Cylinder misfires or bad injectors, please post here.

Without any hard driving I had my 2005 N/A throw a CEL on the highway a couple of months ago (a little over a month after buying the car and just outside the 100k warranty) and got the code read- it was a #4 misfire. Changed out the plugs and wires, changed oil and put in lucas- still no change. After the usuals I went out on a limb and checked the cylinder pressure and found I had 0 psi in the cylinder. I figured at this point it was beyond what I had time to fix so I had a friend trailer it to the dealer. It was a dropped valve guide that then bent the valve. Dealer covered 1/2 since I just bought the car, but it still cost an arm and a leg.

My car's engine was substantially rebuilt recently at 66K miles after two turbo failures within about 100 miles of each other. (The story is detailed on a couple other threads on this board.)

 

A few hundred miles after getting the car back, the CEL came on upon starting the car one day. I drove the car straight to a local dealer and had them check it out. I didn't want to risk having yet another catastrophic failure on my hands (despite the fact that the CEL never came on with the other failures -- go figure).

 

It turned out to be a misfiring cylinder, caused by a bad injector. The injector was replaced under extended warranty.

 

The engine seems to be working fine -- knock on wood.

 

The idle was a bit lumpy before the injector was replaced. Now it's smoother again.

Interesting -- ours also has been idling a bit rough for a few weeks. No CEL until the day we took it in to the dealer and discovered the injector problems and burned valves.

 

It's been 2 weeks today - and still waiting to see what the final word will be.

First cylinder 1 misfire today.

Just sent my 98 LGT injectors to WitchHunter yesterday for cleaning/flow testing. They ohm'd out at 11.5KOhm each, cold, so that's a good sign. I'm sending in a set of PE850s to have Gordon check them too before I upgrade. May even send the 05 LGT OEM injectors in for a cleaning/flow testing, it's cheap insurance and worth knowing how balanced the set is across all four.

Interesting -- ours also has been idling a bit rough for a few weeks. No CEL until the day we took it in to the dealer and discovered the injector problems and burned valves.

 

It's been 2 weeks today - and still waiting to see what the final word will be.

 

Well -- we got the car back on Friday. Final diagnosis: Burnt exhaust valves - attributed to bad gasoline. The Subaru engineer told us to avoid Exxon in the future. Unfortunately - we used Exxon premium (93) for a good portion of the car's life as we have an Exxon rewards card. I'm not sure that only "bad gas" is to blame -- but I'm sticking with Shell premium gas from here on out.

 

The master tech at Jim Keras Subaru (Mike) resurfaced all the valve seats on both heads -- and put in new head gaskets on both sides. We also have new injectors. Car is running better than ever (knock wood).

 

Thanks very much to SOA and Jim Keras Subaru here in Memphis (they were absolutely great to work with amd I will be going back there for all my maintenance on both the OBXT and my Saabaru).

Got a P0304 about two weeks ago - less than a month after paying off the car, OF COURSE.

 

After doing a reset and putting in some Lucas fuel treatment, it came back. Dropped off at the dealership on Friday, got a call back that it may be a melted piston?? It's currently there awaiting District Manager approval to do a teardown, and I'm figuring if when they call back, I'm going to have to ask them to do compression and leakdown tests if they haven't already.

 

May not be covered under warranty, due to an SPT intake (yeah, I know, shouldn't be there, but the car came from the dealership with it and when I tried to remove it, the MAF screws were stuck...) AutoSpeed exhaust and AVO intercooler. I'm hopeful that they will cover it, as the car makes substantially less power than an STi with the same shortblock, but if not, I'll probably buy either new heads or a new shortblock, depending on the results of the compression and leakdown tests and do the work myself. I've found brand new EJ257 shortblocks for as low as $1800, which will be a lot less than the dealership will charge to do it. Even with a full set of new OEM gaskets and studs, I think I'll be under $2500 to do the job. Anyone had to do similar work and have a cost on it?

E, Did you take this to KM Subaru? If not, get it there and have Rick Dell do the work. Will not steer you wrong. Was my Subaru MT for the past 8 years - only wish I had found him sooner.

BTW - EJ257 short block (P/N 11008AA932 is $1,007.11 at SubaruParts.com. Probably another $40-$50 to ship.

Had a misfire on cylinder 2 which was intermittent when it was stock. When I started modifying and getting it tuned it became more apparent when I got on it.

 

Was going to install new plugs anyways after my tune so I went ahead and did that. That didn't fix it so I swapped injectors. That didn't fix it either so then I swapped the coils and there it was.

 

Took it in to the dealership today and told them what was wrong. Of course they wanted to double check me but they replaced it under warranty.

BTW - EJ257 short block (P/N 11008AA932 is $1,007.11 at SubaruParts.com. Probably another $40-$50 to ship.

 

Hmm, can't search that part number. Can you post a link to it?

 

Thanks!

Sorry E - mis-type on my part. Nr. is 11008AA930 and that Nr. is only for the case "halves". Great if you're starting from scratch to build up the monster engine, but probably not what you're looking for. Engine assy - which I believe includes the complete block and heads - P/Ns for Spec Bizzles are: (Prices from www.1stSubaruparts.com)

 

1. 10100BN850, EJ255BGDLB - Nov '05 to Mar '07; $6,419.83
   
2. 10100BR070, EJ255BGELB - Oct '06 to Jun '07; $4,083.66
   
3. 10100BS290, EJ255BFELB - Jun '07 to Apr '08; $4,912.54
   
4. 10100BS430, EJ255BFFLB - Jan '08 and newer; 5,335.27
   

Looks like they have a short block assembly as well for $1,974.72.

 

SHORT BLOCK ENG AY

Quantity: 1

Make: Subaru

Model: Legacy

Model Year(s): 2008

List Price: $2,137.14

Your Price: $1,974.72

 

Again, shipping on the short block should be about $50.00. Whole assembly I would expect $150-$200 since both SB and LB are already boxed for shipment

Thanks much. I've actually found the shortblock for as little as $1700, so that's not bad. I figure I also need new gaskets, studs, belts and may as well do plugs while I'm at it. Can you think of anything else needed? Besides fluids of course....

Just get the rebuild gasket kit - Rick can help you with that. Not sure if the rear oil vapor separator is included with the SB, but you'll want to transfer that over if it's not and you will need the sealant for that, the oil pan and the something in the Oil/Water pump area too IIRC. Do the timing belt, water pump and reseal the Oil Pump, and all of the pulleys and idler gear while your at it.

 

Might as well do the TGV delete if you haven't already...NM - you're in Cali so got to keep the emission nazis happy. If you get the stuff you might have Rick do the build for you. He's quick and can probably turn it around in a day, installed (in his sleep he's done so many of them). Worth it IMO to get it done right the first time. Mine has been flawless since his rebuild.

Do I have to replace all four injectors at the same time?

Do I have to replace all four injectors at the same time?

 

The dealer recently replaced one of my car's injectors under (extended) warranty. So I assume the answer is "no," or at least "not necessarily."

I am having a really difficult time putting the Injector back in. Is it supposed to be that hard? And they don't really look the same either. The old one has 6th smaller holes. While the new one has four larger holes?! Help

And I just stripped the holding Bracket screw...... ffuuuuuuu uuuuuuu

Ruh Roh on that stripped screw... hope you get that fixed.

 

Two things about putting in injectors - just did this on one of my BDs.

 

 

1. Coat everything liberally with silicone spray, injector o-rings, injector barrel
   
2. Twist the injector while pressing inward on them - when the injector comes to a stop (last o-ring hasn't completely seated yet, turn it slightly back and forth while keeping pressure on the injector body. It will eventually seat fully into the barrel and you can easily put the lock-down retainer in with no issues.
   

BTW - I used a 1/2" impact driver to remove the screws. Just put the right sized tip on each screw, gave it a light tap with a rubber mallet, and voila, the screws came loose. Reversed the process putting them back in once I got the injectors seated. The knurled handle makes it really easy to run the screws in and out.http://www.alltradetools.com/catalog/1820-1853-thickbox/648002-1-2-dr-impact-driver-kit.jpg

So, I stopped by KM Subaru yesterday, talked with Rick. I held piston #4 in my hand - yep, broken ring lands, broken rings. Yuk. The also found a small crack in the turbo bellhousing, so Rick was going to suggest that they replace the turbo as well.

 

So KM Subaru talked to the SOA rep, and their offer is to cover a shortblock and turbo at 50% - which means it costs me $2800. Yes, this isn't actually too bad a cost - I think I'd end up paying more than that in parts to do it myself. However, I have it on pretty good authority that if I pursue this politely but firmly with SOA, that they will relent and cover it 100%. I'm certainly going to pursue this route and see where it takes me - can't hurt.

 

Along with the engine problem, Rick suggested I do the clutch now. The current clutch is just starting to show signs of shredding on the disc, so it would make it another 20k miles probably, but given that the engine is out of the car, they won't charge me labor and a new clutch/flywheel etc will be $930, which I think isn't too bad. I need to look on SubaruParts.com to see what a Spec.B clutch assembly and flywheel go for there. Rick also suggested:

 

 

• 
  
• Canister purge pipe hose ( worn) $29.96
  
• Throttle body airduct (oil soaked) $40.86
  
• Battery,hold down,positive terminal (corrosion) $190.38
  
• Drive belts (poor shape)$62.58
  
• Hepa Filter $86.26
  
• Power Steering Flush $102.70
  

These all seem pretty reasonable to me - but anyone have any feedback on the prices? Also, would it be worth switching over to an Optima battery as long as I'm replacing the battery?

 

Feedback on KM Subaru - Tina the service writer has been great, and Rick Dell is truly a master technician. I've been very happy with them thus far - I know the question of how much will be covered under warranty is farther up the chain, so I can't fault KM for the initial 50% offer.

Eric, glad you connected with Rick. He is the best and I miss him sorely here in SC. He was always faithful in telling me what the car needed (no padding to make it more than it needed to be) and then allowing me to purchase the parts (as long as they were OEM parts) and bring them to him for install. Good luck with the SOA warranty claim and keep us posted - you're definitely on the right track if Rick is involved.

well, unfortunately it wasnt the injector. p0301. im going to try the plug tonight, hopefully thatll do the trick.

^Have you switched your coil packs around... if not, don't discount that your CP is bad/failing.

no not yet. its constantly in the back of my mind, though. im going the most obvious to the least expensive then pony up the bucks for the CP route. It'll stutter/sputter almost stall when idling, and in first and second gear up to 2k rpm sometimes, then itll surge into power and continue smoothly until redline if i wanted to. gas mileage isnt dropping and when im just cruising on the interstate or around town itll act fine as long as it doenst dip below 2k rpm then the stutter miss lope sputter on no dont stall on me, please, happens.

Sounds more like a boost leak somewhere... I had an issue with mine stuttering - not stalling/or almost stalling - during dyno/road tuning and found that there was a boost leak at the TMIC to IT connection. Fixed that

 

How many miles on your car and are you running stock tuning or something else/ done any maint to your inlet tube? Sorry - can't recall.