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Best timing on Forester

I have a 03 Forester MT with 170k. Replaced timing belt at 145k by my mechanic.

I noticed that sometime the car, when idling, was about 600-700 rpm. I drove cars with stick before and was told it should be around 900rpm. So I talked to my mechanic. He said the the best setting is low enough and not to get the engine stall. This way it saves gas when idling before red light etc..

However I also heard that incorrect timing could cause air/gas mixture problem and might cause unburn hot gas damage the catalytic converter. Right now I have a check engine light with a code indicating that the Cat is no good.

I'm wondering, with the computerized control air/gas mixture in the car, does the timing actually matter?

Would like to have the professional opinion about that.

Thanks in advance.

Reply to
Anonymous
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Timing in these newer cars can only be adjusted by changing what are known as the engineering codes in the ECU by means of reprograming or adjustment with the appropiate tools. I was told by a Subaru tech rep that they can get fined up to 10 grand if they change those values.

Timing is important, but with a working system, the ECU will take good care of proper timing.

With respect to the cat converter, it seems that newer subarus dont have too long lasting cats. There is another thread about this in this ng.

If the idle is stable at the low rpms i see no problem. 900 rpm seems a lil high to me, 750 for manuals and 850 for autos would be acceptable. In any case the ECU will drop the rpms as low as possible, as long as the engine is stable.

For your code, check the O2 sensors first.

Good luck

snipped-for-privacy@LGI.com wrote:

cars with stick

said the the

gas when idling

and might cause

light with a

the timing

Reply to
AS

Thanks for the input. That makes me feel better that the timing has nothing to do with the cat problem. Dealer said the code indicates the cat problem and a different code will get for the sensor problem.

Reply to
Anonymous

Dan, I just replaced the front O2 sensor on the '99 Legacy Outback w/ 122kmiles. The check engine light would come on for a while and then shut off. I think I remeber the code being P420, said catalyic efficiency was low or something like that. Replacing the front O2 sensor is a lot cheaper than replacing the catlytic convertor. Light hasn't come back on yet.

Reply to
Nick Lamendola

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