Why won’t my 2003 Outback motor turnover

Asked by sarge7732 Feb 15, 2022 at 03:23 PM about the 2003 Subaru Outback Base Wagon

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My 2003 Outback won’t crank. I’ve replaced the
starter, camshaft sensor and crankshaft sensor. The
starter sounds like it is turning but the engine does
not seem to turn. All pulleys spin with the
serpentine belt when you turn the key as well. It has
the 2.5L 4 cylinder motor in it. It was running fine
when my wife was driving home, then she said it
felt as if she pushed on the brake real hard without
actually doing so and then the car start to
decelerate and when she got to the shoulder it
wouldn’t start.

1 Answer

310,255

So if the serpentine belt moves around the pulleys then the engine is turning over. This sounds like you have a busted timing belt and as the valves are stuck open the engine is just freewheeling with the starter motor. Test the compression, I bet they all read zero.

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