97 OBW Issues

[june1ron]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for some input on recent problems with my '97 OBW 5 speed with 124K and the EJ25 (previous owner did the head gaskets).

I let some friends borrow the car for a road trip, and the CEL came on. They had it checked out and the code was a misfire on cylinder 4, reset the code, and drove the 500 miles back without a problem. Since I was hoping on having this car a long time, I (naively) spent $95 to have a full diagnostic performed by an experienced mechanic at the dealer....

The mechanic gave me a list of things he thought should be taken care of right away. Some of them, I was already planning on doing and just needed to find time to get to.

However, the dealer mechanic lost much credibility in my eyes when he said that the harmonic balancer (crank pulley) had worn through the center timing cover. He said that you could see it from underneath the car. However, when I look at it, it seems fine. I've searched this forum and scoobymods, and only found 1 instance of a harmonic balancer ever going bad. Is there a way to test it?

Also, the mechanic gave me a good shot of both the "freeze frame" data from the CEL initiation, and nothing really looked strange. My friends were going 43 in 3rd gear at the time, which seems reasonable.

The mechanic also gave me the printout of all of the OBDII data, and said that it looked like the engine was running a little right, but I'm not sure if I should believe him based on the lack of apparent balancer problem--does anyone know where I can find the appropriate values online? I have a Haynes repair manual, but it doesn't list the sensor values (only voltages).

Thanks!
june1ron

[nipper]

The main pulley, if it is loose, can wear through the plastic, but worse yet it can do major damage to the end of the crank shaft. There is an easy way to check this. With the engine running, look down, and see if it wobbles. if it doesnt you should be ok. You can also see if it wobbles with your hand (with the engine off of course).

The first thing with a misfire is to check how old the ignition wires and spark plugs are, Sometimes getting new OE wires solves the problem.

In the future, auto zone and other automotive parts stores will read the codes for free.

How long have you owned the car, when was the last time a timing belt was done, and when were the heads done.


nipper

[subydrift]

All of those are great items to check for to see if the mechanic is blowing smoke. When I had my old Impreza the crank pulley did the same thing and had a circular hole worn in the valve cover. I took the pulley off and inspected it and checked out the end of the crank and all was fine. Sometimes those plastic covers will warp a little with age and start to rub the cover.