Ej22 in a 78 Leone wagon - power loss / faltering issue

[julianco]

So I recently got all the fuel breather lines hooked up in the back of that wagon.  They were old and shrunken and pulled away from the attachments to whatever valves or filters or whatever they are that are inside the body in the rear of the wagon, behind the plastic - so I attached some new bits of tubing with barbed fittings to make up the distance.

 Now, when I fill the fuel tank, the car will drive normally for a few minutes and then falter randomly and unpredictably.  It will just cut power and then kick back in making for a herky jerky ride.  When it is in this mode, the idle also fluctuates regularly between about 600 and 1200 RPM.

This slowly decreases in frequency and violence as the tank empties until around 1/2 to 3/4 tank, it disappears entirely.

I disconnected the fuel breather and have driven a little bit and the problem seems to stop, BUT then it smells like gas in the car.  

Does this sounds like I simply need larger fuel lines for the breather?  Am I right in calling this a breather line?  The lines also are hard to track in their routes through the car.  Does anyone have a diagram?  

Could it simply be 1 or all of the valves (or whatever they are) that the lines run through?

[julianco]

I'm hoping it might be a problem with this little guy.  Anyone know what it is?  Pressure regulator?

Edited March 29, 2014 by julianco

[Leeroy]

According to the parts catalog it is a two way valve that is connected to a fuel separator (a small plastic tank). It definitely has to do with emissions and containing fuel vapour. Perhaps as fuel vapour expands in the main fuel tank due to heat/hot weather?

 

Sorry I am not completely certain how the system works/is connected. I had one split open once and the smell of fuel in the cabin was overpowering, to say the least!

 

I also note from experience that the separator tank on very late Gen I wagons is considerably larger than early models. This change happened late in 1978 (at a guess). I suppose emissions regulations kept getting tougher. Of course my experience is Aussie models, may be different in the States.

[julianco]

Thanks Leeroy.  I think this is the separator you speak of.  There is one of these in either side of the wagon. 

 

The car was running fine before I hooked these up, but did smell like gas pretty bad on warmer days!

[Subarutex]

Is the EJ22 running fuel injection?

 

The fuel system (tank, lines, fittings, design) of your wagon cannot directly handle a fuel injected motor.  Those systems were built to see 3-10psi of fuel pressure, while the fuel injection will run upwards of 40psi.

 

The problems sound like fuel pressure issues to me.  Does the car take a few cranks to start after its been sitting overnight?

 

I ran my EJ22 on a '86 carb'd wagon for a couple years, and had on again off again drivability issues.  They all came back to fuel.  I ended up losing that motor, probably due to fuel starvation.  While its down, I'm redoing the fuel system to handle fuel injection by adding in a surge tank.

 

 

This basically has your stock low pressure system fill a small secondary tank (mine is 2 liters, located in the engine bay), and then you have the high pressure pump draw from that tank.  This way your stock fuel system doesn't have to support pressure it wasn't designed for.

[julianco]

Thanks for the reply Subarutex.  I am running fuel injection.  I think you are probably right, but I'm wondering why I only have the problems when the fuel tank is full, and why when I disconnect the breather lines, the problem seems to go away.  

It seems like some sort of pressure issue, so a surge tank set up would probably remedy in that there would be a way to buffer some of those pressure changes.

 

So in you new set up, do you have the lift/low pressure pump always on?

What are you using for the surge tank?

[julianco]

Oh, and it almost always starts right up.  Sometimes it's a little bit slower than others, but it never seems like it's having real problems starting.  

[presslab]

How is you charcoal canister hooked up?

[julianco]

No charcoal canister.  I was thinking about hooking it up to give it a try, but I also might just delete the whole breather system and route it right out the back of the car...

[presslab]

Didn't your '78 didn't have a canister stock?  You don't perhaps have the fuel return and tank vent lines reversed?

 

Well, if things are fine with the vent disconnected then I'd say that area is your problem.  A surge tank will help with fuel starvation when the tank is low and you're going around corners, so with a full tank I don't think that's your problem.

 

Venting the tank to atmosphere puts out more emissions than running without a catalytic converter, needless to say it's a lot.  You'll also get less MPG if you just let the tank vent out.  If it were me I'd add the EJ22 canister and just connecting the tank system like that from the Legacy.  It's pretty straightforward, the tank vent hose goes into the canister, and out the canister goes to the purge control solenoid at the intake manifold.

 

Maybe this page offers some insight:

http://offroadingsubarus.com/fuel-system-for-ej22-converted-ea81s/