CEL Misfire Cylinder 2

I know there have been a bunch of threads on this but I am not sure I had ever read anything about the probable causes of a misfire in cylinder 2. I have read numerous problems with cylinder 4 and burnt valves/ ringland issues. Hoping that is not my problem.

 

I have scoured the forums for any info on my particular problem and have found some things that I have tried on my car. First off let me give you a run down of my issue. Obviously I have a CEL misfire cylinder 2. This came on 2 weeks ago after about a month of cold weather and subsequent rough idle upon cold start. Once the engine eventually warmed up it "seemed" as though the misfire/ rough idle went away. However once I got a check engine light I knew I needed to do something. So I replaced the Intake manifold gaskets as mentioned from a popular forum for the 07+ models and hoped for the best. It seemed to actually run better for a day but then it idled worse the next morning and drive to work. It took longer for the car to "smooth out", probably about 10 minutes after the car had warmed up to regular temp.

 

The check engine light came on on my drive home from work that day after coming to a stop at a red light and the engine about stalled. I ran to autozone to check the code. Same misfire. Cylinder 2. I bought some NKG IFLR6B's and replaced them from the SILFR6A plugs. I noticed quite a bit of residue on the end of spark plug #2 and hoped that that was going to fix my problem. I went ahead and did a compression test while I had the spark plugs out and found that all were right at 130-135 psi. This was a dry and cold test. Started her up this morning and she ran the same as the day before. Seems like the rough idle is more constant than before I installed the new gaskets. However I had to disconnect the battery so I'm not sure if I needed to allow the ecu time to relearn the idle or if there is a procedure to relearn the ecu.

 

So now I'm thinking Coil Pack? Maybe injector? I bought some carb cleaner to check for vacuum leaks and will be doing that tonight. I know about the fitting below the TMIC and wanted to know if there was a specific way to check for a leak there without removing the intercooler. I really hope this is only a vacuum leak. I also noticed my car using some oil. Probably around 1 qt every 700-800 miles or so.

 

If anyone has ideas I would be indeed grateful. Thanks for your help.

That's an awful lot of oil consumption if you ask me.. Can you see if its leaking from somewhere? Or are you blowing a lot of smoke while it's cold? I would pull the plug out and take a look at it. What color was the residue on the old plug? Do you still have it to post a pic of?

What I'd do next is swap injectors between cylinders #2 and #4 and see if the code follows the injector. If it does, then you know you have a crappy injector. If not, well you may want to perform a leakdown test. Though in my opinion, it is good news that you had good compression test result, so the latter **should** eliminate the fact that you have a ringland failure.

Are you hitting max boost? I believe a vacuum leak would prevent you from hitting max boost. At least it did to me ----> http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/tiny-rubber-hose-came-off-lots-cel-codes-163556.html

On that thread, you'll see that I was able to check and reinstall the vacuum hose underneath the TMIC with my hands. But if you have fat hands, then that's another story.

 

 

Edit: note that I said "shoud eliminate ringland failure" because there is at least a guy on here who got good compression results and yet still had a busted ringland. He was consuming lots of oil I think.

Yeah I can take some pics when I get home tonight. The cylinder 2 plug had what looked like fried hair on the end of it and it was kind of a burnt red color if I remember. The others didn't have any residue on the ends but kept the same overall color. I think one was white though. Also I might add when I am just idling in drive, my rpms will be sub 500. Once I throw it into neutral they will kick up to around 750-900 and the idle will smooth out some but not totally. I also was thinking about doing a leakdown test. Anyone know how much something like that costs?

If not, well you may want to perform a leakdown test. Though in my opinion, it is good news that you had good compression test result, so the latter **should** eliminate the fact that you have a ringland failure.

Are you hitting max boost? I believe a vacuum leak would prevent you from hitting max boost. At least it did to me ----> http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/tiny-rubber-hose-came-off-lots-cel-codes-163556.html

On that thread, you'll see that I was able to check and reinstall the vacuum hose underneath the TMIC with my hands. But if you have fat hands, then that's another story.

 

 

Edit: note that I said "shoud eliminate ringland failure" because there is at least a guy on here who got good compression results and yet still had a busted ringland. He was consuming lots of oil I think.

 

Well I have no way to tell other than opening up the throttle and guessing if it feels less powerful. I need to invest in one of those obdII cables for my phone. But if I were to gauge I would say there some noticeable misfire when opening it up. Not terribly but definitely a small hesitation. Maybe? I want it to be that hose so bad but I fear since I'm getting the same misfire its something else. As for my oil consumption, I guess I might be off. All I know is that at about 1200 miles I checked the oil (I know I need to be checking it every time I fill up) and it was in in the middle of Low and Full. I only poured in a quart of oil and I can't recall how much that filled it. I just checked it at 2200 miles yesterday and the oil appeared to be right back where it was from the original check before I added oil.

You need to develop a oil checking constant.

 

I normally do mine after the car sits in the parking lot at work all day. I pull the dip stick about 1" and close the hood. After work wipe the stick and check the oil, top it off as needed.

 

You can pull the small hose off the BOV give it a short blast of air from a compressor and put your thumb over the hose and listen for vacuum leaks.

 

 

You should zip tie all the vacuum hoses, they do fall off.

 

Have you changed the coil packs around to see if the miss fire follows it ? Unplug the coil pack from the harness and then swap coil packs. You don't want to have #4 harness firing in #2 cylinder.

As I previously mentioned, what I'd do next is swap injectors #2 and #4. It is apparently fairly easy and quick to do. See if misfire follows.

 

FYI you need to add about a quart if you were at the L on the dipstick, to get back to the F mark.

I haven't changed the coil packs around yet. I will probably do that next before checking the injectors. Whats funny is I went in to the Dealership today and the parts guy was shocked that I asked him about injectors, like he had never heard of anyone actually needing them replaced. So is the BPV the central air chamber for the hoses? like all of the hoses are somehow connected to that? Or is it to check for leaks around the t fitting? I guess I was wrong about my oil being low. Seems like it only needed about a quart over a 2000 mile period then. Thanks so much for your help guys.

That small hose will check all the vacuum lines.

 

Don't put to much pressure in maybe 10-13psi. Just a short blast.

 

 

Oh I forgot to mention you need to plug the big hose off the air filter box, I used a pint size paint can.

Like everyone else said, swap the injectors and coils. My guess is that you have a bad injector causing you to run lean at higher RPMs

While my engine did not throw codes, it did have good compression with no visible leaks or smoke in the tail pipe, yet had the ring land failure. The way we were clued in on my engine was to remove the manifolds, borescope up to the exhaust valves, and saw them caked with white crud. I had much worse oil consumption-1 qt per 300 miles-but I also had ringland failures in #2 AND #4. You can have that checked to at least eliminate ring land failure. Turbo seals and a bad PCV can cause increase in oil consumption. Just my thought/recent experience.

Well it sounds like I may have exaggerated my oil consumption. If only a quart of oil is lost whan the dipstick is showing oil right around the "L" I wasn't anywhere near that. It was about halfway between Full and Low when I added more oil each time. The first time adding a full quart. The second adding about a half quart. Each were about a thousand miles apart from eachother...

 

So I swapped coil packs and still am getting misfire in cylinder 2. I will be swaaping the injectors tonight, however I'm wondering if maybe I should order some new o-rings prior to swapping them or if I will be fine. My idea is to swap them hope that the misfire follows, buy a new injector (any idea where one might pick up a 550cc side feed?) and buy a pack of o-rings for that side so when I go to replace the injectore I can throw on a new o-ring for the one I pulled out that's still good. If it is indeed the injector, will that work?

The only ones I found were from the OEM parts sites for subaru and I found one that was a BOSTECH but I've never heard of them. Just hoping to find a reputable injector, preferrably one that won't fail, haha, and is in a good price range. I would want to get it quickly so that I don't foul up anyting else in the motor if it is the injector. So any help on that would be awesome. Thanks guys.

Not really helping here, but I am in the same boat as you are with cylinder #4. I've already bought a brand new OEM injector but I did not buy extra o-rings. I have yet to swap injectors. I don't have a garage and that's becoming really frustrating now .

Where did you get your oem from? How much did you spend? From what I've been reading the process shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to complete. Especially since it is on the driver's side, no turbo coolant reservoir to worry about.

I just bought it from the dealer for about 95 bucks I think. Yes, driver side should be a fairly easy process but I'm getting a bit worried with the O-rings now.

i just swapped injectors 1 & 2 because 4 proved to be a pita. i made sure to put oil on the o rings and used the butt of a screwdriver with a rubber mallet to punch them in. took about 20 minutes. no leaks yet however i only started it up and let it idle for 10 minutes. hoping tomorrow shows misfire in 1 otherwise im screwed..

Good luck my friend. I hope it is just an injector issue. If not, look on the bright side: rebuilt engine with more powa .

btw, how did you manage to get injector #4 out without damaging it since you said it was difficult to get the injector out? I've heard some people who've had a hard time taking them out as well.

No I swapped out 1 and 2. 4 was too hard to get to without disconnecting a bunch of hoses. I just took a pair of pliers to each of them. They came out fairly easy, just be careful not to get too close to the outlet. My ride to work this morning was actually quite pleasant. Not a whole lot of rough idling and I was driving in -2 degree weather. Definitely can feel something but its not nearly as bad as before the injector swap. Hoping thats a good sign.

I meant injector #2 in my previous post. Good on you that it appears to go well. I hope that'll be it for you.

Well on the drive home I checked for any faults that may have popped up and one did come up. Still the P0302!!! ugh I'm at a loss for words. I was really hoping that was it. So is the general consensus at this point to run a leakdown test? Or is there something else I an try. Any feedback would be appreciated.

By any chance did you replace the plug in cylinder 2? it might take some time for a new code to come up and see if it followed the injector, a certain number of cycles. That plug is probably bad in cylinder 2. When you get a chance take out the plug in the other cylinder you swapped with and see how it looks. If it looks like cylinder 2, change the injector.

I was trying through your original post when something else occurred to me. When you changed the intake manifold gaskets did you change all 4? Or just the manifold to TGV gaskets?

are you talking about spark plugs or something else? I already changed the spark plugs under suspicion that the #2 was bad. I also am not sure if it was the intake manifold gaskets or the manifold to tgv. There were four of them.