Tell me about 07 Subaru Tribecas

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So I thought about it and most will say 650 bucks is lot to spend if you don't need coils, true. On my own cars? Sure I would skip it.

So let me put it to you like this...Ever work a on car for a friend and become married to it? You know everything it does it comes back to you? That is why I stopped helping a good portion of friends. I have a select few I still help.

Oh you did the brakes now the alternator is bad, could it have been something you did? No but bring it buy we, meaning, I can swap it out.
Oh Mike you have the "race car" You should be able to fix this. Right Heads and Cam on a Trans Am is the same as a clutch on your Civic.

This car? The Subaru. Fine car, a bit weird looking, but nice. I don't want to be married to it. I don't want to see it again. If I do that means Grand Prix for her and Truck for me (unless it is summer).
It is her only car and she has 2 kids so I want it done right the first time.

Does that make sense?
 
Makes sense Mike. I hear what you're saying, but I think it's too late, you've married the Tribe already! I'm an ex mechanic, left the trade 14 years ago, and the only cars I work on now are my car, my wife's car, and my parents car. That's it. Friends, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, colleagues, etc, I'm not even remotely interested in doing anything to their vehicles. Will give advice when asked, but I know that as soon as I put a spanner on a car, I WILL be held responsible for everything that goes wrong with it for the next 20 years!

Am I cynical? Maybe. Am I spending my own time and money attempting to fix mysterious misfiring problems on an old Subaru? Nope!

Good luck buddy, I hope you get it fixed...
 
Reminds me of why I stopped doing oil changes for my sister when I was younger. We lived together, so I didn't have to drive the car anywhere, except maybe into the garage if it was cold outside. The next time she drove the car, I would get yelled at for something, like changing her radio presets. Really? I was only inside the car for like a minute total, I didn't touch the radio.

Anyways, I have a subaru, and spend a lot of time on Subaru message boards. One common cause of a misfire on every single cylinder is an intake/vacuum leak somewhere after the maf sensor, letting extra unmetered air into all of the cylinders.
 
Success! New CPS installed, take car for drive, very nice, still a weird miss and CEL sets. Scratch my head.

Pull codes P0202...Fuel injector HMMMM, missed that my first time through
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. First I figure out which one is two and low and behold a worn through lead that would ground out! Crazy! Last time I fixed something like that was when I had an 89 Daytona Shelby Z. Took a lot longer to find it then...No OBD II.

So it got an oil change too and it is on it's way! Runs nice. I have to assume the previous owner did the proper oil changes as it is pretty quiet.

Ahh now I can park 6000lbs of love until I want to camping!

Thanks for the help all and listening to me rant a bit.
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I am sorry Cam Shaft Position sensor on the left side. I should have done both.
They had those in stock and let me return the CPS. I have a good friend with a modified WRX who gave me a tech assist. He also has and Outback, duh on my part.

He is good with them, but lives a few hours away and said you get a ton of weird codes even if one goes out. He has done his before.

These things have a Crankshaft position sensor behind the engine and it has to come out.
 
Good work! Rubbed through injector wire is pretty unusual, nice find. Sure makes it easier when the codes push you in the right direction though.

But I hope you realize that, in the lady's eyes, you are now the God Of All Things Tribeca? Only kidding, but I suspect you'll be seeing that car every time it has an issue.
 
Originally Posted By: hpb
Good work! Rubbed through injector wire is pretty unusual, nice find. Sure makes it easier when the codes push you in the right direction though.

But I hope you realize that, in the lady's eyes, you are now the God Of All Things Tribeca? Only kidding, but I suspect you'll be seeing that car every time it has an issue.


Yeah, but I am real familiar with it now. The wire was a fluke. I believe someone was in there before, as in pictures I see the wires were projected with like a jacket. These stuck out like a sore thumb. Real obvious.

After some more research it appears there is an access panel at the back of the motor to get at the CPS, but I didn't see one. The Camshaft position sensors were pretty easy.
 
I'll cross my fingers and toes for you, hopefully that crank sensor lasts forever and you never find out if it's an engine out job or not...
 
Sorry you got stuck with such a hard Subaru to work on. My mechanic who is Subiue Master Tech turn indy spent 20-30 years wrenching these cars mentions this H6 as difficult esp plugs (you did it!).
 
Now that I have done it, I would do it again. It isn't the easiest car to work on but it was new to me. Seems to me she should get some good life out of it now. She does not put a lot of miles on it. She gets the oil changed with conventional at the local Jiffy Lube...Every 3000 thousand miles, I won't argue with her about that, because well it is getting changed and by all accounts it is really important to the timing chain.

In the manual you posted they actually point out the jets that lubricate the chain.

Ran really nice when I was all done with it, rides pretty smooth.

In a twist of fate, I sat was getting my morning coffee at Starbucks and there was a Subaru Forester in front of me with exhaust and it was lowered. I was still in the truck, as the Grand Prix needs a cleaning, Now I know the headlights are brutal when the truck is behind someone so I always turn them off in the drive thru. When I got up to the window the guy had paid for my order.
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So I paid for the guys behind. The whole exchange made me feel pretty good.

Maybe there is such a thing as Karma.
 
^ very cool. also very cool to be considerate of others regarding headlight/ride height and all.

You did a nice thing for her. And having owned 2 subarus I feel they are well built and not bad to work on. They, like anything else, will suffer if neglected. They have had their complaints, like HG, but also be a lot of hype associated with it. You just don't hear of many chronic issues with subarus. I've had just as many (or few, really) issues with hondas, of which I have also owned two. Both were more reliable all-around than the domestics I've had. (not knocking domestics-- I enjoy their personalities). And from what I have seen read, they've been consistently safe cars since they ditched the old GL/Loyale bodies from the early 90's and before.

Goo luck!
-M
 
Glad to hear you got it figured out! Nothing better than figuring something out and having it cost well less than worst case scenario. You're also a very giving person - I wouldn't loan my car to any one but a very close friend or family member. Too much insurance risk should they get into an accident, etc.

I trouble-shot an EGR issue on my old '97 Legacy for nearly a year, because I didn't want to just start replacing parts (at around $100 a pop for some of the components.) I got lucky about two weeks from when my emissions was due. I noticed something I'd missed until that point, that the EGR would open when I manually applied the throttle from the engine compartment.

I had a light-bulb moment! I drove straight to the dealer, pulled the solenoid in the parking lot, and took it to the parts counter. The guy was awesome and let me open the package for the new one, even though I might not need it. I blew through my solenoid and had no resistance. I blew through the new one and nothing - bingo! Mine had seized open (energized open, spring shut.) I was so exited that I spent the $90-something dollars right then and there to pay for the sensor I'd opened at the dealer (well worth however much much more they charged, though I probably would have gone for a junkyard part if I had more time.) A couple of days after resetting my ECM and ALL MONITORS ARE READY!

Sorry for posting that long-winded story in your thread, but that was my first Subaru that I'd ever worked on, and my first time having to deal with any EGR system. I learned a lot and ended up learning a lot more along the way as minor issues cropped up here and there. Resolving these types of potentially costly issues is very rewarding.
 
Originally Posted By: meep
^ very cool. also very cool to be considerate of others regarding headlight/ride height and all.


I know how it feels when sitting in the Trans Am. It is dropped about an inch, so most headlights, when stopped, are bright!
 
Originally Posted By: meep
^ very cool. also very cool to be considerate of others regarding headlight/ride height and all.

-M


Thought I was the only one that did that and the Forester isn't even that bright!

I just don't understand the need for headlights on when you are in a fully lit parking lot just sitting there. The same goes for sitting in a parking space, just the parking lights stay on. No need to blast light out for now reason.

Cam phasers can do some weird things when they fail and sometimes if they fail in a non default position well that will explain the starting/running issues.
 
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