mysubaruwagon Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I have a 1996 Subaru Legacy Wagon, 2.2, AWD with 136,000 miles. It has had few problems in the past 2.5 years that I've owned it. It has always idled a little hard with a slight vibration reverberating through the dash but nothing too disconcerting. However, two weeks ago it started shaking upon acceleration and the Check Engine light popped on. My friend who was in town visiting installed new, aftermarket spark plugs. The wires had been recently replaced and so they were left alone. The car was running much smoother after the plugs were changed out. I drove about 150 miles in cold, Indiana weather when the the Check Engine light came back on and the car started shaking 5x harder upon acceleration and the whole car would vibrate and kind of hiccup while idling. Being new to the area and not knowing a reliable mechanic and with no close friends living near by, I took my 1996 subi to the local Subaru Dealership.... bad mistake.I received the typical woman treatment: in between tears, stress, and emotions, I was convinced that the new plugs installed in my car were not 'compatible' with subarus. I then paid $310, which includes 2.5 hours of labor! for new 'Subaru' spark plugs and a new wiring harness.The car was running much better and smoother than ever before, until five days and about 170 miles later. It started shaking again upon acceleration and now deccleration, not transitioning smoothly between 2000 and 3000 RPMs and feeling as if the whole car would just shut down and die it was shaking and vibrating so strongly.I brought it back to the dealer who said it was leaking vacuum. He fixed it for free and I thought the problem would be fixed. The next day, driving home from work the same problems popped up.I brought it back to the dealer and now he's telling me I need to replace my timing belt for $439, do a fuel injector service for $199, and a fuel system decarbonization for $199. I refused to have any service done and haven't taken it anywhere else since. My friend who had done the original spark plug work was back in town and he said it felt like a fuel filter, fuel intake problem.The car drives but it feels as if it will break down and die at any moment. The whole car shakes 10x worse than ever before now; at acceleration, decceleration, while idling, transitioning between RPM's... I used to be able to shift it into neutral and reduce the shaking but that isn't even helping now.I don't know what to do. I'm younger, a woman, know nothing about cars, and have no idea where to take my car in.. the perfect victim for dishonest mechanics.Can you help? Please. Thank you! Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I would have to agree with the fuel filter, they run about $20 bucks and are an easy fix. do you have a code from the ECL? That would help if you could get it, i know autozone will read it for you if you go in. Dont go throwing money in until you know that code because it could be a sensor. hope this helps -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysubaruwagon Posted January 21, 2010 Author Share Posted January 21, 2010 What's an ECL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osei Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 a typo, should be CEL ( check engine light). Have it read as stated before you do anything else and report your findings. We'll try to guide you from there. BTW welcome, sorry your first posts had to be about problems. O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 yep should be CEL sorry for the typo. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysubaruwagon Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 Hi again, thank you for your preliminary advice so far.I got the CEL codes read at Auto Zone and the results are: "P0202: Fuel injector circuit condition - injector number 2Explanation: The powertrain control module monitors the fuel injection electrical circuit for opens, shorts, and system overload conditions.Probable Cause: -open or shorted fuel injector(s)-open or short in electrical circuit-high fuel pressure-pressure regulator defective-fuel return line blocked-check TPS and circuit for failure" "P0302: Cylinder misfire detected-cylinder number 2Explanation: The powertrain control module monitors the crankshaft speed and has detected a misfire condition.Probable Cause:-ignition system fault-spark plug(s), ignition wires, coil-vacauum leak-injector fault-high or low fuel pressure" Thoughts? Thank you so much for your help. Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_J Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Yeah it's a shame how women get treated with car repairs. Just be glad you don't have a MBZ or BMW...they really take you to town. I had a couple really old Subie wagons and they served me well. It is inevitable that a car that old will eventually need a complete overhaul. If you can afford it, I'd recommend using it for a trade-in on a newer Subaru wagon. You might be able to get a good deal on older 2009 2.5i Outback wagons leftover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
httrdd Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Hi again, thank you for your preliminary advice so far. I got the CEL codes read at Auto Zone and the results are: "P0202: Fuel injector circuit condition - injector number 2 Explanation: The powertrain control module monitors the fuel injection electrical circuit for opens, shorts, and system overload conditions. Probable Cause: -open or shorted fuel injector(s) -open or short in electrical circuit -high fuel pressure-pressure regulator defective-fuel return line blocked -check TPS and circuit for failure" "P0302: Cylinder misfire detected-cylinder number 2 Explanation: The powertrain control module monitors the crankshaft speed and has detected a misfire condition. Probable Cause: -ignition system fault-spark plug(s), ignition wires, coil -vacauum leak -injector fault -high or low fuel pressure" Thoughts? Thank you so much for your help. Beth Put two and two together and you see injectors coming up a lot. I would check injectors first in cylinder 2 and then go from there! Look around for vac lines that might of go disconnected. I drove my truck for weeks with vibration and misfires having no idea what it was. It turned out that I knocked out a really small vac line while doing injector o-rings and spark plugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I would start with putting some injector cleaner through your fuel system and see if you cant open the injectors up. Ive used Gumout extra concentrated injector cleaner and it works great. Im sure the the misfire is from the injector being clogged. The reason you are experiencing the vibration is because cylinders 1 and 3 are firing then only 4 is firing next, so its unbalanced. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 If it's an auto, they are known to vibrate at an idle. Old motor mounts don't help either, it makes the car feel like the engine wants to jump out of the bay. The other issues have been touched upon, and I agree, to try and clean the injectors, or just replace it with a used one from a salvage yard (which just may be your best bet). Aside from the dealer saying that about your plugs, these engines really only run well longterm with NGK sparkplugs, anything else will foul and misfire within a few thousand miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gathermewool Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Did you ever figure out what the issue was? '15 FB25 Magnatec 0W-20 + FU filter (70,517 miles) RSB, Fr. Strut Bar, Tint, STI BBS, LED er'where Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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