Please help!!

[willguidry]

Guys,

MY00 rear brakes were gone, thought a caliper was seized up so I took the car to local Firestone. They said just pads and rotors. Had them fix it, 320 bucks later and two new rear rotors and pads my car is ready.

I go to get in the car, start it and it idles at about 500 PM like it normally does, but starts idling...like errr, uhhh, errrr, uhhh. (best I describe.) Sounds like a fuel issue, so I pop the hood and the engine is shaking around like crazy..I get in and try to drive away. The car bucks and just about stalls under throttle. Back it up and have the guy look at it.

Car was fine when I drove it in. Guy hooks up the ODB II scanner, as I check my vacum hoses, spark plug wires etc, and everything looked fine.
No CELS, nothing from the ODB II except the O2 sensor showed 0.0 volts.

I asked the guy *** did you do to my car? He said nothing, he was driving, heard a "POP" sound then the car drove normally. They threw the car onto the lift, all the O2 sensors were plugged in. ***?

I put in dry gas, and filled the tank, went for a drive around town, and in 1st gear the car would buck horribly to the point it would almost stall. So badly I pulled off the road twice after trying to pull away from a green light. ( one of those times was into some crackheads driveway and they were looking out the windows like they were gonna try and kill me and my buddy.

Any ideas?

I also tried an ECU reset.

After ECU reset exhaust smelled horribly like gas.

PLEASE HELP!

*add* fuel filter was changed about 300 miles ago.
(just trying to put in everything that you guys may already suggest)

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[OneOBS]

Check the big black intake boots carefully. The guy doing the brakes may have pushed the whole airbox off when he was playing with the master cylinder. Check the clamp where the airbox attaches to the throttle body.

[munkis]

how many miles?

sounds like a misfire, may need new plug wires and plugs.

very common.

Jay

[willguidry]

Have Cobb CAI, so it wouldn't be the stock airbox.

Car has 85k miles. NGK plugs at about 50k.

Could plugs cause that that quickly?

Seriously...I drove it to Firestone...drove fine.

Got it back about 2 1/2 hours later...driving like this.

I can't even really drive it ATM.

Checked throttle body, just cleaned the air filter about 1 month ago.

After reading a couple threads could it be my front O2 sensor? From what I have read it sounds like everything I am noticing. Though I am getting absolutely no CELs and with the ODB II scanner hooked up, nothing abnormal showed up. Wouldn't an O2 sensor throw the P0130 code?

And for that matter, wouldn't a plug problem do the same?

I have already put WAY too much $$$ in this car, I just need everything to be fine for about 30-60 days longer so I can trade it in, now everything is falling apart.

Any thoughts?

[willguidry]

Hey guys, I checked mysubaru.com and it showed a recall (WXW80) for my MY00 impreza. The recall is for faulty 02 front sensors.

It also says the work was done at 41k (before I bought my car).
Can I still get the O2 sensor replaced for free through this recall? Or is it a one time only type of recall?

As I said before, it's gotta be the front O2 sensor. Some guys on the forum report no CEL when the O2 actually died, and reported the same things I am having right now. Question is, is it safe to drive to the dealership to have the work done?

And does it sound like the issue?

Cheers!

[Perdue]

my 98 did something like you're describing before I changed the fuel filter...when was the last time you did that? The fuel filter is gonna be cheaper than an 02 sensor (pretty sure of that) and if you haven't replaced it yet, it probably needs it. I'd go with both if ya can.

[willguidry]

Originally Posted by willguidry

*add* fuel filter was changed about 300 miles ago.
(just trying to put in everything that you guys may already suggest)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[craigz]

My O2 sensor went bad on my MY02 OBW at 39k. The dealership said it was very common MY00 to MY03 and doesn't always throw a code. $84 for my year from Subaru, which is the only place I could get it. I know that Bosch sensors have been available OEM for about the same for eariler MYs.

On the brake job, they probably bled the brakes, which may have changed the vacuum pressure off the master cylinder? The ECU may respond better after a while. Don't know if it'll completely correct itself. I'd just check the MC vacuum hose itself to see if they messed it up or it was just about ready to crack anyway.

my .02...

[Hayes]

If running great when you took it in for service and very bad afterwards I would suspect something was knocked loose or reconnected incorectly. Check ALL electrical conections to make sure and vacume hoses. Is there any chance the car was hot tested (like raced) for a lunce run???? ed

[Gfunk720]

Originally Posted by Hayes

If running great when you took it in for service and very bad afterwards I would suspect something was knocked loose or reconnected incorectly. Check ALL electrical conections to make sure and vacume hoses. Is there any chance the car was hot tested (like raced) for a lunce run???? ed

I am sorry to say, but this is what it sounds like to me... I would go back to the shop and insist that whatever is wrong, that they fix it. Your car was not running like that when you brought it there, and shouldnt be when it left.
Hopefully it is just something minor like the O2 sensor, but after hearing him say that there was a loud "pop" makes me a little more sceptical... Obviously he probably neglected to tell you he was driving like a jack ass and may have messed something up.

Let this be a lesson to you, never bring your car to crummy repair places. You pay for what you get sometimes...

[Subie Gal]

actually it sounds like they may have dislodged a ground wire somewhere
i'd double check EVERYTHING inside the engine bay



and a bit of advice m'dear... i would reccomend make all attemts NOT go to Firestone, Les Schwaab, Midas, Jiffy Lube or crap places like that... they just dont know the car, what they're doing and often times this type of thing can be the result.
Jamie
www.subiegal.com

[willguidry]

Not sure it is the ground, cause I have added the ground mod to my car.

Have an extra 4-5 grounds.

I checked EVERYTHING in the engine bay, and everything was connected. If they indeed bled the brakes (which I don't think they did) all they would have had to touch was the master cylinder. And nothing around there was loose etc.

When I was talking to the guy at the shop, he said there was no way they could have messed with anything in the engine cause he said they didn't even go into it for anything.

The only possible thing I can think of is the O2 sensor, or the cat blew out.
(that would at least explain the "POP" the guy said he heard.

[willguidry]

Normally I do all the work myself...

However, I didn't want to have to deal with a siezed caliper.

And needed it fixed THAT day. There was no way I could have driven it anymore then to the shop.

[Kevin Thomas]

Originally Posted by Subie Gal

and a bit of advice m'dear... i would reccomend make all attemts NOT go to Firestone, Les Schwaab, Midas, Jiffy Lube or crap places like that... they just dont know the car, what they're doing and often times this type of thing can be the result.
Jamie
www.subiegal.com

It's just a different experience Jamie. I actually have a good Jiffy Lube and Meineke that I go to. On the otherhand, an all Subaru dealership with pretty friendly people there have messed up my cars more than once. A couple of months ago, I had a Protorque torque converter put in one of my XT6s. I had 3 tranny leaks and gas spraying from a fuel line directly on my engine after checking my engine bay. 3 days later while I left a dyno, my tranny took a dump on the highway and I was stranded miles from home. I've always had to double check after a certain mechanic do work and find loose hoses/wiring/clamps and such. These are guys that are supposed to know my car. Another mechanic there is meticulous (sp?) in his workings on my XT6s.

Sometimes, it's just the luck of the draw.

Back on topic! Something 'may' have happened after they did their work that is directly related to whatever they did. It could be coincidence but it's highly unlikely. Recheck vacuum hoses, electrical connections and fuel lines. Be sure nothing is kinked, not just attached. Double check that Cobb intake and be sure it's clamped properly. Be sure that the area they worked around doesn't have anything knocked loose by wriggling wires/hoses around when you car is idle. If something changes, it could be the culprit.

[Subie Gal]

if one ground is loose, dislodged... this could happen
also as was pointed out, fuel lines, hoses.. a kink. this could happen


back off topic
i have a devine hatred for jiffy lube... we see i-dont-know-how-many injured subaru's limp in our dealership coz of them. from blown gearboxes (drain gearbox instead of oil pan), to stripped drain plugs... just canot stand those types of places.

good luck to you dude
hope you find the cause soon.
Jamie

[willguidry]

front O2 sensor

130 bucks at dealership. even though there was a recall on it.

I guess the recall was done before I bought the car.

So they wouldn't take care of the issue.

Boy am I pissed.

Pleeeease...I ...am just...trying to get.....rid of the....damn car....