2001 Subaru Outback Limited Hesitation Issues...
 

My brother recently purchase a 2001 Subaru Outback with some issues. He probably paid about 50% to much for it considering the condition it's in. Clean it up real good and offer it as a deal, 50% off high retail and some sucker will bite. It's just money.

Anywho, the car has a P1443 code that points to a vent valve near the charcoal canister near the right rear tire. I hook up the "relay tester" under the dash and the valve is clicking. So I do a ohm test and it seems to be good. I pull it and don't know how the seals are suppose to seat so I go get a new one for $90 from the stealer. They are acting exactly alike so I take the new one back and re-install the old one.

I check some vacuum lines and find a few torn, as with any car that is 13 years old. One was torn at the purge valve so I do replace it with a new one from the stealer. They were having problems with the car starting after fueling so maybe that loose vac is it. Put it all together and it still pops the code and intermittently runs rough from stops.

After reading and posting on Subaru's forum, it seems that it could be a number of things including a clogged canister. There are several valves in the system, one above the rear axle behind the gas tank that was identified as being the issue so I replaced it today. While at the stealer picking that valve up, the parts guy tells me that the mechanics there weigh the canister, if over weight, they simply replace it (no vacuum test or nothing, just tossing parts in my opinion). It's suppose to weigh less than 2.5 lbs. The new one there weighs 2.44 lbs. So I pull the canister and take it to a FexEx store, it weighs 4.0 lbs. I'm sure the FexEx scale is tipped a little but not 1.5 lbs on 2.5 lbs. So I'm going to get a new canister in a few minutes.

People mention blowing through lines and all that kind of stuff, that just seems like chasing mice through the walls of your house. So, I'll see how it runs and if the code clears after the canister.

The thing about all this is that I'm not convinced that the P1443 is the cause of the intermittent sluggish acceleration from a stop.

If anyone knows what may be wrong I'd appreciate the help.

Has your brother checked the usual culprits for hesitation when accelerating?

Problem Engine Hesitation

Great link, thanks a lot.

I'm going to hook up my ScanGauge II and try to get some reading from the MAP sensor.