StkmltS

Yep, 2 years. It's very much a love/hate relationship. I popped off the cover a day or two ago to mess with it. The screw wasn't tight, but it wasn't loose either. I played around with it for a while and nothing I did changed the misfire. I haven't looked up the cost of a replacement, but if it isn't expensive it may be worth replacing just for the love of throwing as much money at the problem as I can.

If you end up not liking the spats I'd love to see them shipped to 41042.

OP where did you buy the T fitting for the pressure gauge? I've been trying to find one locally but it's evading me like the cure for cancer.

He's at the top of my list if/when I decide to get pro help.

21.95 mpg on my last tank of gas. 95% of that was highway cruising at about 80 mph. This is consistent with my other highway-only tanks of fuel, so clearly city driving/traffic is what kills my mileage. Currently I'm using a slightly modified MickyD's stage 2 tune. I dont have a catless DP so I know Im not "really" stage 2, but who cares. The motor and turbo seem to like the tune fairly well, although there are a couple areas of light knock that I need to address. I push the car every day, and for me that means about 75% throttle up to somewhere around 5k rpm, three or four times. I know who built the motor so I don't like punching my way all the way up to redline The misfire is still here, so is the tiny oil leak. Oh, and it looks like my radiator is starting to leak all along the top seam. That's cool, I was really hoping to spend more money on preventive maintenance that doesn't make the car more fun. Sent from inner space.

The way you explain your tune changes (what and why) is really helpful to us less experienced people. Thanks! Another option is to tap the empty holes where the center bar was and plug+seal them with bolts. It's quick, easy, cheap, and you don't have to wait on anyone but yourself. On mine I just left the center holes (between 1/3 and 2/4) empty. A little crossover that close to the valves probably isn't a bad thing.

My fuel rails and injectors are stock. A problem with the fuel damper would make sense because it's on the rail between 2 and 4, and my problem is in 2 but not 4. Does the fuel flow from 4 to 2? How does one go about inspecting the damper? Will my fuel pressure gauge be able to indicate a problem with the damper? Don't fret, all of these questions will be answered soon. Stay tuned!

Yeah but I need to take out two plugs to look for a difference in color. So that's at least 20 minutes. Plus 1:60 min to reset my stereo presets and levels (very important to get right). Maybe... maybe... I'll pull them out tonight when I mess with the fuel line. Home Depot doesn't have the exact fitting I wanted. How dare they. After staring at their board-O-fittings for almost 10 minutes I decided to use a 1/4" to 1/4" 90° elbow. When I got home I drilled a new hole and tapped it to accept the 1/8" NPT pressure sensor, effectively turning the elbow into a "T". I didn't install the sensor last night because I'm not sure if I want to be risky and use the white TPFE tape that I have, or be safe and buy something else. Prediction: Birkhoff will suggest a $25 tube of specialty thread sealant that comes in a metric-only tube, and is only available from a retailer in England who only accepts Euros. xt2005bonbon will suggest that I check my valve clearances. StkmltS will find a DIY recipe for liquid thread sealant online from some super-sketchy website, make it, but then decide to buy a $6 tube of Permatex anyways.

I refuse. Do you know how hard it is to get a socket on one of those suckers?

My misfire has become undeniably worse than when it first started. Not worse, as in more misses, but worse, as in a new condition causes the motor to miss. It misses at idle like usual, but now it also misses (almost) whenever the motor is steadily running in the stumble/studder range (2300-3000 rpm). I bought a pressure sensor that I'm going to plumb into my fuel line so I can monitor fuel pressure through the ds TGV. My thinking is that my miss is fuel related. Maybe I should just rebuild the entire motor and fix the problem forever... $$$... ouch. The new pressure sensor is identical to the one I'm already using to monitor oil pressure, so I'll easily be able to swap back-and-forth between without messing with the parameters in BtSsm. All I need to do now is come up with a way to T the new sensor into the line. There are plenty of options online, but for who-knows-what reason a couple weeks ago I mentally committed myself to sourcing the Chinese fittings locally. I've spent a few nights tinkering and scrounging around in my garage looking for a safe way to make a T (chunk 'o metal + drill & tap + hose barbs), but it looks like a trip to Home Depot needs to happen because my lack of confidence isn't comforting #JustSaying

In for the final build cost

This weekend I changed the oil, fixed an outstanding issue with the transmission braces, replaced the rear shifter bushing, poked around looking for my oil leak, and washed the car for the first time in months. I haven't found the leak yet, but it's definitely oil. It's coming from the passenger side of the engine, lower than the turbo drain hose (I think), and rearward of the axle. It doesn't look to be dripping from the dust cover area of the bell housing, which is where I assume it would come from if the rear main seal was leaking. Oh, and it looks like my steering rack is starting to leak. PM on this car is going to kill me. Well, technically the PM on this car is going to cause my wife to kill me. I've been seeing regular knock since the rebuild, and I was hoping my semi-loose transmission bracket was the cause. The actionable knock (per the ECU's logic) was still there this morning, so maybe it is real. It only happens at loads <1.2, at RPM <2500, and almost always under vacuum, but sometimes at very low boost <2 psi. Those exact numbers are pulled from my head, but I've examined my logs enough to know that they're close enough for you guys to understand my issue. Anyways, I'm not very concerned because it (actionable knock) never happens during highway crusing, under WOT, or at idle. As far as I can tell so far, it only happens when the car's momentum shifts. Strange and frustrating... just like everything else with this car. I was talking to someone at work about Subarus in general, and he asked if I recalibrated my knock sensor after my rebuild. Whaaat? I'm looking into it, but it sounds risky. Oil consumption: the fresh motor used almost exactly 1 quart of synthetic 5w-40 over the last 3k miles. I have all of the filters and small oil samples from each oil change since the rebuild. My plan is to examine the filters and oil side-by-side and compare what's in there. This last oil change is the last one I'm going to include, so now I'm just waiting on... motivation? I replaced the wheel stud last weekend. It was a major victory for three reasons: 1) it took less than an hour, 2) I only replaced ONE (no "while I'm in there" stuff), 3) no blood. Finally, one of my little helpers stepped up his game this weekend and got under the car to help me "screwdriver" a few things. Time to buy kids' safety glasses!

That might work, but I haven't looked at the sensor very closely. I kept my TGV sensor as-is because it's identical to the throttle position sensor... so it's a spare part now.

Good reasons, especially considering I have it mounted right at the seam between the hood and fender. Hmmm maybe that wasn't the best spot.

Uh... I feel really brilliant asking this... is that a bad thing? The TGV sensor harness that you wire it into has three wires. I think the TGV motor connections are 2 prong, but we don't use those guys. IIRC this only applies to '05 and '06 models, as later models have the motors and sensors together as one unit.

Yep, it's the yellow wire at the TGV connector. The 0-5v signal out from the controller is the only thing I have hooked up to the TGV harness. Everything else is coming from somewhere else in the engine bay. The idea is that the TGV portion of the ECU (pardon my incorrect terminology) may be unable to handle significant electrical spikes, and it's best to only feed the TGV harness what's necessary. So that's what I did. The fact that my setup works is proof that the (12v supply) and (ground) in the TGV harness are both there only to feed power to the sensor. I don't have everything wired as cleanly as possible, but my OCD is satisfied and the wiring is safe. SPDT relay (smile.Amazon): 12v in directly from the battery. Ground also comes directly from the battery. 12v in switch (turns the relay on/off) comes from the stock front O2 sensor. 12v out goes to the controller Ground out goes to the controller Controller: 12v in comes from the relay. Ground comes in from the relay. 0-5v signal out goes into the TGV harness (yellow wire) wbo2 plugs in. WBO2 sensor: Plugged into the controller.

True statement. Your tune won't need modified at all. The ECU is still being fed the (lack of) signal, it's just not reporting it as a problem (no code). My controller is PLX so the colors probably won't match up, but I'll can take a picture of my setup and post it on my lunch break soon. I'd recommend buying a new connector instead of cutting the TGV wires, but that's just my OCD, it won't make it work any better or worse. What you're asking for isn't possible. I'm able to do it without the cursing, but that comes at the expense of increased time spent and blood shed.

Thanks!

Thanks for the input. I hadn't though of logging the rear o2 sensor. My problem: I've had a misfire for a long time, mostly, but not limited to cylinder 2 What isn't the problem: A ton of things (see post #1) What has worked (slightly): Tuning to add more fuel Thinking out loud here... If my O2 sensor is reading lower than reality, that would mean that my target AFR would be leaner than it should be, which can/does cause misfires/knock. Measurements from my new WBO2 don't match the measurements from my 12 year old stock O2 sensor, and changing the tune to target a richer AFR has improved (reduced) the misfiring; both of these things support the idea that my front O2 sensor may be bad. It would also explain why I mostly see misses at idle, because that's when the ECU has the lowest target AFR. Man, typing this stuff 'out loud' really helps me think things through better. My PLX wbo2 controller has an analog output that supposedly can emulate the signal from a narrowband o2 sensor, so before I spend (more) cash on a potential fix I'm going to figure out how to hijack the OEM signal to see if that changes anything.

Bump for comments on the observed dissonance between my O2 and WBO2 sensors.

It's warming up outside, birds are singing, trees are budding, and my car is missing. Moral of the story: everything gets better except my car. To readers with wideband O2 sensors... Can you guys do me a favor and record a short log at idle (few seconds) that shows the difference in readings between your stock front O2 sensor and your WBO2? My stock sensor and wbo2 don't read the same, and I'm wondering if my stock sensor could be causing my problems.

My car hates me. This morning I replaced one of the exhaust manifold bolts/nuts because the old one (replaced during the rebuild) decided to leave the car. It was torqued to spec and everything. Great. Also, my steering wheel just started shaking. As it turns out, three of my front right lug nuts decided to leave the car. They were also torqued to spec. One of them hated me enough to take half of the stud with it. How does that even happen? Until this weekend I'll just have to limp around by stealing a nut off two other wheels. Love is doing what's best for someone (something) and expecting nothing in return. My relationship with this car fits that definition.

I had a really tough time getting the stick out of my oil pan too. I was hesitant to apply hulk force until I reached the point of desperation, thinking I was doing it wrong or there was another bolt somewhere. Eventually it popped out, looked up at me with a smile, and said "did you need something?".

I had a really tough time getting the stick out of my oil pan too. I was hesitant to apply hulk force until I reached the point of desperation, thinking I was doing it wrong or there was another bolt somewhere. Eventually it popped out, looked up at me with a smile, and said "did you need something?".

Nope. It drips from under the car, right in front of the rear passenger tire. A few weeks ago I ran some UV dye in the fuel tank. I was hoping to see a leaky line by looking down from inside the car, but I couldn't find crap. Admittedly I didn't look very hard underneath the car because it was freezing cold, but I'll try it all again after it warms up and I can get under the car without crying. It's driving me crazy. Nope, no codes.