lyons

Thanks for the advice - I'm on my way tomorrow to get the correct filter, they told me at the subaru shop i was supposed to have one in the engine bay...so i put one in there figuring the previous owner took it out. Now i see the one under the rear driver. I took off the one in the engine bay to see if it helped, but no change... Do you know if the 81 has just the under body fuel filter, or should it have one in the engine bay as well? Where should the timing be set? (I'm at about 7,500 ft.) I have timed it, to the FSM specs, but how much to compensate for altitude?

81 hatch w/ea81, hitachi Hesitation off of idle...i've looked through the many posts on this...don't have the 200 to grab a weber yet.. It seems to hesitate most of the time - some times it will run for a few minutes without hesitation.. I've played with the two adjust screws, but am not sure what i'm playing with. There's a longer one that is off to the passenger side of the throttle chamber, and one right on the front of the chamber. Kind of at wits end with this issue..it runs, and idles fine, but as soon as you step on the gas it cuts out for a second or two, then it revs back up. While holding speed, it hesitates and lurches. No vacuum leaks, I've sprayed everywhere. What is the correct way to adjust the throttle mixture/idle? History is, I've swapped in another engine (blown bearings), with the old intake, seafoamed it, timed it to the FSM specs, replaced alternator, plugs and wires, cap and rotor, ignition coil and battery, ground to engine cable..

Hey folks - sorry to keep you hangin on a reply - I DID buy the little hatch! Spent the $850 hoping it wouldn't be a lost engine....drove it home just fine, but the oil pressure dropped as soon as it warmed up. Didn't push it, just cruised at 35 and made it home slowly. Re-sealed the oil pump, replaced the pressure sender, and flushed the engine, changed all the fluids. Threw new tires on it, replaced the belt and a few hoses, all filters, plugs, cap and rotor. The oil pressure still ran low (it was reading 50 at startup, then 10 psi or so once it warmed up, running 20w50). Took it to a shop to see if they could diagnose HG or main bearing. They claimed it was just old and a little sloppy, that I should drive away and not worry. Drove it home, started the next day with a blast of smoke out the tail, and I knew something was up. A few miles down the road I lost heat and a lot of power. I'm thinking HG's...I limped it down the canyon to a shop, and sure enough. The HG's are shot and the main bearing is banging around. I have a few projects on my hands at the moment, and have never rebuilt an engine...don't think I can take that on right now, though I am up for projects. I'd need some help though, I figure. Anyone out there have a good EA81 engine they are looking to sell? The shop I took it to (superupair, any experience with them here?) as I limped into town does have a used 1600 for sale, but I am having a hard time with the idea of even less power...thoughts? Sucker King, when I signed up on the board I did live in Lyons, just east of 36 & 66. Just moved up Lefthand Canyon near Lickskillet. We should grab a few at Oscars sometime...

It's white smoke on startup. Yes, it runs a little rough, I have to hold the gas to keep it at 1500rpm about a minute before it warms up enough to hold an idle. It's not coughing or jumping. GD - I'm still reading up on this site quite a bit and learning a ton all the time. I realize I may have some things confused. Thanks for your correction and input. What would show a bad HG?

Potentially..The owner states that it was probably low when parked, but that it never overheated. So it must have gone somewhere, maybe out of a small leak in a hose while it was sitting...or maybe it did blow a head gasket. It does blow some smoke on startup, which seems to go away as it warms up. I figured maybe it needed a valve adjustment. I went through some older posts on compression checks, and have decided I might have messed up the last two readings, the 110 and 90. I tested the two on the drivers side with all plugs open, new oil, and jumping from a strong battery in a running car. I had the owner turn the ignition to crank it over. However, I put the drivers side plugs back in before testing the passenger side, and I didn't disconnect the fuel pump before testing any of them. I now see that these reading could be inaccurate.. In any case, driving it down the road felt good - I'm going with that feeling and gonna buy it. I'll give it a good compression test when I get it home - I'll let you all know how that goes -

Well, just got back from checking it out again - I did an oil change, filled the radiator (it was empty), checked the freeze plugs, and ran a compression test. The freeze plugs were in place, the radiator held liquid just fine, even after warming up and driving a bit. The engine does sound pretty nice... The compression test came back as follows, from drivers side rear, moving clockwise: 135, 140, 110, 90. WOULD THIS INDICATE A HEAD GASKET, OR JUST WORN OUT RINGS? IF ITS RINGS, ANY ESTIMATES ON HOW LONG I COULD DRIVE BEFORE HAVING TO REPLACE THEM? I drove it around the block for a minute, and it did pretty well, as far as I can tell..it does have a little hesitation when starting off, like a wheel bearing is dry or emergency brake a little stuck, or... I'm ready to buy it, if I can be confident that it's not an immediate issue. I will have time later on to replace head gaskets or maybe rings, but want to be able to drive this for a couple months without serious issues... It obviously has a carb issue (with idling), but I'm more than willing to deal with that. No batteries for the camera, so no pics, sorry! PLEASE let me know what opinions people have on the compression readings. Thanks again, much appreciated!

I'm headed over today to give this little "nugget" another run through. My plan is to change all the fluids and check for serious leaks, and do a compression test...See if I can get it the 15 miles down to my place. I'm alright with buying it for $850, she won't come down on it, but it seems like it could potentially be an alright engine. If not, I can go from there and might have a nice project for a while She states that she was testing the market when she listed it for 1k, and she has known all along it has carb issues. She claims she posted on here a while back asking about the issues, as she and a friend were going to try and fix it up. We will see what it feels/looks/sounds like with new fluids... I'll try and get a message up here tonight and let folks know, but I work late, so maybe in the morning...I will try and grab some pictures of it Thanks to all!

Thanks for the input - I've also been trying to find another older subaru wagon or hatchback for a little while. I saw that Foco ad! Cool you grabbed it, for $400 that's not bad! Wasn't that the one with carb issues? I might have a solution for you if you've got carb problems - I happen to have an (almost) full fuel injection conversion for an EA-82..let me know if you're interested.. What I'm really wondering about is the OIL COLOR?? If that's not a bad sign, I might jump on it - she doesn't want to drop lower than 850, unfortunately, but the body is in great shape (hopefully the engine too..) oops - JUST SAW GD's post - THANKS FOR THE ADVICE! "may have popped a freeze plug while sitting or has a bad head gasket" - Any advice on how to check for these??

I was on this forum a year or so back, when I was working on an '86 GL. Unfortunately, that wagon was rammed by someone who didn't notice they had a red light... Here I am again, looking at getting another older Subee Need some advice on this little hatchback - it seems like a good buy, but I wanted to check it out with those more experienced.. It's a 1981 Hatchback, EA-81 engine, 4wd. The interior is clean, exterior clean except for one small rust spot. The engine bay looks nice, mostly clean, some rubber looks a little weathered...though visible seals look nice on engine. It apparently hadn't been driven in two years, and it's been sitting outside, though in sunny Colorado weather...I tried to fire it up, and after a dozen cranks, it fired up nice, on a cold day (20F). It idles a little high, and you have to tap the gas to get it back down, but not too bad. The owner does have records of regular maintenance, and seems to really love the little "nugget" as she calls it. The one main thing I'm concerned about is the oil looks like a latte - its a creamy light brown color and a little bubbly - but it has been sitting for two years. IS THIS NORMAL FOR A CAR THAT HAS SAT FOR A WHILE? She's asking $850. It would probably need belts, plugs, wires, hoses, fluids changed, filters..axles look good, underbody looks good. Is this a fair asking price?? She is firm on it.. THANKS FOR THE ADVICE! I'm thinking about asking her if I could drain and fill the oil, then run a compression test on it to make sure the head gasket is good.. The owners description: Details of mechanics: 1) Car has sat for two years, was running up until I parked it due to the fact I purchased another vehicle. 2) Carburetor rebuilt recently but does need adjustment. 3) New brakes 4) New muffler 5) Tires in great condition Needs a look at and or fixing: 1) No head rest for drivers side seat 2) Carburetor rebuild/adjustment 3) Basic maintenance (oil change, plugs, wires)

Hey folks- 87 GL with EA82 Carbureted - wouldn't idle at all, so i pulled the top off the carb, and cleaned out the idle jet. Now it's idling, after adjusting the throttle screw and the idle adjust screw. (BTW What is the correct setting/procedure for tuning these??) It idles at about 800-900 rpms, but after warming up a bit, it will slowly jump to 1500, then back down, about every 2-3 seconds. Can't seem to wrap my head around this one, any ideas?? Also, if I revv the engine up to about 3000-3500 rpms quickly, and then let go, it will backfire out the exhaust. It wasn't doing this when the idle jet was clogged... Suggestions/ideas much appreciated - thanks!

Got it running! Don't know how, but tweeked the float more than a few times, and it finally isn't flooding or cranking dry. It doesn't idle, unless you give it a bit of throttle, but I'm guessing that's a way easier fix. Any ideas? Next on the list - a front half axle: how hard for me to replace, what would you recommend (used, remanufactured), anything besides socket wrenches to make it happen?

I put the original needle and seat back in the carb in case that was the issue, it's still happening, tho. The needle seems to be seating and opening just fine, not sticking at all (at least bench testing it). It's a Hitachi, and I dont see a sight glass... Maybe it is the gasket. I'll see what I can do, and get back to you all.. Thanks! Progress!

I checked out the ideas you all pointed out. The return line is clogged. Blowing into diagnosed that. However, if I blow into where the main fuel line comes into the carb, when the top is off the main body of the carb, and the needle is seated, it is impossible to get any air through (when the return line is off), meaning the needle is seating just fine...and if you raise the float air comes through into the float chamber...I think what's happening is when I reassemble the carb, the float is somehow not raising or falling properly. Which would explain why sometimes after I put it back together, it pours gas out the air vent pipe, other times it doesn't get any gas in the float chamber. I'll see if I can somehow figure how to get the float to move when it's reassembled...I wish there were a sight glass... Is it critical to get the return line unblocked? I'm guessing that might involve dropping the tank, grrrr...

Well the distributor points to 1 when #1 cyl is at TDC, I have spark on all 4 plugs, and the cams are 180 from eachother. I'm convinced it's a carb thing. Why else would it start and run well for a few seconds, then bog out? Is the tube that faces up at a 45 deg angle on the carb chamber, closest to the front of the car, the overflow tube for the float chamber? Why is there a large flow of gas coming out of it? It seems to me that this is flooding the engine...right? How do I correct this? Thanks for the advice!

New to the forum, what a great resource! Thanks in advance for any help. Just picked up an 87 gl wagon, 1.8 carbureted, for $200! Was running, but running rough. Rather unknown history. Passed emmissions with flying colors! Replaced air filter, oil change, spark plugs, spark wires, dist cap, drive belts, radiator hoses, water pump bypass hose, timing belts, oil pump, carb accel pump, float needle, carb to intake manifold gasket, and a few vacuum hoses. Tried to start, nothing, sounded weird...Couldn't figure why it wouldn't, so I tried cranking it A LOT (oops.) Called a soobie mech, told me the chiltons i was using had the wrong timing belt replace procedure (they called for both cam marks to be up), so i set the passenger side cam 180 off (down), made sure the drivers side cam mark was up, and the crank on the 3 timing marks. tried to start, still nothing, though it didn't sound weird anymore. Smelled a lot of gas! Once again i cranked it a lot, not knowing... Pulled off the airbox to check carb, noticed it was pouring a lot of gas out of a tube on the chamber towards the front of the car. Thought maybe the float chamber was flooding, and the ton of excess gas was flooding out the cylinders. Realized that I had been cranking the engine a lot and so a lot of gas had been entering the cylinders. Re-checked the float measurements per the instructions in the rebuild kit. Checked the float needle, realized the one I had just replaced was different than the old one, so I put the old one back in, since it looked pretty good. Had a friend over, who said he had never seen the tab on the float sit in between the small metal clip and the needle. We put it above the metal clip. Engine started up, revved really high, poured LOTS of white smoke out the exhaust, then died. Wouldn't start again, though it would sputter a bit if pumping accelerator. Didn't know if somehow I had blown a head gasket when I put the timing belts on backwards (due to chiltons procedure), so drained the oil. No coolant, it seems, but really gassy. Decided maybe the gas I had been pouring into the cylinders (because of the carb)had broken the seal on the rings, and gas had gotten into the crankcase. Replaced oil and filter, still no start at all. Took carb back apart, no gas in float chamber. Put float tab back between clip and needle as it was originally. Car started up, revved high, still blew white smoke out exhaust, but less...then died within a rew seconds. Noticed gas was pouring out of overflow(?) tube again. SOOO. Am thinking with the carb float tab above the clip, it doesn't get gas (the float chamber being empty), with it in between the tab and needle, it floods (the gas pouring out that tube). Does that make sense? And that the smoke out the exhaust might be built up fuel in the cat, or exhaust? Any ideas? Does anyone know where the tab should sit (in between clip and needle?), what the adjustments should be for the float, and why it's flooding out? Or might it be something else? Am kinda lost at this point...Thanks!