Old Kurty Bastard Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 This will be my first post to this forum, so bare with me... I just bought this '05 Outback XT from a dealer and no lie, a day later it throws the check engine light (big surprise). So anyway, borrow my friend's MODUS and it's putting out a P0303 code (misfire cylinder 3, I believe). I had a lot of time on my hands this past couple of weeks and started reading some horror stories about burnt valves and cracked ringlands, so this made me want to check the compression as soon as I got back to my car. After battling with getting the plugs out, I start doing a compression test and all the cylinders are around 120 psi. I belive the spec is 148-171... I think the engine was in some sort of diagnostic mode though because the fans were running continuously and this might have been causing a load on the battery (along with anything else that was running continuously during). I pulled the plugs before (duh) and they were all pretty new: NGK Ir. gapped between ".032 to ".033. The strange thing was though the tips were pretty white with some specaling. I'm not too familiar with reading plugs, but I believe this to be detonation? I think the dealer put 85 octane in the tank. I Ohm'd the coils and there seemed to be a big difference between the passenger and driver sides, but I couldn't find a real spec. or which pins to read off of from 'teh interwebbzz'. Anyone have any information on that? I'll try to upload some pictures of the plugs upon request, just not sure how they'll turn out. I swapped the coils tonight and will be scanning the car again tomorrow. I'll post with an update as soon as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 That gap sounds a little too wide, I believe it's supposed to be .028"-.031". I wonder if the gap has grown from age, do the plugs look worn/old? I'm sure the 85 octane isn't helping either, if it was used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Kurty Bastard Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 That's the spec I got off All data, and was kind of thinking the same thing. The plugs look fairly new and according to what I found, are the correct part number. I tried using the scanner to view misfire data, but the scanner was too generic. I'm going to have to wait for the code to surface again (which it does weekly), and scan it again. Hopefully the misfire changes sides and it's just a worn out coil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 http://people.csail.mit.edu/ilh/vacation/ You'll find the coil specs in those great vacation pic's. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 I wouldn't worry to much about your compression number, the main thing is they are all the same... A few things can cause the reading to be low 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Kurty Bastard Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 I appreciate the help and info. The code came up again, and is on the same side even after switching the coils around. I'll be switching the injectors next and will update as soon as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Same side, and different cylinder ? is it the same p0303 code after you swapped coils ? Thinking about your next move, I guess it was the same miss-fire code, so yes swp the injector. In case you haven't seen this yet. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/trouble-codes-cels-26113.html 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Kurty Bastard Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 My bad. Should've been more specific. Yes, I swapped the coils from side to side and the same P0303 came back. Injectors will be my next swap, then a leak down test if nothing else proves to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightyS Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Hopefully this will not be the burnt exhaust valve problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Kurty Bastard Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 Update on this one. It was some valves that were burned and/or out of adjustment. The dealership actually paid to have it all fixed though, so I will sing their praises as much as I can. Phil Long Ford in Littleton, CO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Update on this one. It was some valves that were burned and/or out of adjustment. The dealership actually paid to have it all fixed though, so I will sing their praises as much as I can. Phil Long Ford in Littleton, CO. A very rare but excellent outcome for you. Also, make sure that you tell your dealership that you are touting their excellence on a nationwide forum and also do it on your local Subaru forums too. A dealership that will actually take responsibility is a rare thing and send them a few customers and I'm sure you'll be taken care of even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.