Turtlsdown Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Got the correct wires today and started her up. Fired up and then immediately lost power and died. Tried it again and same thing, with CEL lit up. Small heart attack until I went under the hood to recheck everything and found that I'd not plugged the Mass Airflow sensor back in. Heh. After that it ran like a champ. Many thanks to the info on these forums and especially this thread. Could not have done it without this help. A few things I'm scratching my head about. The external temperature readout went to 62F and stayed there for a long time while driving it around. It eventually went to 72F before I parked. The air outside was aprox. 81F today. The temp seemed to be accurate before changing the gaskets. What could cause this? Something to do with the battery being unplugged for 4-5 days? Also, (and this I'll probably find out as it's driven more this week) the original problem was a CEL that indicated problems with the emissions behind the Cat. This is what prompted me to start googling for answers and find this forum. I'd bought the Legacy at a Mannheim auction in FL, and drove it up to MI (about 1400 miles with some detours). From the get-go the car would get CEL's with the Cat problem. I thought at first maybe the Gas Cap, or the fact that I filled it up with Premium gas at a Costco (only later realized what I'd read about the gas applied to Turbos and 6 cylinders, etc). It kept giving me CEL's throughout the trip, usually after I stopped at a gas station and filled up. Had to use a portable scanner to clear the codes and it would drive without CEL for a long time until I had to stop again. When I got it to MI and drove around a bit with my wife (the car is bought for her to use), I noticed if I took a sharp turn and put the engine under load, like say when you make a turn at an intersection off a highway off-ramp, I would get hesitation in RPM's and a CEL that told me misfire in one of the cylinders. This got me on the path of checking the spark-plugs, finding the oil, and changing the gaskets. Could the original Cat CEL have been caused simply by some of the oil burning in the engine? Would this possibly fix those CEL's? Or is that something that is unlikely to be related? Finally, on the topic of the PZEV: if a Subaru is PZEV spec, does that mean it qualifies for the extended Emission System warranty? How could I find that out? I suppose I could ask at the dealership but TBH I'd rather be armed with the correct info before I talk to them about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yinlun Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 There's a lot of scenarios, the only way to find out is to put some miles on it and see if the CEL comes back. In short, yes it's entirely possible the oil caused the misfire in one of the cylinders. (It's also entirely possible it didn't...) If you unplugged your battery, also make sure to let it idle out. You'll know you need to if your car drops in idle and almost seems like it wants to stall when coming to a crawl/stop. The computer needs to re-learn idle after it's been unplugged for an extended period of time. 10 minutes idling in the parking lot fixes it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan in Texas Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Just wanted to say thanks for the write up! My plug tubes were leaking pretty badly. I ordered the Fel Pro from Amazon for about $25.00 both sides. Got the passenger side done no problem. Driver's side is next. I will say that if you have the ability to raise the engine, just do it. It will make it much easier, even if you raise it a couple of inches. If you don't raise it, a 10mm box wrench will make the job much easier. My 2008 2.5i did not have the grommets, just the bolts. This is the correct kit for my car. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FL998R6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00]Amazon.com: Fel-Pro VS50780R Valve Cover Gasket Set: Automotive[/ame] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 The driver side is where you especially need any extra room you can get by raising the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan in Texas Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Did the driver side today. Had the car on ramps and raised the engine. That made the job much easier. Especially the lower fastener closest to the firewall. This job is much easier if you have a 10mm and 12mm box wrench. Just remember after you reconnect the battery to follow the procedure to relearn the idle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan in Texas Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/03/8620914dd3b310a540d3e128c2d810a9.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
http404 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 The EJ255 does indeed use a bit of fujibond to seal things up but the EJ253 does not so you are fine with the gasket set. As far as the rocker cover you will need to raise the engine a few inches to get it to clear and to ensure when you reinstall the cover the bottom portion of the gasket doest get hung up on the cam/rocker assemblies. It is a quick process the three 14mm connection (2 mounts 1 pitch stopper) and jack it up. I'm having so much trouble jacking up the motor. I'm new at this level of repair and am thinking that because I used ramps to elevate the car, this might making raising the motor more difficult. Should have I used jack stands? Any thoughts? I have an 06' 2.5i Legacy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
http404 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 OK, I got the motor jacked up after putting the car on jack-stands, instead of the ramps (my bad). I'm really not clear with how tight to fasten the cover back on. Should I find a torque wrench, just hand tighten, any suggestions? I remember they weren't on there very tight. I assume it needs to be tight enough that the valve cover is flush with the the timing belt cover and rest of it's surroundings, like when I initially took it off? Thanks so much, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 I replied to your PMs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.