Hi guys. So the other day my r53 became a Subaru on the way to work. I figured the coil pack had bit the dust. Replaced said coil pack with one step cooler plugs as well. Turned her over ... Subaru. I closely examined all the plugs and they all appeared uniform no white gasoline washed looks at all. There was a slight amount of carbon, so running a tad rich, I live in Colorado so that's no surprise. Next I did a compression test because I recently rebuilt the motor. All cylinders checked out at around 142 psi. So I figured there's air and there's spark, maybe fuel is the issue. I bought new 380cc injectors installed them today, turned it over, and once again Subaru... I almost lost my mind... So that all being said I have no idea what to do next. My thoughts lie with the dme/ecu but as I said I'm at loss. Any ideas?? Some advice would be awesome. Even random ideas would help, anything really. I just want my car back!
Thanks in advance!
-Joshua

 

What kind of coil pack, wires and plugs are you using? OEM or aftermarket?

 

Moving this to the Stock Problems/Issues area.

Questions, how long you had the car? What was the condition of the coil pack you took off, any of the electrodes rusty? If you had no rust build up, suggest you try putting it back on with the new plug wires. What was the new coil pack you put on, OEM? I'm thinking that if you were not getting codes it would be from the coil to the plug.

Just because something comes out of the box "new" it does not mean it works.

 

First off thank you for the responses, and second it's all oem. The coil I put on was oem and ngk plugs (can't remember the exact l number atm) were JCW spec. The old coil didn't look too bad honestly. No corrosion I could see. So no real answers there

 

More questions, what code scanner do you have and what is the skipping, constant, or intermittent at what RPM?

And possibly crazy but could the belt be slipping and the supercharger hiccuping?

 

Look inside the wires where the coil pack terminals plug into. Are they rusty at all? I'd try scraping the plug wire terminals with a metal brush. Who knows, might be a free solution!

 

Found it...

 

Wow, did you check to see if the valve is bent? I would also check to see if the cam seats are scratched. Modmini has a good video on a head removal/replacement that includes the removal/tightening sequence for the cam rocker bolts.

Last suggest you check all the rocker arm round plastic caps to see if any were broken with that piece bouncing around.

 

Wow! Good catch.

 

Yeah I'm pretty familiar with how to take it all apart, as I said I built the motor. But valve seems to be fine... Going to be putting the RMW Big Valve Head on sooner than later I guess... Anyone know a good place to get mechanical rockers so I don't do this again? Also does anyone see a problem with me just taking off the exhaust side so I don't have to reset the timing?? Seems logical enough to me, I've just never taken off a single side before. And again thank you all for the responses!

 

Put the car in 6th gear and chuck the wheels. The cam should not move when you loosen the rockers. Just follow the bolt pattern.

 

Awesome! Thank you! Just for curiosity's sake why 6th??

 

The gear is bigger so the crank turns more in order to rotate that gear. When I did my cam, that is how I held the cam in place while torquing the sprocket bolt. Worked like a charm and did not have to have the special tool that holds the sprocket in place.

 

But wouldn't a gear with a higher ratio such as 1st or reverse require more physical force to turn than a high gear because the ratio drops?

 

The basic gear ratios for the 6 speed are 13.5 for 1st and 3.5 for 6th. The car is at stop so inertia is also involved. We want to keep the crank from moving that in turn holds the chain and cam sprocket in place. With 13.5 and 3.5, you would have to apply about 3.85 times more force to move the tire in 6th as in 1st, therefore the resistance from the mass of car keeps the crank from moving during tightening of the cam sprocket bolt?

Thinking that an engineer will chime in on this but I think I have it basically correct. The same explanation should explain why the car stalls if you try to take off in 6th gear from a stop.

 

Based upon the previous post, in the above I should have said, the 6th gear is smaller so it takes more force to turn that will make it conversely easier to tighten the bolt.

Thank you MonzMini for asking the question.

 

Alright I'm going to have to find a way to look this up... Someone else I know told me nearly the exact opposite thing and he's pretty credible, but honestly this sounds equally right and now I'm just confused and have to find it... Will repost with a link one with the final truth.
I hope that doesn't come across offensively... I just need to know.

 

No problems.

To tighten the bolt there needs to be a resistance to the crank moving. I am thinking that a teeter totter analogy comes into play. 1st gear equates to the fulcrum being closer to the weight. In 6th the fulcrum is further from the weight. To tighten the bolt we need the weight further away to provide more resistance, which is what 6th gear provides. Remember we do not want the crank/weight to move.

 

Perhaps Alex Trebek has a Mini.

 

Or even Lanny Poffo. I am pretty sure there is a WWF person out there that will know what I am talking about.

 

Don't know what r53coop is on about... seems off his rocker (that's a pun - get it?)

Monz - I remember thinking the exact same as you. If you park in 1st, your car won't move. If you park in 6th, it will move. Didn't makes sense to do 6th. Bottom line - I think both will work just fine. I wish I remembered what I did with my old rocker arms. With my luck they probably ended up in the garbage. Otherwise I'd offer them up for cost of shipping.

Removing both sides doesn't require to reset timing. The rockers just follow the cam so as long as you don't remove the cam you're good. I was under the impression that both rocker arms needed to be loosened together, though. I'm not sure why or if there's any truth to that, but I'd probably stick to it just to be safe. Just don't remove intake side completely.

 

Got to look at this the opposite way. Yes, it is harder to push the car in 1st then in 6th because the engine is braking the tire via the transmission. When you are tightening the cam sprocket bolt you need the tire to brake the engine. In tightening, you do not want the gear ratio to help as it would in 1st. By the ratios I noted, 1st gear is 3.85 times more efficient in helping the motor get the car moving. Don't want the car to move.

This guy got a flat tire one night, saw a street lamp ahead and drove to it. Got out, jacked the car up and put the lug nuts in the hubcap (yes an old joke). It was then that he noticed he was parked next to a "Institute for the Criminally Insane". Tall fence with barb wire, "Danger Electrified Fence." Several of the inmates came over toward the car. The guy got nervous with the people leering at him and when he reached for the hubcap with the lug nuts, he dropped it and the lug nuts rolled into the ditch. Now he was screwed, could not find the lug nuts. He hears a voice, "Can't find em, can you?" He looks up, a bunch of the inmates are laughing like hell, but one is standing to the side. This one guy again says "can't find em, can you?". The car guy looks at the inmate, and says, "ah, yes". The inmate says, "OK, take one lug nut off each of the other three tires, use those three to put your tire back on. There is a town about three miles up the road, drive slow and the tires will stay on."

The car guy does just this. He is putting the jack back into the trunk and by then all the other inmates seeing the fun is over have left. He looks at the sign for the institute and back at the inmate that told him what to do, "thanks" but the inmate could tell he was puzzled. The inmate says "you're welcome but remember I'm crazy not stupid"

 

Never updated you guys on this one... I snapped an exhaust rocker clean off... guess there's a first for everything. Sorry about the 3 years and 2 engines later update!