djellum

grade of fuel shouldn't matter, unless you are pinging like crazy and you would know it. just try a reputable dealer, I prefer 76 or shell, from a fairly new store that is likely to have fresher tanks. the mix is a ratio, it will run poorly no matter which direction you go out of spec. denser air down here doesn't mean it will run better. might be worth it to throw a timing light on it and check that as well.

+1 on check your gas. my car was idling poorly and getting crappy gas mileage for about 2-3 weeks after a weber swap. I was going to pull everything back off and redo gaskets and such till I put some different gas in it. A couple of miles on the other gas and it smoothed out. runs like a champ now for over a week. mileage on the next 2 tanks improved by 3 mpg. I was using a decent brand, but from the same location each fill. My guess is they have a contaminated tank somehow. actually makes me wish I hadn't swapped out the weber since Im getting the same mileage as the hitachi now that I'm using the good gas. the throttle shafts were worn out, but it might have given some service still and gotten a couple extra MPG's for a while. do they have different blends for high altitude? might be worth 30 minutes with a screwdriver to recheck your mixure, you can always reset it to where it was very easily.

if the car runs good Id leave all the vacuum hoses alone. check them for breaks and such, and replace any of the actual hoses if they leak. the real reason for deletion is if you have bad parts that cost to much to replace or you just want a weber. a lot of the hoses are probably stretched or brittle by now, so go one at a time and if they are in poor shape trim them or replace them. i had moderate success following GD's thread, and ran my car like that for a long time, but it wasn't as simple as just deletion. it took a lot of time to get it set right, they can't all just be plugged or left open, they need restricted the proper amount. a couple of the systems that don't directly affect the carb is the ASV system and Anti Afterfire Valve, if those systems are giving you trouble Id probably just yank em.

is the EGR port different on a carb car? both of mine when they had all the stock configuration were going to manifold vacuum. tbh now that I think about it that sounds right. supposed to work at light throttle which would be largely the same whichever port you use, but full vacuum would open it at idle.

odie - the EGR valve itself is just bolted to the manifold. all the EGR activities are internal, it has 1 vacuum supply line that just goes to manifold vacuum, and one large hose outlet that normally goes to the anti after fire valve and can be plugged if you don't have it anymore. if you leave the vacuum supply line off it shuts off the EGR function. you can do this if you plug the nipples, though i would only do it if the EGR is faulty.

easiest to install is steel 14 inch peugeot wheels. might be a bit tricky to find, check craigslist and maybe put a looking for add on there. they are the proper pattern, take normal lugs, and have the correct offset. they have peugeot alloys too that look nice but need special lugs. I would drill your hubs rather than drill the wheels, it only takes a minimum amount of more work and then you can swap out for any common 6 lug rims you want. the 4x4 section will have more info.

if it sprays out the carb is very likely that its timing related. id redo the belts and dist timing. did you rotate the motor between installing the first and second timing belt? have you double checked your firing order?

how much are you asking?

haven't tried to clean one, since I don't have to emission mine. first check with a vacuum pump to make sure its holding a vacuum before assuming its just clogged. on mine I believe there was a snap ring or something on the inner valve part, no idea to what degree it comes apart

vise grips work well for the hoses. adjust them so that they give a very minor clamp. that way you can bite the hose but won't squeeze too hard (which you can do if you try by hand).

the nut can be tighter than spec without any real problems. some people really torque them hard, but id make sure to go at least 140ish pounds since thats what the spec is. the nut pushes on the spring washer which pushes a conical split ring into the drum. pull the assembly apart and make sure that both the conical split ring and the concave area it fits in are smooth and have no ridges. its common for people to put back old cone washers with groves worn into the top half even though you are supposed to replace them when you replace the axle. Im willing to bet you will find a lip worn into the conical split ring that prevents it from pushing fully into the drum. also check that the spring washer is the proper one and the proper orientation. it will have the word "out" stamped into it. the subaru part listing is "center piece axle". I believe its actually in the spec to replace them whenever you replace the axle, so you may be able to get a warranty out of the next repair if you find that they didn't do that.

could be a vacuum leak. does it idle fine or is it erratic? I would also check all your hose routings before pulling the carb back off. if you have the hitachi make sure all the valves are plumbed correctly, and if you went to a weber then make sure they are all plugged properly. what caused you to rebuild the carb?

depends on what year of GL, theres a couple of different styles that had the GL markings. not going to be much out there. if you have an EA81 or EA82 then your basically going to fall into the "make sure its well maintained" area of performance. you can open up the exhaust a little and it will help, and try a weber carb if your carberated (won't make "more" power but will make it feel a little snapier). your best bet is an EJ swap, but that will take $500-$1k minimum. you may be able to reduce that cost with some luck. one of the better mods to help out is to use stiffer springs and forerunner struts in the back. it will help stiffen the back so it doesn't sag when you load your tools into it. search it out, I believe its honda accord front springs on forerunner shocks (and cutting coil or 2 off the springs)

does it actually get fuel to the combustion chamber? are the plugs wet with gas after cranking, or is it just getting fuel to the carb? maybe a very bad vacuum leak? double check all your bolts and hoses.

there have been people who have said they accessed the heater core by cutting the plastic side out next to the pedal, then replaced it and glued the plastic back on. I don't know for sure what models, but search on the site here and see. I have never done it myself, only read about it so your on your own there.

the plastic drain plug opens up a to allow the coolant to go out that tube and into a rubber hose that you can point towards a container under the car (If I'm visualizing it correct). the plastic wing nut isn't supposed to come all of the way out, it just opens up to allow coolant out the tube. try tightening the plastic wing nut, or just plug it (short rubber hose on it, with a bolt or wooden dowel in the other end, hose clamp both ends). the only other thing to worry about is if you have an automatic transmission. there are sometimes built in trans fluid coolers that run in the radiator. if your leaking antifreeze then its not that.

USDM means its an american spec rather than a spec from a different country. I believe it stands for United States Domestic Market. JDM is the japanese version of the same cars, so right hand drive and other differences. there was a weber/carter carb that came stock on these cars, but its not the weber people talk about. the weber you want is a DGV or DFV, which did come stock on some cars but not subaru's. the DGV's are still in production and you can find them used, but you will need an adapter to mount it.

subaru's bleed in a funky order, the mechanic may have just done the standard order and left some air in there. I can't remember the order and only have a few minutes but a search should turn it up.

timing is a general culprit of backfires out of the carb. I doubt it has anything to do with the after fire, though if you have drivability issues it may be related to that. I don't know what engine you have but I am betting you have an EA81 since you mentioned the brat (distributor in the front passenger side of the motor). if so then your timing should be 7-8 degrees and no more. EA82's will run up to 20, but I haven't heard of the EA81's upping it too much. for at least the baseline tune you should make sure its at 7 degrees. most engines allow some extra fuel to reach the exhaust and get burned off in the catalytic converter. the after fire is generally when you add some air to the equation, you get air, fuel, heat, and boom. you will always have a little fuel in there at some point and you can't control the heat either. stop the air that is getting into the mix and you will stop the problem. first thing to check is the ASV's. there is a system that has tubes entering the exhaust right where the exhaust manifold enters the head. trace it back to a squareish valve behind the motor (could be 1 or 2 of them). pull the rubber hose off if it and plug that hole on the valve itself. the rubber hoses just go to the air box, don't worry about them. its common for that system to leak and allow air into the exhaust. also check for leaks in the ASV's metal tubes and normal exhaust leaks as well. if your just talking little popping noises then you can tune them out, but they aren't terribly destructive. its just air and fuel mixing in the exhaust not inside the engine. Id fix the drivability issues first. if its a big boom id check into it though. theres multiple values that matter for your fuel supply, psi is one, but flow is another. at idle you may be able to flow enough gas, but once your engine needs more then dirty filters or weak pumps could get behind and cause problems. you really need to change the rear filter (its the main filter for the car). its on a shelf by the rear tire. id also check the fuel pressure and flow if you can. you can't really say what the carb is doing without knowing what your feeding it. also just give a check on your cap/rotor/plugs and such. a decent check is to slowly turn down the fuel mix screw on the carb till it bottoms out (gently, don't force it). if the car still runs you have an issue. how many turns out are you on the mix screw?

1 question. is it a backfire (out the carb) or afterfire (out the exhaust). Just checking since you dont say specifically and many people use the term backfire for both. if its an afterfire what did you do about the ASV system? it was a system that pumps air into your exhaust from the airbox. after the weber swap theres no airbox and if you didnt close up the ASV system (or it just is leaky) its basically a bit exhaust leak. couple of easy things to check. 1) is the tank vent tube open to atmosphere? if you plugged it and dont have a vented gas cap you could have fueling problems. 2) is your distributor hooked to ported vacuum or manifold vacuum. it should be on ported vacuum from the carb, and our cars dont have the same manual advance as other cars so they cant be swapped between like a chevy. easy way to tell is to put your finger or tongue on the hose to the distributor and rev the engine. if the vacuum increases with rpm its ported, if it gets less its manifold. also some older cars had a dual advance can distributor. check an make sure you dont need the other line or if you have 2 of them that they didnt get crossed up. 3) id make sure to replace all the fuel system filters. in the carb, by the tank, and if you have the one in front on the firewall, replace it as well. a can of seafoam probably wouldnt hurt as well. id recommend a fuel pressure gauge. you can install one inline by the carb for about $20 and then you always know what kind of pressure your getting and whether its stable or not. webers are sensetive to pressure so you really should at least take a reading so you know what your pumps producing.

you shouldn't see any mileage drop going to the EJ. I would expect you get more mileage than the stock motors most of the time. better engine design, higher hp in a lighter car, etc. theres a lot to be said for less pedal due to more power. they aren't really much bigger, just more efficient. Thats how you produce both power and fuel economy so you can get both at the same time. I would expect high 20's to low 30's in mpg once its fixed and assuming the gremlins are motor related.

you can just put a breather cap on the passenger side as well. its just an air inlet but you want it filtered to keep out the crud. run it to your air cleaner or put the breather cap on, they both do the same thing.

theres only 1 pcv system, both sides are tied together. fresh air in the passengers side, gasses out the drivers side to the pcv valve. if your pcv valve is bad it may be causing some pressure. at least start there. most people will say just replace with a weber dgv. I don't know if the bolt pattern on your carter is different from the hitachi, so be sure to research what adapter you need. if you replace with a webber then all that spaghetti of hoses just disappears as the new weber doesn't need it. theres a metric ton of posts about that on the site, just look it up.

couple things. id spray around for vacuum leaks, only takes a second and cuts out a lot of problems. check around the base of the carb and intake manifold. timing at 8 or 20 isn't a huge deal running wise, so use whatever setting you like. theres some debate on what it should be, but pretty universal that the motor can handle any timing setting between the 2 as long as other factors like fuel and car systems dont prevent it. I have run both as have others, so I would go with whatever gets your emisions where you want them. might want to check in general on what affect advancing or retarding timing will have on emissions. theres a mixture screw on the bottom front of the carb, inset into a hole. if you have powersteering you kind of have to dodge the lines to get at it, its behind them. theres a roll pin from the factory that can block it from being adjusted so it might even be hidden behind the pin if nobody has removed it. counter clockwise to richen the mix. while adjusting it dont let the idle get to out of whack, if it changes more than a hundred rpms or so you should adjust it back down. you may get by with just turning it out a bit as long as it doesnt take your idle out of smog ranges. why do you say your running lean? did the tech say that to you, are do you just mean the test showed too much NoX or something? since your wanting to pass emissions its good to view it from that perspective. running lean may be a symptom instead of a problem.

you might try looking up cars with unequal length headers. I think some of the difference in sounds comes from the EA and EJ cars having a different style exhaust manifold. in the products section is a member who is making various headers, and will cut you a deal if you donate your car for measurements. tbh most car people can hear the difference between a weak motor and a performance motor, no matter what exhaust is on it. I doubt that you can make an 82 sound like a wrx, though you can make it sound good. I like the sound of my exhaust in my EA82, but it just seems like real performance machines have a separation and strength in their exhaust pulses that isn't easy to replicate with a small motor. Thats why Hondas with a wallmart Vtec emblem and a big exhaust sound like they ate Taco Bell last night instead of sounding like a true performance version.