Anybody out there have this problem??

I have a 98 Forrester, and approximately 2 yrs ago I put a Weapon R Intake for a little extra performance. Have had no problems till about one year ago the engine light came on. After a 90K+ tune up at the dealer, new plugs, ignition coil, fluids, etc, the problem went away. The dealer had said the #3 cylinder had misfired and it was likely due to the ignition coil.

Well in the last couple of months it has happened again. The dealer here squezed me for a new ignition wire, and then a new plug. Then he said he thought it was a sticking valve and would likely need to have the head removed and the valves redone, but said if I do not put back the stock intake, that they won't work on it.

I have not called any Subaru shops yet like Cobb, etc. I have learned from experience with my RX-7 that the dealers NEVER touch it.


Anybody have any ideas???

Thanks

Put your stock intake back on and have the CEL turned off with an OBDII scan tool. If it comes back, pull the code and let us know what it is.

They've hooked it up to the OBDII machine and every time its a misfire in cylinder #3. I had not asked if there was a specific code number.

I thought about putting the stock intake back on, but I want to be sure that's the final answer. Its gona be a pain in the ass, and I'm not sure I have all the screws/bolts.

Thanks

Does the car run funny? Does it shake a lot when idling? I know someone with a Honda CRV who had his CEL come on and when he ran the codes he had a misfire on one of his cylinders. He drove it around like that for like 6 months until he got tired of the gas consumption. So he opened it up, and found that one of the valves burned up and warped. But the engine shook at idle and didn't have much power. The thing about it was that it wasn't too bad. I would think that if you had this problem on a Subaru, the engine would shake like mad because of the boxer style vs. the Honda I-4. If you are OK on performance then I have no idea. I would re-introduce this topic on the Non-Turbo forum since the Impreza RS's have the same engine and more people read that then the forester forum.

Oh also, maybe you should get the plug wire's checked too. I have had to change two wires since I've had mine. You can look at your engine in the dark and see if there is a leak if you see sparks jumping to the engine or body.

Forestar,

Thanks for your input.

The performance is acutally unchanged. No shaking, no loss of power, no excessive fuel consumption. I even pulled my boat with it, a 19.5 Malibu skier. The plug and the wire have been changed.

I plan on getting the code # from the computer, and see if anybody has any ideas.


Unfortunately I'll be in Baltimore for a month, so I wont be able to mess with it till Dec.

thanks

Galo