Engine stalls (Subaru Justy 1993)

[igersh]

Hi!

I have a Subaru Justy, year 1993, 1000 cubic cm engine, 3 cylinders with a manual transmission box. The mileage is about 140,000 miles (around 230,000 km).

In the last year, I started having the problem with this car, that sometimes the engine just completely shuts down in the middle of a ride or when the car is parked and the engine is running in an idle mode, and I have to turn the ignition key to start the engine again. But it only happens when I am NOT pressing on the accelerator pedal. I took the car to the main Subaru garage in the whole country (Israel), they checked the carburetor with some special device, which they call here "4-gases device", and said that the carburetor is fine. They also replaced the fuel filter, filtering the fuel, which flows from the fuel tank into the engine, because they said that my existing filter was heavily clogged up. However, it all didn't help and my car's engine still stalls in the middle of a ride. The guys at the garage also said that it's very very difficult to diagnose this kind of problems in those old cars, because you cannot connect them to a computer and have the computer show you all the problems, but rather have to look for all the problems manually and it can be very hard.

Also, I've recently replaced all the three spark plugs, high-voltage ignition wires and done maintenance of the distributor.

Do you have any idea what might be the reason of my car's engine's stalling?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Igor.

[Ricearu]

It sounds like it might be fuel pump related

 

also, check the small (12v) wires coming from the distributor, sometimes they can have corrosion on them

Edited October 16, 2009 by Ricearu

[GeneralDisorder]

Not having ever worked on a Justy, your problem sounds like the engine isn't holding a consistent idle. That is probably a carb issue being that you are immediately able to restart it. As your problem is difficult to replicate, I think it would be best if you put in 12v lamps that illuminate to show if the fuel pump has power, etc. Make sure, as noted above, that the fuel pump connections and the distributor connections are clean and tight. I would clean and inspect every connection you can get your hands on - coil, distributor, fuel pump, etc.

 

GD

[igersh]

Thank you all, guys, very much for your quick replies!

I think, I'll take my car to some guy, who deals with carburetors on a very deep level. I mean someone, who will take my carburetor completely apart and do a total overhaul to it, replacing all the parts that need to be replaced, re-adjusting it - in brief, making it like a new carburetor. It's hard to find this kind of guys these days, but it seems like my friend knows one, who seems to be one of the best in the country in carbs. We'll see how my car behaves then!

Thank you very much again!!!