Alright ladies and gents here's the scoop...

I have a 99 RS (as you can probably tell) and my local dealer is telling me I need a new coil. I believe them. Why, you ask? Because I've replaced my wires AND plugs and still get the wonderful green stuff associated with arcing on the ignition coil's post. On top of that my mileage is a lot lower than it should be and the car stutters when it's starting off. I also have a cyl. 3 misfire code.

So, I think I have a couple options. They are:

1. buy a coil from a dealer (at WAY overpriced cost) :mad:
2. order one from the internet (anyone heard of standard motor products or borg wagner??)
3. look into MSD
4. Can you rebuild these things?

Anyway I'm thinking number one is out, because I can get it off the internet for about half the dealer price. What I wanna know is:

1. would it be safe to go with those OEM replacement parts from comanies I've never heard of before (although borg wagner sounds vaguely familiar)
2. Would MSD would be better at about the same price? I don't know what MSD parts I'd need so I couldn't price them out.
3. Is rebuilding an option?

I'd appreciate any experience/feedback. Thanks.

I'm sure someone will post with a better idea...But...

Have you used a wire brush (or fine sand paper) to clean off all the gunk on the post and then replugged the wire in using dielectric grease? The grease will keep almost all moisture out of the wire boots and prevent corrosion (granted the coil pack isn't broke)

Definately would recommend staying with OEM products. MSD is a great company, though, I have seen little to nothing discussed about their ignition coils (or other aftermarket) here or on any other subaru site.

I have tried that. I failed to mention that I have scrubbed the posts off and used the dielectric crap on there... still came back. That was my test... replace plugs and coils and see if the green came back.

ok, i have used an MSD ignition and it was great, but only lasted about a year, and it stranded me out in the middle of knowwere, (death valley up in the mountians)
i would just go with the aftermarket coil. i have been using the borg warner a lot (in different cars/trucks) and have never had a problem.
and they are a hole lot cheaper then the OEM ones.
Shane

If the arching is because of a cracked plastic on the coil post, it might be fixable with some epoxy. An easy check (and a temporary fix) would be to cover the offending post with a few layers of tape.