2000 legacy outback No spark?
Asked by mspencer Jul 23, 2014 at 03:35 PM about the 2000 Subaru Outback
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I was driving about 60mph and all the sudden my 2000 legacy outback died. As I coasted
down the hill it felt like it tried to compression start a couple of times (it's an automatic). I
shifted it to neutral. It died and after rolling to a stop, it cranks (although the starter
sounds like it is just spinning). No spark, has fuel, doesn't make any bad noises while
cranking the engine (other than odd sounding starter). Any ideas?
6 Answers
Sounds like your timing belt broke. I hope it's a non interference engine. If not, it will be a costly repair. Typically, if it dies like that, and you notice it sounds different on start up, that's the first clue that your timing belt has broken.
I believe removing the timing belt cover on this car is pretty simple. Will it be easy to see if it is broke, if I can see it?
Yes. If you can just remove a couple of screws, you should be able to pry it open enough to shine a small light in there and see. If it is broke, you may want to call the dealer and ask if your model is an interference engine or not. If it's a non, that's great. If not, you will most likely have bent push rods and will end up having quite a repair bill.
If it's not the timing belt then look into the crank and cam position sensors as well as testing the coil pack, make sure there's power and signal voltage to everything.
