Idles cold but not warm

[poleman]

My usually super reliable 85 Legacy GL suddenly developed an idling issue. A week ago, during usual daily driving it began cutting out at idle (only after the engine has warmed up). It's an EA82. Not sure of the carb model, but it doesn't look original.

 

I replaced dist cap, rotor and wires (plugs only have 3000 miles on them and look fine) with no improvment. All vac hoses appear connected, and in good condition.

 

It starts up and drives fine when cold, but after 5 minutes it wont idle. It still drives fine on the open road and there is no power loss at all.

 

Due to the sdden nature of the problem (and the fact it runs fine doing 65mph), I'm thinking it's either a vacuum leak, gunked up carb, or an idle air control valve issue.

 

Any ideas? Could it be the timing?

[northguy]

First off, you probably have a Loyale, not a Legacy. You might have dirt in the carb. Try revving it up, covering the carb with a rag, then pulling it off quickly. It might just dislodge the dirt. If not, you may have to tear it down and manually clean it. But I am sure others will have differing opinions. I am by no means a carb expert. Good luck with it.

[poleman]

I'll give the rag trick a go. I just nuked it with carb cleaner to no avail. It now looks very shiny though!

 

I have screwed in the idle screw so that it at least wont stall on me in traffic. The idle is very erratic. The needle goes from about 800rpm to 1200 rpm.

[GeneralDisorder]

You say the carb doesn't look original - can you take a picture?

 

Sounds like a plugged idle circuit to me. Fixing it will depend on what carb it ultimately is - I'll be able to help more if I know what you are dealing with.

 

GD

[poleman]

Hi GD

 

I'm having difficulity uploading photos. I could email a pic to you.

 

The carb is an Hitachi, but probably not the original one - it looks way to new. From what I can see it looks identical to the autozone replacement carbs for sale on their website.

 

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/parts/partsProduct.jsp?itemIdentifier=3930_33709_4704_5906%2C7736&skuDescription=National+Carburetors+/+Carburetor&brandName=National+Carburetors&displayName=Carburetor&categoryNValue=&sortType=&store=2222&isSearchByPartNumber=&fromWhere=&fromString=&counter=1&itemId=169-0&navValue=14900169&filterByKeyWord=&productId=3930&searchText=&categoryDisplayName=Fuel+Delivery&parentId=49-0

[GeneralDisorder]

Ok - so it's a replacement but still the OEM style carb. Check. Thought maybe you had a Weber .

 

Check for vacuum leaks - the best way is to spray around with carb cleaner till you hear the engine change pitch. If that happens you have found a leak. Check for a stuck-open EGR valve, missing/broken vacuum connections, and check over the anti-afterburn valve and it's hoses for rust and cracked hoses. It's the valve at the end of the 5/8" diameter hose from the top of the EGR valve.

 

The idle circuit could be plugged on the carb - to access it you will basically have to remove the carb from the car. The idle mixture adjustment needle is behind a roll-pin on the front, bottom of the carb and that roll pin needs to be removed in order to access the mixture needle. I would start by pulling the top of the carb off while it's still on the car and blowing out all the passages with compressed air - making sure not to lose the accelerator pump sping and check ball. If that doesn't work pull the carb off, remove the throttle base and blow everything out from both ends of the idle circuit.

 

The best solution by far for these carbs is to just dump them in favor of the Weber 32/36 DGV. They come up for sale every so often on here and on ebay for pretty cheap. A used bare carb with good throttle shafts should run about $100 and then you'll want to figure a rebuild kit ($25), adaptor plate ($35), and maybe a few jets. Typically I've done Weber conversions for around $200 give or a take. Money well spent I can tell you.

 

GD

[poleman]

I pulled the carb, cleaned and reinstalled. I also pulled the egr valve and cleaned it up.

 

The car runs sweetly but there was a small coolant leak (not around the coolant hose but out of the gasket). I nipped up the 4 carb nuts. It was still leaking so I gave the nuts another turn and sheared off one of the bolts

 

I'm thinking I can plug the coolant lines and the car should run ok. Is this possible? Any suggestions? Will it run ok? Is the carb going to overheat or are the coolant lines there to keep it warm?

 

It's an $800 car so I dont want to throw a whole lot on money at it, but it is a nice wagon.