hatchsub

Um crappy O2 sensor making it run rich?

Ok will do. Im sure im guilty of this as much as other people. Heres an Update on my alternator probs http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=47758

Ok here the update. Went to the junkyard today and put an alternator in. Didnt work..it was overcharging still. So went back in and got another (im not paying for any of the others by the way..just the 26 bucks for the first one) and put that in. No go. It was undercharging bad. SO...again went in and they were saying it was probably my car at this point but they still gave me yet another to try. BINGO..this one worked perfectly. They're really good guys over at Bills Auto Parts in Tolland CT. Just have too little faith in the power of subarus Also i will still be putting in a cap for the amp. For now im not using the amp just to save this alternator until i get the cap. And WagonsOnly has offered up an XT6 and Im going to take him up on it...That is when he gets back from Ohio or where ever he said he was stranded with his Vdub getting a window fixed. Good luck WagonsOnly and Thanks mucho!!

Hmm selling a Jeep (chyrsler) for a suby. Never a bad move in my opinion. My cousin had terrible luck with his wrangler. Ive never had any serious problems with my subarus.

actually im with you. I don't know much about them either. I know that they were on the early EA-81 cars but not much else. Anyone want to fill both of us in on these interesting inventions from the past?

Wow your really lucky you didn't blow a head gasket when it overheated. These cars have a tendency to do that since the block and heads are alloy.

Yeah i was dying for a long time last night and praying that it would be up and running when i woke up

I think the stock one should be fine as long as i have a capacitor for the amp. For now ill just disconect the amp so i don't burn this one out.

Voltage regulator is internal and thats whats fried. Yeah i know caps are expensive but i can live without my subs for awhile (though life is better with them ). Im just going to pull the fuse for the amp so i don't kill this alternator as well.

I would go remanufactured and get a warrantee but im strapped for cash right now so a 25 dollar JY alt is going to have to do.

Wow looks great. Love the color..and the seats

Ok here is my plan after listening to everything that you guys had to say. Im going to replace the alternator with another junkyard alt (i figure that besides the amp there is no real big draws on the stock one so it should be fine for my needs). Then I'll get the system checked (grounds and voltage across the battery terminals and alt). Until i can get a cap ill just pull the fuse for the amp so that i don't go through this alt as well. Does this sound like a good plan?

Ouch...looks like a nice parts car or maybe after a bunch of work a driver.

If a local shop gives free estimates its not a bad idea to have them put it on a lift and take a look. I know the guys down at my local shop so they will often look at my car for free and tell me what needs to be done to it. Then i go ahead and fix it. They also know if its something serious then they get to do it so its not like im just using them all the time and not paying them.

By the date that you give i can assume that its an 81. Not sure of the body style cause i cant decode that vin. EA71 is a 1.6 liter motor. The EA81 is a 1.8 liter motor and is probably slightly later (though there were a few made in 81 for Brats). I would love to see pics just to see what ya found We should start some kind of "found in field" or "found in barn" thread and bookmark it. Everyone sends in pics of what they found and info about it. I think that would be cool. What do you guys think?

Actually the valve cover is held on by two 10mm bolts since this is an EA81 and not an EA82 That being said the cam seal is nowhere near where this leak sounds like (again for the same reason). Get under the car and look up. It should be very clear where the leak is coming from unless your car engine is just really grimy. The valve cover is a likely culprit but your oil pump is could be another cause. Its on the front of the engine sorta towards the drivers side (so right side when looking from the front like you said). Just for my own experience my car was leaking oil everywhere it could leak it from. Both Valve covers, oil pan, oil pump, and rear main seal. Replaced all those gaskets and now no more leaks!

If thats true then thats just sad. Cool looking wagon though

LMAO

So if understood that correctly a 5 Farad cap is better than a 1 Farad cap? I guess what im asking is how strong do i need with my 650 watt (300RMS) amp and 2 10" subs?

Wow i thought i knew a lot about stereos but i know nothing about capacitors. I know that they store energy for subs but i how do you hook them up? Do they just need to be grounded and then hooked into the existing amp power wire? Also what kind should i get? What is this 5 Farad and 1 Farad rating on these things? Thanks for any input guys.

yeah im thinking the GM swap is the way to go. XT6 alts are a bit hard to come by over here. But does anyone else think there is something else wrong here or am i just killing alts with the way i use power in this car?

I leave the lights on cause they go off when i turn the car off. I also listen to the radio and crank it up. In the winter the fan and rear defrost are used but only when needed. I never had this problem with another car though but then again i never had a sound system like this one.

Well the FOURTH alternator that ive had in this car is going now. It overcharges the system and when first started undercharges it. The first one went because of hacked up wiring, the second for the same reason. I had the hack wiring taken out and this car wired back to factory by someone who worked on these cars when new cause don't deal with underhood wiring. The third one i thought died because it was a crappy rebuilt that had been scrounged from a scrap car. But now the fourth, which was a non rebuilt junkyard alternator is fried. Could my stereo be putting too much stress on these things? I have a fairly powerful headunit and two 10 inch subs in the trunk hooked to a 650 watt (300 RMS) amp in the trunk. Maybe i should think of doing the GM alternator conversion. What is everyones opinion of whats going on here?

cool thanks for the update. Maybe somewhere down the road when i actually have the funds, ill do that swap. For now a good rebuilt hitachi will have to do.

I don't know that you need to let it warm up for 15 minutes but i do agree to let it warm up for at least 5. Its an old car with a carburator so it needs some time in the morning. They all do. If it doesn't do it when its fully warm i wouldn't worry about it. Its just that the carb was not warm enough to introduce the mixture well.