ferox

First off, is this for real? It's a '90 Loyale. That means it only has 4WD Hi. 4WD is only as good as your tires. OP did not mention anything about tires. Sounds like you have done a lot of research about advanced traction control systems without knowing anything about the basic ones. 4WD Hi plus worn tires or street tires = suck, on any car. Since you are wondering whether Subaru ever developed a traction control system or whether they are still using the old stuff, do a search for symmetrical all-wheel drive. I highly suggest you learn more about the capability of your equipment or keep it parked for the sake of everyone else on the road.

Nice work. That's a pretty cool looking wagon despite the paint. We're going to need more pics...engine, interior, etc.

It looks like you could take the top of the carb off to access the air bleeds and shoot some carb cleaner down the main air bleed passage. Some compressed air would help too if you have access to it. Just be careful of the float when you pull the top off.

That helps a lot Magnus. So if I am understanding correctly, the clutch fork rotates on the pivot shaft rather than sliding back and forth on it axially. In this case I think your plan is about all you can do unless you pull the transaxle. If you use a propane torch you shouldn't have to worry about heating the metal to the point of weakening it. Once the weather warms up I would definitely pull the transaxle, remove the shaft and clean and lube it really good. I use brake and caliper grease on the throw-out bearing and input shaft in case anything gets flung onto the clutch, but I think anti-seize compound would probably be best for the clutch fork shaft. If you think the problem is rust, then you might try putting a little rust treatment in there for paint prep followed by more lube. I think the rust treatment is typically phosphoric acid, so I wouldn't use too much but it might convert enough rust to free up the shaft for the cold season. On the carburetor, I have not ever worked on an automotive twin-atmospheric system (single-barrel), but since the slow and main system both work off of one main jet but have separate air-bleed passages, my guess is that you have either blockage or vacuum leakage on the main air bleed circuit since the problem shows up at 30%-40% throttle but not at idle or low throttle. I don't know how accessible the carb is, but I am guessing it is difficult to access.

You've got to provide more information than that. You can't expect people to spend their time and expertise drilling down into diagnosing your engine if you can't be bothered to at least provide settings and jetting. As an "Advanced Member" you should have a list of things you have already tried and gotten to the point where you don't have any more options that you know of.

So is the fulcrum of the clutch fork on a pivot shaft or some protrusion of the bellhousing aluminum or something? Most of our Subies have a pivot ball shaft, and the clutch fork only contacts the pivot ball part of it, but it sounds like the fork you are describing has a pivot and slides back and forth on a shaft. Is that correct? Or is the shaft part of the fork. Is the bore you mention part of the bellhousing or fork?

Yeah good point Tom. Another tricky vacuum leak can be at the charcoal canister. Over time the vacuum valve degrades creating a vacuum leak that is difficult to detect with the traditional methods, but you can cap the hose and see if anything changes.

Sounds like you have a good plan. Pretty much any of these cars that haven't had regular carb maintenance need the carb gone through, even if it's just a clean and reseal. Carb rebuild kits are around $30, so I always recommend a carb rebuild, but I realize it's easy for me to say that since I have rebuilt many carbs. Most people dance around carb issues because they are intimidated, but it's really the most important part on the engine to get right, second only to timing. The Haynes brand manual basically copied the factory service manual carb rebuild section, so if you want to dive in, that's an accessible resource. If you really want to do it up, you can get a Weber carb to replace the stock Hitachi. The Weber still takes some dialing in, but it's a nice upgrade. If you have never rebuilt a carb before, just follow the instructions, it's really not very hard if your systematic about it. Many if not most EA81s from the latter half of the 80's came with hydraulic lifters that do not require periodic valve lash adjustments. The hydro-lifter engines had little gold stickers on the valve covers. An '85 brat could have either version. I am not saying this is your problem, but it is probably something that should be checked and adjusted to spec anyway.

Yeah, I am not sure I completely understand the situation, but I envisioned some of the penetrating oil getting on the input shaft as well as the pivot shaft in addition to some wiggling of the clutch fork that might get the TO bearing to slip back on to the input shaft. Hard to say, but I am sure the temps make things more difficult as well.

Hey Magnus, you made it over here, welcome. Hmmm, so the clutch fork pivot shaft actually binds the clutch fork in the compressed position? That sounds more like the throwout bearing binding on the input shaft or the assembly over-extending something. Maybe I am not understanding you correctly, but it's hard to conceive that the pivot shaft for the clutch fork would bind that strongly without some other simultaneous issues there. Do you think the egr valve itself is not working properly or do you think the egr system is not working properly? Mostly a faulty egr will act as a vacuum leak. I am no help on the carb, but I am interested in seeing a picture.

You've got me baffled as well. How did you change timing belts on an ea81? Did AZ ea81s come with timing belts? Pictures please. Sounds more like you've got an ea82.

Are there any gold stickers on the valve covers?

Absolutely you should at least verify the timing. Checking and setting the timing is super easy. Save your money on a mechanic at this point and spend some of that money on an inductive timing light that ideally comes with a tach readout. You can read rpms other ways so if you can only afford a timing light without tach (which are substantially cheaper) then go for it. You will definitely want to make sure timing is correct before trying to adjust other parts of the engine. I also recommend checking and setting the valve lash unless your have a hydraulic lifter engine. What year is your Brat?

That would be pretty badass if it works. Would you need custom cams for that or do you think stockers will work?

You should check to see what jets you have. It's important to verify that because the car will run sub-optimal at best if the jets are off. Every engine is different, so you have to figure out the jetting within a certain range for each engine, especially at 6,500 ft. That's high enough that the carb is going to be more sensitive to jetting. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, Weber seems to be shipping factory kits with idle jets that are too large, so they run rich. The ideal jetting regime is posted in several threads in the archive to compare with whichever factory jetting you received. It means taking the top of the carb off, but it's important. The idle jets are easily accessible from the exterior of the carb though.

You might need to reseal or replace the gasket between the vacuum actuator and the body of the carb. Sometimes the screws that hold it to the carb loosen up also.

You should be fine as long as you disconnect the vacuum supply hose and cap it so you don't have a vacuum leak. The hose that goes to the egr can just be removed for the time being. I would actually just eliminate the solenoid altogether, but that's your call.

Yes, getting a reman distributor is a worthy investment if you don't know the history of yours or how old it is. The rebuilder BratRod is referring to is the Philbin Group. That would probably net you about the best stock reman disty, second only to NOS. I am guessing that it would cost more like $250 + core though. I am running a Cardone reman Hitachi that I bought at Schuck's (now O'reilys) in 2005 (70K miles) and it's still going strong.

The white pasty stuff is just because you only drive short distances and don't get the engine up to operating temp for extended periods of time. It's emulsified oil and can just be wiped off. I would check your distributor rotor and cap and if those check out, then check the timing belts since you smelled burnt rubber. So far nothing you have described would indicate a blown head gasket, but it sounds like the engine is not firing correctly.

Yeah you can cut off the bowl vent solenoid, just make sure the cut end of the live wire does not touch anything metal on the engine or it will complete a circuit and can draw enough amps to blow a fuse.

I was giving my ea81 a major tune yesterday and checked out my manifold setup. I think I steered you wrong a bit. I think the yellow sensor is for your dash gauge. I originally thought the other sensor in that picture was a two-wire, but now I see that it is one-wire. Also, the #1 hole is for another one-wire coolant sensor. I have never known where either of the two one-wire sensors you have pictured have gone. I always assumed since I have a California feedback car that they went to some part of the original emission controls, but I have never known for sure. If I have time I will try to find them in my FSM. [EDIT] this was bugging me so I had to look it up. As I suspected both of the one-wire sensors are thermoswitches for the emissions control system. The sensor next to the dash gauge sensor gave feedback to some emissions vacuum switches and the sensor in the #1 hole gave feedback for cold starting. I will be removing both from my manifold next time I drain it.

Yeah it's a Hitachi. The Carter-Weber single barrel that came on some of the old gens is a bit confusing since both Carter and Weber make carbs, but as JesZek pointed it's neither and both at the same time. The '83 Hitachi is probably the best version of the Hitachi carbs, so if you are going to rebuild it at least you have a good base to start from.

If you are responding to my question, I am referring to the idle jets not the main jets. The idle jets are the little ones on the sides of the carb. They are accessible from the exterior with a standard screwdriver. I'm guessing they should be in the 40-50 range for these cars. Redline Weber has been shipping their kits with idle jets that are too large so people don't develop a lean condition and burn their engine after install. I bought a kit recently for my Jeep and the primary idle jet was way too large. I could barely get the thing to idle with any rpms, just like the OP. It came with a 75 primary and a 60 secondary. I dropped the primary down to a 45 and I am running a 50 on the secondary. I am going to try 55 in the secondary for bit to see how it affects the high end power but other than that it runs perfect. There's no way I could have ever tuned it in with a 75 and that is how it came from the factory. espey_16 the idle jets are located on opposite sides of the carb near the corners on either side of the fuel inlet. They are just two brass screws that stick out on either side that each hold a little idle jet. If you do an internet search for weber idle jets, they are the small ones. You need to pull them out and read the number stamped in the side.

So what size are your idle jets?

Those are both thermo vacuum valves that can be removed One of those is the sensor for you dash gauge, probably not the yellow one. Not sure on the yellow one. Hole #2 is the inlet for the EGR hard line from the head. It provides the EG in the EGR. If you are not using the EGR, then it can be plugged. As Tom mentioned the pipe looks like heater core, not sure on hole 1. I have used JB weld whenever I plugged the coolant port and it has worked well. Just make sure you get the coolant hole really clean. If I were going to do it again, I would probably tap it and plug it.