99 Outback Legacy Wagon, engine stuttered, Chk Eng lit up, now runs OK

[Steve Jacobs]

I've got a 99 Legacy Outback wagon (4-cylinder).

Three weeks ago, at 78,000 miles, the clutch failed. The car was across
the street from a service station, so I pushed the car into their parking
lot and had them replace the clutch. ($689 including tax.)

When the work was finished, I picked up the car. I had no speedo, and the
Check Engine light was on, so I returned the car the next morning. While
the car was there, the shop gave me an oil change. They plugged in the
speedo cable, fixing the speedometer problem and turning off the CE light,
and I was on my way.

The following week I heard some frightening, clunking noises from under
the car (sounded like suspension noises to me). I didn't know what the
noise was, didn't know if it was related to the clutch, and was nervous
driving the car, so I returned to the same service station with it. They
investigated, said it was coming from the brakes, and I needed 2 new
rotors. So, I got a front-brake job ($291 including tax). The new brakes
worked great, and the noise was gone.

Now, not quite 3 weeks from the start of this adventure, my Check Engine
light is on again. I was driving the car last night, in the rain, behind
many slow and annoying drivers, while I was in a hurry to get somewhere.
Once the road emptied in front of me, I started driving fast and hard.
Almost immediately, the car started 'stuttering'. It sort of felt like the
wheels or the clutch were sporadically slipping. It was weird. A few
seconds later the Check Engine light began quickly blinking on and off,
erratically. Another few seconds later, the car began driving perfectly
again, and the light stopped blinking, simply staying lit.

So now the CE light is on steady, and the car is running just fine.

I'm leery of returning to the Service Station, as I think they have me
pegged as an easy mark at this point and I honestly haven't even figured
out how to pay for the previous work they've done yet - the clutch wiped
out my bank account, and I had to charge the brakes.

Do these symptoms point to any 'most-likely' explanation? I saw another
post mention the 'CarChip'. I read up on it a little, and it definitely
sounds like something I'd like, but if it's going to tell me I need some
$1000 job that I can't do myself, I'd be wasting the $139. (On my old
Saturn I could read the codes with a paper clip, and that was very useful.)

I've loved this car so far, but this Fall it's bankrupting me.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[johninKY]

Clutches don't just fail and I've never heard of rotors making clunking
sounds. Not saying the clutch wasn't in need of replacement but I think
the repair facility got you on the rotors.

The CEL could have been activated by something the rain caused. Things
like wet ignition wires come to mind.

Just disconnect the battery for a few minutes and this will clear the CEL.
Good idea to have the keys in your pocket. I did this once and all the
doors locked and I had left the only set of keys in the ignition. If the
CEL comes back then there is something wrong. AutoZone will pull the
trouble codes free of charge if you have one in your area.

 

[Steve Jacobs]

No, the clutch was a genuine failure. It had been slipping for a while, the
car had 78k miles on it, and it finally died. The car happened to be across
the street from the particular service station, so I pushed the car in to
their lot, and had them replace the clutch. The car wasn't driveable, and I
have no known, trusted mechanic to use.

With the clunking noise, I had no idea what it was, and, in case it was
related to the clutch change a few days earlier, returned to the same shop.

This morning I took the car to Auto Zone, and had them check the code that
triggered the CEL. It showed that cylinder 3 had misfired/was misfiring. As
the car has performed perfectly since about 1 or 2 minutes after the light
came on, I had the Auto Zone person clear the code from the system. If/when
the problem and light return, I'm thinking I'd go back to Auto Zone to get
plugs and plug wires. The shop is considerably out of my way, but the man
did graciously check the code for free, and get on his knees in the parking
lot to do so.

I didn't know that disconnecting the battery would clear the code though;
thanks for the tip.

-- Steve

 

[CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert]

No, the clutch was a genuine failure. It had been slipping for a while, the
car had 78k miles on it, and it finally died. The car happened to be across
the street from the particular service station, so I pushed the car in to
their lot, and had them replace the clutch. The car wasn't driveable, and I
have no known, trusted mechanic to use.

With the clunking noise, I had no idea what it was, and, in case it was
related to the clutch change a few days earlier, returned to the same shop.

This morning I took the car to Auto Zone, and had them check the code that
triggered the CEL. It showed that cylinder 3 had misfired/was misfiring. As
the car has performed perfectly since about 1 or 2 minutes after the light
came on, I had the Auto Zone person clear the code from the system. If/when
the problem and light return, I'm thinking I'd go back to Auto Zone to get
plugs and plug wires. The shop is considerably out of my way, but the man
did graciously check the code for free, and get on his knees in the parking
lot to do so.

I didn't know that disconnecting the battery would clear the code though;
thanks for the tip.

-- Steve



johninKY wrote:

Why would you want to clear the code? I would think you want to read it?
I also thought autozone read codes for free as it is?

anyway if its #3 misfire, check the wires and the coil for plug 3 and
see if you can see the problem before you replace all the wires. Still
good to replace them all if 1 is bad, but its better to know for sure.

--
Thank you,


CL Gilbert
"Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor
man's wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not heard." Ecclesiastes 9:16