mickcox

Ok, it's been on a diagnostic finally. The Engine Management light was missing too, so the fault has been on it for a while, and was on the car when I bought it.. The computer said 'Knock Sensor Bank 1 Left' Upon closer inspection, Plug 1 plughole was full up with oil, and plug 2 was arcing. With the arcing plug replaced, and the oil drained from the spark plug hole, the fault has gone and the car is fine, and the fault code has not come back. I have been told that the ECU changed the mixture to compensate for the error, which is where the heavy fuel consumption came in. Only things to do are replace all spark plugs and deal with the oil leaking and immersing the spark plug. Can anyone help please, and tell me what actually seals the spark plug holes from oil ingress? and what is involved with fixing the problem? I'd forgotten how nice the car is to drive without a fault!! Thank you for your help, in advance. Mick

Hi Mart Thank you so much for the help and all the advice - I really appreciate it. I am waiting on a guy to put it on his computer. He's just a very busy fellow here as there's no one else for miles! With the heat here now, it's playing up all the time, but can be driven as long as you keep the revs above 2,000. Mick

Hi Mart Thanks for your help I really appreciate it. There you go - 3 pictures attached. Mick

Hi Mart, I have checked the fuses and connections under the bonnet and all seems ok, apart from that there may be a 30A fuse missing. I have attached a photo, and it seems SBF No8 fuse is not there? Is that one important/anything to do with the problem please? RE the blink test for ecu codes, I don't feel confident enough to do it myself, so I have a mechanic friend who is coming round over the weekend hopefully, to do that and get an error code if poss. My mechanic friend has asked me a couple of questions to ask you if that's ok. Where is the MAF sensor and how do we recognise it? Is the engine temp sensor the same as the one feeding the dash guage, or a different one, and where is it please? Thank you for your help.

Hi Mart Thanks for all that. It's not got a turbo. It pulls above 3k fine, once it gets over the low end lumpyness. Haven't changed the plugs. exhaust smoke seems normal, but you can smell the petrol when you start it up from hot. Then, the lumpyness cures itself if you drive more than four or so miles and aren't in stop start traffic. So the really bad fuel economy isn't helped by all the stop start we do, as each time it stops, on restart it is doing what you say - over fuelling. When the car starts from cold and isn't stopped it runs fine the whole time. Gets up to temp ok and the fans cut in correctly. Don't know anyone else who has the same car, so swapping out isn't an option. I'll check everything as you say, and I'll have a go at the blink code check too. Thanks again Mart - appreciate it. Mick

Hi Mart Sorry, - it's 11mpg, give or take MIck

HI Mart Thanks for the reply I did a service when I bought it, and the filters are all now good. Changed the auto box filter and oil too, as we thought it was that at first, with overheating auto oil, until the rad was renewed and the engine overheating problem was then fixed. Haven't done a blink check. I'll have a go at that sometime over the weekend and get back to you. Any ideas from what you've read so far? Mick

Hi Guys, I'm new here - hope you don't mind me posting a question straight away!! Bought a 1998 2.0l outback about 2 months ago and I'm having a problem with very lumpy running when I restart the car when it is warm. Starting from cold the car runs great, no problem at all. When you stop and leave the car for any time and then restart, the car doesn't want to pick up, and it's like it is on 2 cylinders. It does eventually clear and run normally, but as we mainly use it around our small town, it doesn't get a chance to clear, especially as theres a lot of slow running. Also, just filled it up after 100km and put in 21 litres, which is a bit steep, even for running around town! When I bought the car there was an overheating problem too, but I fixed that with a new rad. Any advice anyone could offer would be great. As I'm in a remote part of Spain, I'd have to drive about 70 miles to find a dealer, so if there is any way I could narrow it down a bit first, that would be great. I've attached a picture of the coil/manifold and the vin. Thanks in advance!