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Alright here's a little update: Found a ground wire on the driver's side from the engine to firewall that wasn't connected. Connected that to the intake manifold (not sure if that is where it is supposed to be or not) and it fixed the problem. Few weeks later it came back. Looked under the hood and one of the bolts holding the bracket on (the one this ground is attached to) was missing. Figured the ground isn't getting good connection now so I attached a few alligator clip wires directly from the head to the battery (all I had on me) with no difference. Checked the continuity between the ground and the head and it was pretty good I think (couple of ohms - the multimeter beeped for what that's worth). Also tried unplugging the alternator which didn't help. Compression all within normal limits. Battery voltage good and steady.
Where would you go next? Any ideas? Think I'm going to try connecting a jumper cable from the battery to the block just to be entirely sure it isn't a ground issue. The car runs normal on the highway/high RPM. It also seems way worse when the car is cold or if I let it idle a while.
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Well the car is still having the issue (as well as a bearing noise from the back and intermittent AC issues...). I pressure tested the intake looking for leaks tonight. Disconnected the PCV hoses from the intake and plugged the intake. So the two PCV hoses were connected to the heads and venting to atmosphere. Went to pressurize the intake and all the air comes out of the PCV hoses. I'm assuming this isn't good... right? Only thing I can think of is bad rings or piston or something. Compression tests was great though...
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I'd bet on you missing a PCV hose on the intake manifold somewhere. Subaru tends to put them on the bottom of the intake manifold.
I'd also bet on a ground issue somewhere, but I don't know :(
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Ya I think your probably right. No way the car would be running this well but that much air going past the piston. And not smoking. I left the PCV valve on the manifold and just clamped the hose afterwards - maybe I didn't clamp it well enough/the valve is bad. I also noticed there is an electrical plug going to the valve which I thought was weird... maybe it doesn't just close with pressure like on the 3/S?
Also I noticed the EGR valve wasn't leaking when I pressure tested and I was thinking that may be the problem (stuck open sometimes), so I unplugged it and have been driving around a few days and the hesitation is gone. Gunna drive it a few more days before I call that the problem but I'm hopeful!
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Bad EGR valve would definitely cause some hesitation if it was opening under incorrect conditions.
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Just wanted to update incase anyone else had the same issues. I replaced the new plugs from the auto parts store (name brand but can't remember which ones) with factory plugs. Problem fixed.
I was also having trouble with my AC running for a while then the compressor would disengage and not re-engage (the AC light on the dash would stay on). If I turned it off and on immediately it still wouldn't work. If I turned it off and left it off for a while it would then turn back on for a little (longer I left it off, the longer it would run next time). If I jumped the wire for the AC clutch under the hood it would engage and run indefinitely (after about an hour it would not be as cold, probably cause the compressor isn't designed to run non-stop). I took the clutch off the compressor and removed a little spacer (looks like a washer) and put it back together to close the clutch gap. Now works like a charm. For more info see this page: http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulle...clutch-116835/
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That's a pretty neat fix and way cheaper than buying a new compressor/clutch assembly!
