there any maintenance or repair records available?Like possibly problem happened after some repairs or timing work? I am going back tomorrow. I'll be sure to ask him for it. I can't believe i didn't do that today when i went to see it. I'll see after a drive tomorrow. I'll post anything new that I may need help with. Thank you for your time and input, i appreciate it very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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