Throttle Position Sensor help

Has anyone had any problems with a malfunctioning TPS? After five months of chasing the cause of my intermittent stalling problems and after being to five mechanics I finally took my Subaru Outback 1997 to the Subaru dealer who said that a TPS code had been logged. CEL only just started to come on within the last week. The dealership called me yesterday afternoon and said that to be certain that it is the TPS that's causing my intermittent stalling issues they would need to do a two hour test on it. Does anyone know what this two hour test involves?

Has anyone replaced a TPS before on their car? Is it easy to do? I'm just wondering if I could replace it myself but not sure if you can i.e. how do you know the right adjustment with it?

The dealership also said that to replace it they would order a genuine one costing $830 but I looked on cyberspace auto parts and they have one for $200 so I'm just wondering to get one off there and install it myself.

A little history with the problem on my car, its a 1997 and has done 260000kms.

These are the symptoms its been having:

· Engine cuts out in idle
· Engine cuts out while driving along with no warning - it just goes dead
· While driving along the engine looses power (revs drop) and either
- pressing the accelerator has no effect and car cuts out OR
- pressing the accelerator makes the car go back to normal and continues driving OR
- pressing the accelerator makes the engine pulsate from no power to some response from the throttle (like bucking and jerking) a couple of times before it either cuts out or it goes back to normal and continues driving along
· When driving along and the car cuts out or looses power, it seems to happen when backing off the accelerator
· There’s a loud whistling/humming noise that starts just after you start the engine, sounds like its coming from the air intake area? Squeezing the hose that goes to the IACV makes the sound go quieter (when the 2 mounting screws that are secured through an elongated slot at the top of the IACV are adjusted, it makes the noise go really loud or the noise goes away completely)
· Irregular idle
· Always starts again fine

And these are the things that have been done to the car to try and solve my intermittent stalling issue:
· Fuel filter has been replaced
· Fuel pump has been replaced
· 2 small vacuum hoses have been replaced that had slits in them
· Had manifold pressure/vacuum test done to rule out it being a blocked catalytic converter
· Air flow meter was replaced by mechanics with a second hand one but engine continued to cut out so my original one was put back on
· Mechanics have disconnected alarm that was built into the petrol supply as they thought that was being faulty and cutting off petrol supply which was causing my car to cut out
· Throttle body, IACV, PCV has been cleaned with carb cleaner – all were heaps dirty.
· Crank angle sensor has been replaced
· Idle Air Control Valve has been replaced with a second hand one.
· Throttle Position Sensor has been adjusted as mechanics said it was in the wrong position

• Vacuum and exhaust leaks tested for
• Petrol pressure test done

Any info or help on my matter would be awesome
Thanks

The other thing is, is it's completely random. I can drive it for 100km and it's fine and then the next time I drive it, it will just cut out again and again and again

yes i have had the problem. i had the issue when i replaced my engine. the throttle position switch is also the knock sensor, which is why it would be running rough and stalling. its easy to replace but the item genuine is a couple hundred dollars. but it is very easy to replace.
hope this helps!

I assume for a two hour test they would take the car and $300 from you, buy coke, and snort it of a hooker in the back of your car.

I would look to subaruforester.org, nasioc or ozfoz as they have a larger member base than we.

Failing that I would pull the tps out and see if I couldn't drown it in contact cleaner or similar, check the plugs and fiddle with the wires while its running to see if you can recreate the fault at will.

Then if try to fit the $200 item myself.

If all else fails then and only then would I consider giving subaru thousands of dollars to change one sensor.

Thanks for your replies. So how do you know where to adjust the TPS in the correct position if replacing it myself?

Yep I've got this same post on subaruoutback.org forum too. On that forum their saying to try and clean the TPS.

I would try and fiddle round with it, only problem is that my car is at the Subaru dealers at the moment. Went in yesterday, they called me yesterday afternoon to get the ok on letting them do the two hour testing on it. Its a public holiday so everything's shut and they will probably start work on it after today. Might have to intercept my car before they start the two hour testing on it and play around with it and if that fails to replace it with the 200 one.

Anybody know any where good to find spare parts or does anyone have a spare throttle position sensor lying around and would want to sell it? For engine type EJ25

a location update might help us, can buy them offline (denso i think the non genuine brand is) or a Japanese or subie wreckers will have one

Alrighty cool thanks. Im located on the Central Coast of NSW. About 2 hours north of Sydney