Subaroo82 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Hey guys i really could use some help from you subaru gurus. this car has me puzzled. I posted a thread before but figured this would be cleaner. I have a 82 Wagon 4spd ea81 with a one barrel carter 228k miles. I have replaced spark plugs, fuel filters, fuel pump (this one is rated from 2 to 4 psi), disty cap & rotor, air filter, wheel bearings, flushed all the fluids and changed oil filter. I have torn the carb a part and cleaned it twice. Theres no leaks in it or any vacuum leaks anywhere as far as starting fluid shows. I have adjusted the valve lash (intake .010 and exhaust .014 correct?) the timing is dead on 8 degrees at 900rpm. To town theres is one steep hill and i have a hard time making it up at 45 in third with horrible acceleration and even cruising on a flat surface in 4th it struggles to go 60 theres just a huge lack of power in general. The gas mileage oh the gas mileage its getting 10 mpg i feel like im driving my chevy pickup :-\. It's leaking a little bit of oil out of the oil pump seal and a little bit somewhere from the transmission. A friend followed me into town today and said i had some blue smoke coming out everytime i shifted. Sometimes when im pulling out it will really really bog on acceleration like its getting flooded and i'll have to give it a few revs for it to take off. It bucks a bit and in town its a lot worse but on the highway you can almost feel it trying to pull back wards almost like if something is dragging i have checked the brakes and everything though nothing is dragging. If you guys could give me some hind sight where to look i would really appreciate it because i have no idea lol Cheers Edited July 19, 2011 by Subaroo82 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hey. Has the car been running good for you before? I.e. when did the troubles start? What colour are your spark plugs? Cheers. Do you have access to a compression tester or Vac gauge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 clogged exhaust/converter? i generally don't suggest starting there, doesn't happen often on Subaru's, but it does happen and you've really covered a lot of the major items. does all of your driveline spin freely - wheels and driveshaft? can't imagine those being an issue without some actual symptoms though you mentioned the "braking feeling". probably just lack of power at speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaroo82 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hey. Has the car been running good for you before? I.e. when did the troubles start? What colour are your spark plugs? Cheers. Do you have access to a compression tester or Vac gauge? I bought the car about a month ago not running, and all the time i've had it it hasnt ran too good. The spark plugs are black but there brand new ngks. No vac gauge but i do have a compression gauge floating around somewhere kind of scared to see what its running at haha clogged exhaust/converter? i generally don't suggest starting there, doesn't happen often on Subaru's, but it does happen and you've really covered a lot of the major items. does all of your driveline spin freely - wheels and driveshaft? can't imagine those being an issue without some actual symptoms though you mentioned the "braking feeling". probably just lack of power at speed. I was thinking clogged converter the previous owner said he "punched" out the converter so im not sure if anythings left in there. When i got it the exhaust was filled with grain from mice stocking so i blew it out with air and it seemed to flow pretty good but who knows if some more got in there. The front wheels seem to have a tad bit of resistance spinning but i figured that was because its front wheel drive. Driveshafts are good and i have not checked the driveline..i'll have to do that Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 +1 With everything you've done, you've got to have restricted exhaust. ie: Cat. It's done it to my Brat and my XT. If they burn oil or run rich (which Carters do), they will burn up the Cat pretty quick. The task of the Cat is to burn leftover hydrocarbons and convert Co in the exhaust. If you add 'fuel' (burnt oil or running rich) to the exhaust, it raises the temp in the Cat exponentially and causes it to melt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 not sure about EA81's but some subaru exhausts have multiple cats - i know XT's have one in the y-pipe and another dedicated unit after it. maybe the bits are stuck somewhere in there from him busting it up or he didn't knock them all out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaroo82 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Good news saw that my air filter was plugged up with dirt swapped a new one in got some performance back. It does something when i floor it! I cut open the cat and nothing was in there just a thick film of black crap, but the o2 sensor was plugged up real good dunno if it does anything though i wouldnt think so. I'll weld it back togther and see if it did anything tonight. I found a hitachi 2 barrel and intake for free i'll get sometime this week Oil leak seems to be getting worse looks like some might be drizzling between the valve covers and heads. It was puffin out some black smoke this morning when reving then stopped. I must have flushed the engine oil atleast 6 times since i got this thing and with about 300 miles its already dirty. ATF Flush maybe? The engines tired but assuming the carb is sucking my milage and the plugged air filter didnt help for sure that couldnt possibly bring me down to 10mpg could it? Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 O2 sensor has everythig to do with it. That is the heart of the emissions susyem (read fuel mix). Change it. Do you have a cel on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 O2 sensor has everythig to do with it. That is the heart of the emissions susyem (read fuel mix). Change it. Do you have a cel on? EA81 with an O2 sensor?? Unless it's a turbo unit I doubt it! Or did you get this setup for the californian market? You mention shifting gears yet also ask about flushing the Auto trans fluid... What have you got, an auto or a manual? Without a compression check I would say that the engine is just very tired - blue smoke indicates blow by and thus low compression, possibly on all four pots. As for the oil leaks - the subaru engines are great for making a small oil leak in the rocker covers OR the oil pump look like a major leak or a rear main seal that's gone. I'd pull the oil pump, clean it up, reseal all the necessary components and replace it. Wash the underside of the engine and see what happens with the oil deposits over the next week or two. Do the compression check, this will tell us a lot about the health of your EA81 in general. Cheers Bennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCREEAAAWWWWWW Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 My 81 gl has these same symptoms and also dies at idle constantly, I was figuring it was the carb as the PO said it had a crack in it or something (he doesn't really know anything about cars so he couldn't tell me much) but it is a California car. Where is the o2 sensor located, inside the cat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaroo82 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Nipper: Will cleaning it work temporarily? Also Cel? El Freddo: It's not a turbo unit..it has a o2 sensor i never though anything about it because i figured since i have no computer its not doing anything maybe this is ignorant thinking since a wire does lead inside the firewall. I live in wa dont have to worry about emissions so no to the cali. I ment flushing the engine oil with some atf never done it before heard it works good tho sorry for the confusion it is a 4speed. It's leaking a tiny bit on the passenger side and a little bit up front on the oil pump i will replace seals and all when i get some money Screaw: I had a little trouble with dieing while idling some idle mixture/speed dinking fixed it right up! Check for vacuum leaks, timing, moisture in the disty, cap rotor spark plug and wire condition..make sure the choke is opening up. I'd assume if it had a crack you'd see it leaking gas on the outside of the carb or if it was on the inside of the float bowl it would want to flood. The o2 sensor is inside the cat you'll see a spark plug lookin thing pokin out on the cat if you have one. Goodluck! Will do a compression test and get back to you guys thanks again! Edited July 19, 2011 by Subaroo82 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Usually where there is a cat there is a o2 sensor, It would be infront of the cat. How is the engine timing? Have you put a vac sauge on them to see what they are reading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) This is about the only mention of your carb that I can find. Suggest you find someone on the forum who has one of these. Maybe they can help. Or maybe you just need to replace sensors? Failing that, you could converte to Hitachi. You will need to change the manifold for this. Happy hunting at the junk jard......... Edited July 19, 2011 by Dirk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcap Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 There is always the option of converting to the Hitachi manifold and Weber carburetor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaroo82 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 A buddy of mine is giving me a hitachi intake/carb just got to make the trip to get it. I'll slap a Webber one when i have the money Can you get rid of most the emission stuff on a hitachi? They have a insane amount of lines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Don't be affraid of hitachi. They are not as bad as people make out. Yes, they can be simplified. Provided your state allows for the emissions. Don't go tearing too much off at this stage. First step is to get the engine running sweet. Then you can start removing unnecessary components. Do yourself a favour and do a compression test. Whatever the results, it will be useful to know the condition of the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCREEAAAWWWWWW Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Screaw: I had a little trouble with dieing while idling some idle mixture/speed dinking fixed it right up! Check for vacuum leaks, timing, moisture in the disty, cap rotor spark plug and wire condition..make sure the choke is opening up. I'd assume if it had a crack you'd see it leaking gas on the outside of the carb or if it was on the inside of the float bowl it would want to flood. The o2 sensor is inside the cat you'll see a spark plug lookin thing pokin out on the cat if you have one. Goodluck! If I adjust the idle mixture screw it will idle ok, but only at about 1500 rpms which is obviously too high. My vacuum seems good and there is no moisture in the distributor. The timing is a little off, but not by much (I need to buy a timing light.) Also it will idle ok like I said if I adjust the idle air mixture screw, but when going downhill in neutral/with clutch in it will stall every time, soooo idk :confused: PS found the o2 sensor thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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