Dirk

Plus one on this. Did you get it sussed already?

Hey man. Sounds like your throttle plates arn't closing fully. I would be focussing on throttle linkage and return springs. Also maybe a sticky throttle cable. As other have already mentioned, check for air leaks. Make sure all vacuum ports are connected/blocked off. If you have vacuum secondary it would pay to check that it is connected to the correct port. It should be connected via a port at the back that runs of venturi vacuum not manifold vacuum. Idle mixture screw is just that. I has little affect on driving conditions. Yes it nedds to be set correctly but it will not be the main cause of your fast idle. Cheers Dirk P.s. Also need to address the choke plate. Manual or auto choke?

The Clash!!!!!!!!! No punk smilie?

Yep. Across the big pond. But they are small and light so post should be nominal. I will watch this space.

I do. If you can't find one closer let me know.

I believe that learning from your own mistakes is the best way just as long as no one gets hurt. Sometimes however it is good to learn from other peoples mistakes. (the nanny state.... this is something that winds me up very easily. That said, if someone does insist on slapping a warning lable on something, it would be foolish not to read it) And yes I am a Libra sign. Regards Dirk.

This I agree with whole hearted. So perhaps I should amend my statement from 'don't do it' to 'proceed with caution'

This thread has been haunting me for some time. Time to stick my neck out. Proceed with Caution! For those of you who have done this successfully I commend you! But I really would not recommened this to any one. I have tried this before and it is very easy to muck it up fast. The motion of your hands moving the head tends to remove more stock on the outer edges of the head faster than the middle causing a convex shape. Once things start to go wrong they can get worse very quickly and then you can throw away the heads. I strongly recommend to anyone thinking about this to spend the money at the machine shop or at the very least try it on a spare head first before you destroy a good set of heads. Rick. My appologies to you. I realize that this is a credible method and can produce good results but I don't think it should be published as a cheap DIY short cut. Regards Dirk.

Hey man. Do a search on the PCV system. I seem to remember GD covered the subject pretty well. I had a similar issue with my PCV system. the manifold was dragging oil through in high vac situations. But not when on the throttle. Hopefully this is the issue. Other causes could be worn valve guides and or rings. Good luck

1979 1600dl sedan. Front wheel drive. The stock setup was a hitachi 26/30 with linkage secondary. NO PCV just breather hoses into the air filter. Pretty much the only vaccum ports are for the vac advance (via carb) and the brake booster on the manifold. I now run the same setup but with the bigger carb.

I'm pleased to hear that The 32/36 works well on the EA71. Its something I have yet to try. Here in NZ the EA71 normally comes with a smaller 26/30 carb which has a smaller bolt pattern than the EA81 28/32. I guess the US Ea71s are standard with the 28/32. Which would explain your comments. I still suspect that a New Weber 32/36 is such a vast improvement since it is mostly replacing a tired 20 plus year old carb which is simply not operating correctly anymore. Just a note on performance. The wifes Alfa 33 is a 1500 boxer with twin Weber 40/40 IDF. It has great high rpm performance and responce but my EA71 with 28/32 Hitachi has heaps more low end power. I regularly tow with the soob. I wouldn't try towing with the Alfa. P.S. My Hitachi has linkage secondary, manual choke and no vaccum accessories (not even vac advance) Also no PCV on manifold.

You could be naughty and advance the timing a wee bit. Depending on how rich you are running and how much advance you can take this could help. Maybe Doug can confirm or denounce my comments.

Has someone been making merry with the invisible spray paint again?

Hydraulic lifters?

Just a thought about 2 cylinders being affected. The cam shaft only has 4 cams that are shared by opposing cylinders. Sadly there is no quick way to inspect the cam shaft but I wonder if as you have already suggested the cam grind is suspect?

Yeah mate but I am in NZ. Must be a wreckers close to you that can help? Or make up ur own adapter?

Some EA71 intake manifolds are made to fit the larger EA81 carb. If you have this or can find one then you can simply buy the Redline kit. The Weber 32/36 is a BIG carb. Are you sure you want to use it on a stock EA71? Hitachi carbs are a dime a dozen at the wreckers here. Plus you can get rebuild kits easy enough. Have you thought about rebuilding? In my opinion there really is nothing wrong with Hitachi. Most carb problems seem to be age and maintenance related.

0-100k in 14seconds average. But then its a light sedan with carpets and other non-essentails ripped out. Tips the scales at about 850kg with empty tank and no spare wheel. Dirk

+1 for making up a tool. Also squirt plenty of lube in and around the boot/seal. Give it a tap with a hammer every 1/4 turn or so. Best of luck, Not a favourite job to do. Lots of patience required. Dirk

Up to my eyeballs in work and other stuff at the moment. So no further tuning at this stage. Yes this is the dizzy I am using (Hall type) Although I can not see a adjusting screw for the vac can. Discovered that the dial light I have been using is hoplessly wrong. Therefore I have no good data untill I can buy or borrow a good one. Dirk.

So........ I have been playing with the base timing and unless the timing light is screwed it really is happiest at 20 degrees btdc. Who am I to argue. Have put in a lighter spring so now I get 30 degrees at about 2800rpm. Total timing at 6000 rpm is about 36 degrees. Have re-connected the vac advance and test driven. All feels good. Have scored an O2 sensor from a 99 legacy. Going to get the auto electrician to hook it up to a meter for me so I can do more carb tuning. Stay Tuned!

Managed to borrow timing light. The results are colourful. Base timing 20 degrees Total timing 32 degrees. Timing pretty much stays at 20 all the way up to 2500rpm then creeps up to 32 degrees at 5000rpm. Surprisingly this all seems to work quite well. Engine starts well and idles smooth and cool at 20 degrees. Slight pinging off the line but hardly enough to write home about. As I have already said, I can feel the engine searching for extra power after about 3000rpm. Also If I cruise at 3000rpm for long enough the temp gauge creeps up a little but still with in limits. Not got the vac advance connected so this could help that. A sensible man would try to re-work timing back to normal specs but I am keen to try a slighty lighter spring to get timing to come on sooner (maybe try for 32 degrees at 3200rpm This will probably get me more advance at 5000rpm since the timing lever is not topping out at the moment. I can pull back base timing if total timing gets too much.

Hey Ross. I want! But have no cash. Is there anything you need that I could trade with you?

Hey Doug, Thanks for feed back. No back dial timing light as of yet but I should be able to borrow one. I'm chasing my tail a little bit on this until I get the timing light. Also I am suspicious of the secondary barrel on my carb. Need to get this sorted in order to assess performance. That said I feel like I am on the right track. Base Timing is set with vacuum gauge and my judgment. I have a variety of springs and weights from other dizzies so there is plenty potential for fine tuning. Judging by power, smoothness, sound and how much my gear shift rattles, I think I am close. Power off the line is good and smooth Power at 2500-3500rpm is good but maybe a little rough. Power after 4000rpm is less good but smooth. Also its reluctant to get past about 5000rpm. This suggests to me that there is not enough advance at this engine speed. Curious though since timing should be all in by about 2500rpm. Would be cool to see the Factory advance curve if anyone has this data? I will post more again when I have timing light. Dirk.

Just a quicky. Ill give more details later but..... I noticed that my engine was running silky smooth at low rpm but getting quite rough at about 3000rpm and then starting to smooth out again after 4000rpm. I have not done much technical testing but I figured my full advance was coming to too soon and probably too much. Therefore have fiitted heavier springs and closed up the slots on the timing lever. Had to re-adjust base timing after fitting heavier springs. Engine now runs smooth all the way to 6000rpm. Feels like it may have more power at 3000rpm now but it tails of at 5500rpm. More fine tuning to do but so far a marked improvement.