Oops one more thing! Subaru Outback Legacy / turn over

I just submitted a questions about my 99

Subaru Outback Legacy having troubles

turning over! I forgot to mention that while the car is running and I have it in neutral the RPM’s will rev up with out me pushing the gas? When this happens the temperature rises a bit, any ideas why this would happen?

Now you’re really testing my experinece!! See how much AAA would want to haul your car to NC. Sounds like you have a couple of problems. Do you have any check engine light issues? Your car has problems with catalytic convertors. A plugged up convertor can cause excessive back pressure on the engine which can cause idle problems and raise engine temperatures. That, also is an easy thing for a competent technician to test. You can test the backpressure by pulling out the pre-convertor oxygen sensor and inserting a pressure gauge. Sometimes convertors don’t cause a flow problem until they get really hot from a long trip. That could be the exhaust smell you have, could make it hard on the starter if it’s trying to turn over an engine that can’t breath, and effect your idle AND temperature. Maybe there is actually ONE problem causing all.

Soooo how much would you guess it would be to “unplug” a converter. Matter of fact the last 2 days the check engine light was on. It has not been on though all the time. I failed to turn my gas cap until it clicked and according to the manual if you don’t do this it will cause the check engine light to come on and off. So I didn’t think much of it. Humm for some reason I think AAA might be a little expensive to haul to NC!

Gas caps can indeed cause your light to come on.

If you need a convertor, you need to put a factory original Subaru convertor on it, and you should expect to pay around $950 for parts and labor. Don’t be tempted by aftermarket convertors. They’re cheap for a reason. That being they don’t have much catalyst in them, and therfore burn out within a year or less. They also don’t clean the exhuast emissions well, and you can still get convertor errors. Good luck. I’d like to know what you find. If you think about it, send me an e-mail.

john1970smith@gmail.com

Sure I will let you know the first time I’m able to get it in is on Tuesday.
Thank you for your help.