Fixing A Subaru With No Power

[@DaveMcIver]

Good diagnosis and repair John. Better than the mechanic that looked at it!!!!

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Yes, I was surprised that he did not pick it up. If we let him change the plugs and leads I bet he would have said that he has found another issue and that would cost thousands to fix.

[@MyMiniHomeWorkshop]

Good diagnosis 👍

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks.

[@kisoia]

Nice diagnosis and fix! I'm curious if you have vehicle inspections that include tailpipe emission testing? Very common in many parts of the US.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks for your comment. For general private use cars we have to get a Warrant of Fitness (WoF) every 12 months (or every 6 months for older cars). But there is no tailpipe emission testing for a WoF. However they do make sure that there is no visible smoke coming out of the tailpipe. If your car was burning a lot of oil and there were clouds of smoke you would likely fail your W0F.

[@Xynudu]

Very interesting video Jon. How many KM's had the Subbie done ? First off I was expecting a blocked fuel filter, so the cat diagnosis was a surprise. Good diagnosis. Cheers Rob

[@MyMiniHomeWorkshop]

Blocked fuel filter was my first thought as well.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks Rob. This car has done a few KMs, over 200,000. I noticed the leads were original Subaru leads. They may have been on there from new.

[@Xynudu]

@@thehobbymachinistnz Might pay to see when the timing belts were last changed ;)

[@LanceUngerBBYFOZ]

Great video! Step by step diagnosis! I know in Australia you can get cheap original cats from wrecked cars. Have you tried local wreckers?

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks for watching. No we did not try the wreckers. That could be an option but in this case you really don't know what you are getting from the wreckers. The cat could also be block or not working.

[@jimurrata6785]

30 seconds in, my first thought is* clogged cats. Misfire is often a cause

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Yes, I was going to mention that in the video but did not get to it. I did a lot of research and misfires are one of the most common ways to damage the cat. This car had a lot of misfires with those dodgy HT leads and I suspect it had something to do with it.

[@jimurrata6785]

Either raw fuel makes it's way to the first catalytic converter on startup or gets lit off in the exhaust by another cylinders exhaust valve opening. The constant hammering breaks up the ceramic matrix and resulting debris gets caught up by the second converter.

[@jimurrata6785]

"secondary muffler" = resonator. Is the entire system one piece? I'd start unbolting flanges from the back to front.. At some point it has to start running okay.

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

No it is at least a two part system. The pipe I removed contained the two cats and bolted to another section of pipe which went down to the mufflers. I did not look to see if there is a flange between the two mufflers.

[@rbrown264]

look at rock auto

[@thehobbymachinistnz]

Thanks