Distributor timing problems on ea82

[jess4795]

I'm having trouble getting the ignition timing correct on my 1985 Subaru GL (carburated). I just replaced the head gaskets. When i put the timing belts back on, I lined them up with the three notches and they are 180 degrees off from each other. But, when I set the flywheel at 0 (TDC) and place the distributor with the rotor at the first cylinder with the vacuum tube off; the car either idles at about 500 rpms or revs up fast towards 7000 rpms. 

 

When I can get the car to idle at 750 rpms the accelerator does nothing. No increase in engine out put. And timing is either 10 degrees retarded or i can't see the timing at all. When I rotate the distributor to where I get the timing to be around where it's supposed to be, the idle sits at about 3000 rpms. At this point I try to mess with the idle on the carb, but still have not had any luck getting the both the idle and timing to match up. 

 

Am I missing a step here? Or any other ideas?

 

 

[NorthWet]

First, there is no way that the engine can rev to 7k rpm just sucking air past a closed throttle butterfly.  3k rpm is only slightly more possible.  Sooo... make sure that the throttle is closing to an proper idle position.  Might be getting stuck in fast-idle.  Second, check for vacuum leaks: IF the mixture is very rich, a vacuum leak might cause really high idling speeds.

 

During testing/adjusting, did you take the distributor out and try a different position, or are all of your results from just from turning the mounted distributor? 

 

(Next time, don't remove the distributor.  It makes life MUCH easier.    )

[jess4795]

The car definitely goes well past 3k when I try and start it up. And yea I should have left the distributor in the car, but thought that we had to take it out to replace the head gaskets. Next time not doing that I have taken the distributor out and placed it back in multiple times and tried each time to turn it from there only to get the same results. 

 

Thanks for the idle tip, will try that out. Same with checking for vacuum leaks. I think that the problem might be with the carb. 

[NorthWet]

Did you mess with the carb while doing the HGs?  There are so many other possibilites for vacuum leaks elsewhere.

 

I assume that when it was being unresponsive to the acclerator that the sound from the carb changed?  (Became "throatier", or otherwise had a change in sound.)  If not, something is wrong in the throttle and/or its linkage.

 

As far as setting the distributor, I am pretty sure that there are some excellent instructions elsewhere, maybe even a pictorial or video by MilesFox.  But lacking that, here is how I would go about it:

 

Edit: Removed an overly-complicated, overly-wordy way to set the distributor, in favor of the simple way from MilesFox in a later post.  Thanks, Miles!  :endEdit

Edited February 15, 2013 by NorthWet

[scoobiedubie]

Better to start over with setting the distributor.  Reset the timing mark at the center of the 3 notches.  Pull your distributor cap off, and wiring, and vaccuum hose.  There is a screw beneath the cap that holds the advancing assembly in place, that aligns at about the 4:30 position, assuming you were standing in front of the vehicle and looking directly backwards.  When the distributor is set correctly with it's base attachment screws at the old wear marks on the distributor base, the rotor should align with that advancing mechanism screw.  Just look on the distributor itself and you will see where those screws wore some rings into the base. If the rotor does not align properly, then you get to unbolt it, lift it up while noticing how much the rotor rotates, and then reposition the rotor as you slide the distributor back down into position.

 

When you finally get it right, pay special attention to slipping the wires on the distributor properly.  They should snap into position.  If no snap then they are just wedged between the plastic cover and the metal connector, which is not good.  Don't forget to clean the corrosion off of the distributor cap points, as well as at the tip of the rotor.  Use 200 grit sandpaper.

[MilesFox]

Lineup your marks so that the distributor side cam dot is up. then continue to rotate the flywheel til you see the 0 deg mark, then drop  in the disty.

 

the high idle sounds like a stuck throttle plate or cable. check to make sure the throttle cable is not adjusted too tightly if you had removed it.

Edited February 15, 2013 by MilesFox

[The FNG]

before I throw in my $.02, how different is it to do on a carb vs SPFI? I had issues with my SPFI after the headgaskets.

[MilesFox]

carb and spfis are the same procedures. Other than optical vs mechanical disty, the only difference is carb is 8 deg and spfi is 20 deg btdc.

 

Finding TDC is always the first rotation from the III marks when the disty side cam is at the 12 o'clock position. This would be either the first rotation in the Timing Belt Procedure, or the next rotation after completing 2 whole rotations during the timing belt procedure. 2 whole rotations of the crank equals one whole rotation of the cam/disty

[The FNG]

It's easy to check the disty timing in these. Set the flywheel to 20*,
Look at the passenger side cam sprocket, the little dot should be at
approximately the 10 o'clock position. If the dot is low on the right
side rotate the engine a full revolution to 20* again. Take the 2 bolts
out that snug the disty down(8 mm wrench size) unplug the elec.
connector and lift the disty straight up and out. Once you have the
disty out look at the gear on the bottom, it has a little circle dimple
in it (Not the place where the roll pin that holds the gear on goes).
Line the little dimple up with the arrow that is on the aluminum at the
bottom. This will point the rotor where the num 1 plug wire goes. Take a
marker and make a slash on the top lip where the center of the rotor is
pointing. Drop the disty back in and make sure that when it is all the
way down the center of the rotor is lined up with your little marker
slash (The rotor twists as the disty goes down because of the gear). Put
the bolts back in and snug them down. Then when you put your cap back
on, the plug wire for the num 1 cyl goes on the terminal that is right
at your marker slash. From there you can set the rest of your plug wires
in their proper place. Plug the elec. connector back in and your timing
is set. Best of luck to you, hope you get the little fella running
again.

 

This what I used to get my loyale back in running order. I guess like Miles said, your timing should be set to 8* BTDC. One other thing I'm not so sure about is the green plug for timing advance. Does the carb model have that? because that would be important to use.

[TomRhere]

Carbed engine, cold start, high idle of 3,000+ sounds like a major vacuum leak to me.

 

Once you have the disty timing sorted, check all of the vacuum lines. Really sounds like one of the larger ones is either off or cracked.

 

Does a carbed EA82 have the Anti-Afterburn-Valve (AAV) like the EA81's do? It would be mounted on the strut tower, looks somewhat like a dumbell.

I've had the large vac line going to them crack causing a 3,000+ cold start.

[jess4795]

Alright got the distributor in and timed at 8* but still idles at 2k rpms. Found out that the high rpms at start up was a stuck automatic choke. Got that fixed. Now when I try and drive the beast, it dies when I let off the clutch. The car will go forward for a few feet, stutters and then dies. I can start it right back up but it does the same thing. Not sure where to go from here. Thanks for all the help getting the timing.

[MilesFox]

maybe you have a bad intake gasket. my 86 gl coupe did this. It would run enough to try and drive it, then stall, then take forever to start. Intake gaskets are worth considering.