fastenova

I'd hardly call it finished, but it's almost to the point that it's a reliable driver. I just ordered an Exedy clutch kit and plan to install that this weekend. Got 5 tires, 185/80-13s, from Walmart for 200 bones on clean OEM rims, and plan to replace the holy exhaust with a 'custom' one... slightly bigger pipes, no cat since it'll be mostly for off-road use (for now, might add one later) and a cheap hi-flow muffler. Suspension and brakes look to be in pretty good shape. But my gauges aren't working too well, speedo and temp are reading zeros. I think my alternator/regulator might be on it's way out, it's reading just under 13V at idle and doesn't increase when it revs up. I'm thinking of doing the GM alternator for a little extra juice, looks pretty simple. But I'm excited to take her into the dirt for the first time, hopefully next weekend! Any suggestions on what to look for in the gauges? Anyone have a spare set laying around they want to get rid of? Thanks, Aaron

LOL, I meant on Subaru's part, not yours. I have heard this before about the radiator, but like I said, is the huge hunk of steel that it's bolted to (the body) not a good enough ground, instead it needs a little wire attaching it to the body???

I don't quite get this. The radiator is bolted to the subframe. How is this not providing a ground for the radiator? I must be missing something here... I have the little ground wire on mine, and it just seems ridiculous to me...

Duh. Sometimes the obvious isn't so... obvious. Make sure when you're doing your comp. test that you've got plugs out and your battery is juiced. Slow cranking will give bad compression results. The first time I ran comp. on an older engine I was reading 30-60 psi, I was turning it by hand From the sounds of it, I'd place my $$ on your carb base gasket. Good luck! EDIT: I had the exact same issue with water leaking into the intake on mine. After checking numerous things and almost deciding it was a HG, I rechecked the carb. gasket and it was nasty! I had some milky oil. Looked like chocolate milk, haha. Aaron

OK, so first drive went alright, she had a LOT of power. And was really noisy. It seems like there's some issues with the clutch, but I haven't even looked at that portion of the car yet Might just need adjusted, or something. I also think there might be an issue with the catalytic converter, but I'll bang on that tomorrow and see if I can figure out what's up. Next on the list is a thorough brake and suspension check and then baby's gettin' a new set of shoes! USMB ROCKS! Aaron

Wahoo! Installed a close-enough Deutsch fuel filter and she's running beautifully now! I am going to take her for her FIRST drive around the block since I've owned her!!! Thanks to everyone! -Aaron

Choke is open completely. It's an auto choke, having issues with that too but I want to get the darn thing running before I tackle that. I just replaced the power valve (needed to do it anyway and I just got it) and bought a set of calipers so I could accurately set the float. I just got done setting the float and it stalled again. So tore open the carb again, cleaned out the little screen in the fuel inlet, it wasn't visibly dirty or clogged. The level of fuel was down again though. The float level is set accurately. So next is replacing the filter at the fuel tank and possibly dropping the fuel tank to clean it out. Any thoughts?

Looking at my fuel filter it's staying plenty full. What else can I look for? Thanks!

Got an ea81 motor, ea82 intake manifold w/ weber 32/36 DFEV. Choke is disconnected right now. Starts up, runs great for ~5 minutes, lopes, and dies. I run the starter for a few seconds, let off, give the acc. a couple of pumps and she fires right back up and runs for another 5 minutes. Playing with the throttle doesn't help, I revved it up a little and she just dies a little faster. Am I running rich? Lean? I am new to carbs... Help! Thanks! PS - Thanks to all on the board for the help in the past, and all the great info that's on here =)

Where the carb bolts up to the manifold, there is a good chance that you're leaking water/coolant there. It's a pretty narrow spot where the gasket can deteriorate and leak water into the intake passageways. I'd get a new gasket (or cut one yourself if you can't find one) and get some gasket sealer. I just used red ATV silicone on mine and it is holding so far. I'd unbolt the intake manifold, you're almost there anyhow. Drain some of the fluid out of the cooling system first, so that it doesn't spill INTO the heads when you pull the manifold. I'd still want to check compression. It's easy, pretty fast, and will let you know right away that something is wrong with your motor. Also, check the coolant for oil. Since the oil system is a closed system, under higher pressure than the cooling system, you'd be more likely to be sucking water in through the intake than blowing it into the actual oil passageways. On newer motors (I have a 2.5L and am dealing with my second round of HG issues on that motor) oil in the coolant is a dead giveaway that the HGs went out. I believe that your oil system should be running @ approx. 30-50 psi. I don't believe the cooling system gets that high. Hrm, anyone second me on that? Aaron

Can anyone please hook me up with a picture of the 3-line fuel filter from an ea81? I think I may have it hooked up wrong and as such am having fuel delivery issues. I need to know where three lines connect: line to carb., line to left on firewall, line to right on firewall. Can't seem to figure it out from the diagrams I have, and don't want to bust open filter. TIA Aaron

Right, but they're not GR2s, are they? KYB, among others, does supply Subaru with the stock struts, but they're often not the quality of aftermarket. Bilsteins carry a one million mile warranty, for example. But then they cost a bit more than OE replacements, heh.

I like KYB a lot. GR2s are generally slightly stiffer than new stock struts/shocks. I don't know much about Monroe, but I believe those are more OEM-grade. I have GR2s on my BD Legacy and love them, it's also dropped about an inch with stiffer progressive springs though. Dunno about a lifted application. -Aaron

Does the lock back there try to move at all? If not, it's probably a loose/bad/cut wire somewhere. I don't know how they are wired up, but you can check for continuity from one end of the wire to the other. Maybe get a test light and see if you have 12v at the motor somewhere... If you listen to the door when you lock it and hear what sounds like a motor trying (or dying ) then it's just the motor that has failed, which can be replaced. -Aaron

Oh and if you have a sunroof, often the drain tubes get plugged up. I believe there are four of them on newer model Subes, one in each corner. The front two go thru the A pillars, the rear two go thru the B pillars. If the rears are clogged you end up with water in your rear floorpan. You can test this by running a hose directly over the sunroof for about 5 minutes. Check over on nasioc, I know there are several threads about this issue with instructions on how to clean the tubes. Compressed air maybe?

The idle jet is clean. I started tinkering around with the carb, and examined all the jets again (as I forgot to get sizes last time anyway). I noticed that the linkage from the primary throttle lever to the fast idle lever/screw was really loose. So I switched the connecting arm around and VOILA! much tighter. I was able to set the fast idle much more accurately after reassembling everything. It's late and this old beast is loud so I'll start her up tomorrow and see where I'm at. For jets, I've got 145 mains, 50/45 idles, and 170/180 corrections... For those of you who know something about these carbs, does that seem reasonable? They look close from what I've read on here. Anyone know what the bubbles in the fuel mean? Thanks! Aaron

Check your plastic weatherproofing on the inside of your door panel (between the door's sheet metal and the door panel). VWs are notorious for leaking if this seal is broken and letting water inside the car. My friend has a newer TDI with a leak in that spot and it ends up all over the driver's side floorpan, mostly in the rear. If the plastic sheeting is torn or otherwise in bad shape, just replace it and use something to seal it up. Not sure what would work best, the factory stuff is like a tarry substance. Silicone might be worth a try if you can get it to adhere to both surfaces. -Aaron

OK, so I'm trying to tune/adjust this carburetor, and having some issues. It starts right up, idles a little high (I can adjust the mixture screw for that, I think) but it dies after a little while. I'm not touching anything. It dies before the electric choke even starts to move. Any ideas on where to start? I followed these instructions for setting it up and I think I got everything set right... I'm new to carb'd motors so not sure where I need to begin troubleshooting. Also, I noticed after it shuts off, there are lots of bubbles in the fuel filter Help! Thanks! Aaron

Hi guys! I picked up an ea81 about a year ago and finally managed to finish my carb setup. The vehicle came to me disassembled with no carb and the intake manifold off. So, after searching on here I decided to pick up a Weber and rebuild it, along with an ea82 manifold. I thought I was getting a DGEV but as it turns out I got a DFEV, but with a little creative thinking this actually worked out better than a DGEV would've. I had to extend the throttle cable using some model airplane control cable , but it'll work just fine. Fabbed up the adaptor plate and got the thing running this weekend! I haven't touched the car for over four months, time has been slightly lacking :-\ But she runs! I gutted a LOT of extra parts from the engine bay and it is MUCH cleaner. Amazing how much electrical crap you can pull off these early ECU/Carb'd motors and have them run just fine . Anyone know if having the o2 sensor disconnected will affect anything? EGR + spark advance is vacuum controlled, PCV is piped into the intake mechanically, so I am not sure what would be controlled by the ECU so having the o2 sensor in the system might be moot... Experiences? Also, input on whether a fuel pressure regulator is necessary? I've read some conflicting opinions, but I still have the stock pump on there. A) does my carb need more fuel, and if so, what pumps are normally used (I assume I need a regulator with a higher capacity pump)? do I need a regulator with the stock pump? I do not have a return line hooked up from the carb. right now, just a supply line... I believe the Weber came out of a toyota pickup, so I plan on checking the jets and rejetting if necessary to make her run a little better. I'll pick up an air cleaner and take some pictures tonight. Gotta change the oil again and go through brakes, suspension, etc. for roadworthiness next week. Thanks for everyone's great research and posts, and help along the way. Aaron

Sweet. I have no qualms about melting metal to make it fit =D The seats on my '82 are thrashed, and I am getting a set of 99 OB seats for free, so I figure why not? My dad's got gas, wirefeed, and arc welders, and usually has some scrap metal sitting around, so I'll bet we can make something work. The width definately might be a consideration, but I guess we'll see how it goes.

Looking to figure out whether new Subie seats (99 OB) will fit in an ea wagon. Height-wise, and mounting-wise...

Awesome. Off to the junkyard this morning to see what I can dig up. Are there any 1bbl ea82 manifolds, or are they all 2bbl? What carbs were available on ea82s? Am I right to say that the ea81s came with either a 1bbl Carter/Weber or a 2bbl Hitachi, and the ea82s all came with 2bbl Hitachi carbs? Also, what's a good bigger tire size that I can fit on stock wheels that won't have any rubbing problems? Any recommendations for a relatively cheap meaty tire for off-road stuff? Thanks for the info. I'm looking forward to getting this beast running!

OK, so I've got an '82 GL wagon with an ea81 engine. It has a single barrel manifold, and I just got a Weber carb. ordered. I am looking to find a 2-barrel manifold. What will fit? I found a ea71 manifold in the local yard, but I'm not sure whether it will fit. I know I need to order an adaptor plate as well to make it fit whatever manifold I end up with. Thanks! Aaron