whistler Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 (edited) Hey friends, I bought an '85 Brat with an EA81 in it a week ago today and immediately had some adventures (due in a large part to my own stupidity) that I've mostly gotten worked out, but they helped turn up some other issues that I need help with. Apologies for my tendency to write essays, hopefully it's not too rough for people to get through, it seems like you are all a really helpful bunch(I've been reading a lot and the forums have already helped me solve some problems.) 1. Right hi beam lamp doesn't turn on, but the low beam lamp gets really dim when I switch on the his is there a relay that controls the switch, I only have a chilton's manual so far and combing through the circuit diagrams would take a magnifying glass so I'm hoping people will have some thoughts. I'm going to go back out in a bit a check with my multimeter to see if the hi beam lamp is getting any power at all, but it isn't putting out any light. 2. The stupid problem that I caused was by pulling the dizzy to replace the coolant hose through the intake manifold without marking the dizzy. I learned A LOT about engine timing this weekend I have the timing set a hair past 8* now and had to up the idle speed quite a bit (stock hitachi carb) to get it in the 800rpm range, and it's running pretty happily except that it backfires when you let off the accelerator if you open the throttle up more than 1/2 or so. Looking at the timing while working the throttle it looks like the vacuum advance isn't working, (the timing goes back across TDC and keeps retarding the more you open the throttle) but there's definitely vacuum pressure on the line. I was wondering if it's possible to do any maintenance on the vac advance or if I need to just plan on hitting the junk yard (not going to pay $300+ for a whole new dizzy just to get the advance which is the only option I've found so far.) I sprayed carb cleaner around and haven't found any vacuum leaks so I don't think it's just an issue with insufficient vacuum pressure, but I could certainly be wrong. I don't think it could have any relation to an advance problem, but I haven't checked the valve adjustment yet, I should be getting the valve cover gaskets tomorrow so I'll do it tomorrow or Sunday along with compression testing the cylinders and I think that'll mostly conclude the pantheon of basic timing/carb related diagnostics. Guide me if I'm wrong about that please. 3. I got a weber 32/36 bolted to an intake manifold with the brat when I bought it and I've ordered a rebuild kit for the weber but I'm wondering if there's any way to tell if the intake manifold is for an EA82 or an EA81 by looking at it. I know that the 82 is supposed to be more free flowing so if that's what it is I'm inclined to swap that too, but if it's the same thing then it doesn't seem worth the work to swap both the carb and the manifold for no gains from the manifold(except new manifold seals.) I know I could just look at the manifold and compare it to what's on the engine right now, and I have, but the stock carburetor really obscures the manifold and I'm not totally sure of what I'm looking at, I don't see major differences, but I'm thoroughly uneducated. 4. It's kind've piddly, but the dome light isn't working. I replaced the bulb and no dice, thoughts on other things I can check? I'm really loving the brat, I have a 05 Forester that I like a lot, but there's something that really makes me grin about driving around with the t-tops up. It has a lot of character. Edited August 26, 2011 by whistler added detail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirlWithALegacy Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I honestly don't have any helpful info (except my friend and I never could figure out why his dome light wouldnt work either.. lol) ... but let's see some pix of this BRAT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 The dome light did not work in my 86 brat when I got it. I popped the cover off, There should be a screw that holds the switch in its pivot place. remove that carefully. there will be a little spring and a steel ball smaller then a BB. If I recall the spring should sit in the switch body and the steel ball on top of that. when you activate the switch the ball rolls over a set of contacts and completes the circuit thus allowing current to flow to the light. The ball on mine was caked with dirt an grease.which was the cause of the problem. I simply pulled the light assembly. brought it inside and cleaned the whole thing real good. especially the steel ball. let it dry over night,then simply wire it back up. and hopefully it will work. It probably isnt necessarily to pull the whole assy. but I wanted to make sure it was clean as a whistle. Hopefuly this makes sence and will work for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I have the same prob. with the headlights. I have no idea of the cause. I have actualy stoped driving the brat since some screwy things happened with the wiring and that is one of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 (edited) "and it's running pretty happily except that it backfires when you let off the accelerator if you open the throttle up more than 1/2 or so. " mine dose the same. I think it is improper back pressure from an incomplete exhaust.I need to fix that. srry, cant help with vac. advance. or intake. This thread may help with intake http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=125383 GOOD LUCK and enjoy one of the the coolest cars ever! Edited August 26, 2011 by 81EA81 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsoobdude Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I know the EA82 Wagon dome light is an upgrade for the dome lights on the EA81 Wagons and I think the same for the BRAT as well if you have access to one and want more lights. Welcome to the forum and enjoy. And yes PICS!!!!!!!!!! We ALL love pics of Scoobies, especially BRATs! As for all your problems, sorry I'm not much help and will be having some of the same problems as well when I pick mine and some of my parts up after the holiday weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistler Posted August 27, 2011 Author Share Posted August 27, 2011 A few updates... I spent all day painting at my girlfriend's work (gotta keep the money for parts for the Brat flowing in ) so I haven't checked the valves or cylinder compression yet. Sunday latest! I pulled the dome light cover and the switch was apparently set to "on" because the light popped on. The lack of pressure must have allowed the little bearing to make a contact. I'm cleaning it as we speak. It's really amazing how much light the mount blocks. Super bright without the cover on, really dim with it on... probably be looking for an ea82 light if it's not too ugly in the interior. Or just try cleaning the plastic lenses. I realized this evening that the Driver's Side headlight was significantly brighter than the passengers and started pulling fuses. All the power to the passenger side is coming from the driver's side circuit. So that probably explains the issue with the PS high beams. Time to start tracing cables :-P The electronic choke on the carb doesn't seem to be working right so that's going on my list of things to multimeter... I really want to get the weber rebuilt so I can get it on there so I'm dealing with a known rebuilt carb... Speaking of, can anyone tell me how to check the jet sizes. Do I have to buy a special set of gauges or are they marked or something? I'm hoping that they're correct since the thing was bolted to an EA intake manifold, but I know lots of people never get carbs jetted correctly. My girlfriend just realized that her new laptop has a card reader that takes the cards from her camera, so we finally have a way to get decent pictures on to a computer. Pics will be forthcoming! Thanks to everyone for their comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistler Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 pics! As you can see the previous owner (I'm apparently the 3rd) beat up the front fenders just a wee bit but he found and included new ones when I bought it. so became this and then got 2 coats of grey primer that almost match the stock paint aside from being matte. Then I realized that I needed to pull the hood and wipers to install the fender and didn't have enough time so it'll have to wait. Gotta get all the rust fixed in the next few weeks though. The RAIN is coming.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 (edited) You can get a rebuilt vacuum advance from http://www.philbingroup.com/rebuilt/distributors.htm in Portland. Much cheaper than buying a new disty and the vac advance has long since been discontinued by Subaru. Edited August 30, 2011 by edrach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 (edited) I had the fender off my 85 BRAT and never had to remove hood or wipers. Left them on to install it back as well. If you don't have dents in a replacement fender, you are better off to leave as much factory paint, primer sealer on it, Taking it to bare metal is a no-no in automotive world in that case. The right time to take to bare metal is if you need to stick bondo to it, or grind out rust. Factory paint is better primer than anything to can respray Edited August 30, 2011 by bheinen74 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistler Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 good to know, thanks. What would you recommend for spot surface rust treatment on the (other) new fender then before I rattle can it grey? The reason I thought I needed the hood/wipers off is because the plate that the wipers pass through is covering one of the bolts holding on the fender. How did you go about getting at that bolt? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I did that a few years back on the 81 gl wag. Im sure you have to take the cowl off. Pop your hood and there are maby 4 or 5 phillips head screws running along where your hood and the cowling meet near the window. Im not 100% sure but after you get those out the cowling may be able to pop up enough to get the fender bolts. When I did it I removed the whole thing. which involved removing the wipers. I think i ended up puling the hood off too? In the end it was a pain in the rump roast to line up right so the hood would clear the cowling. Some one else might chime in with fresher expertise. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renob123 Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 You can get a rebuilt vacuum advance from http://www.philbingroup.com/rebuilt/distributors.htm in Portland. Much cheaper than buying a new disty and the vac advance has long since been discontinued by Subaru. If you're talking about the vac advance diaphragm, this worked well for me: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=839891&postcount=12 Jacob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistler Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 RE: the vacuum advance/timing issues it turns out I'm just an idiot. I got a copy of HTKYSA and started reading the section on timing and realized that I had the timing set to 8* ATDC not BTDC, so the timing was retarded by 16*. Fixed that this afternoon and suddenly the direction that the timing goes when the throttle is applied makes sense AND it has significantly more power. :-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistler Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) I did that a few years back on the 81 gl wag. Im sure you have to take the cowl off. Pop your hood and there are maby 4 or 5 phillips head screws running along where your hood and the cowling meet near the window. Im not 100% sure but after you get those out the cowling may be able to pop up enough to get the fender bolts. When I did it I removed the whole thing. which involved removing the wipers. I had the fender off my 85 BRAT and never had to remove hood or wipers. Left them on to install it back as well. I looked in the copy of the '83 FSM that I have and it says you have to remove the cowl cover to change the fender. Then it says you have to remove the wiper arms to take off the cowl. So no on the hood, yes on the cowl cover according to that. Any suggestions on how to do it without removing the wiper arms bheinen? Edited August 31, 2011 by whistler grammar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81EA81 Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I know you didnt ask me, but the wiper arms are easy to remove. Pop the plastic cap off and theres just one nut to remove, should be a 12mm. then pull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistler Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 no, that's great, thanks! It's an open forum after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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