edrach Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 This happened recently on my '84 Brat. Putting it out for grins to see if anyone can guess what the cause was. I was just fortunate to stumble across the cause but certainly didn't figure it out. Symptom: Car would stumble and engine would seem to miss or lose power on left hand turns only. Right hand turns no problem; straight ahead no problem. No unusual noises from under the hood or drivetrain. No loss of power other than when making left hand turns. Extra information (not that it will help any:rolleyes: ): '84 Brat with a junkyard EA81 engine with 120K on it; runs well, quiet and doesn't lose oil between changes (at 2000 mile intervals). D/R 5 speed transmission from EA82 along with 3.900 LSD. Rear swaybar from Whiteline. Good axles with no torn boots. No A/C or power steering. Weber carb and Accel coil (yellow) that have been in the car for over 3 years without trouble. Car will do an honest 85 mph in 5th on a level road. I'm putting this out as a challenge. First one to figure it out will get a check from me for your favorite brew (no 30 year old wines please:eek: ). It also demonstrates how sometimes simple things can cause running problems. I would guess I could have spent lots of money at some repair shop before the cause was found and fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruloverbrad Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 i'll take a chance at it, but forget the brew, lol in order to be fair one guess a day? i would suspect a loose wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 your engine ground wire was tight enough that when turning left, there was enough body roll that it temporarily pulled the wire, causing a bad ground connection... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 i'll take a chance at it, but forget the brew, lolin order to be fair one guess a day? i would suspect a loose wire Damn! First shot across the bow and you have it! :clap: Any thought of where? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 your engine ground wire was tight enough that when turning left, there was enough body roll that it temporarily pulled the wire, causing a bad ground connection...Yep, it was a loose wire, but not a ground wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruloverbrad Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 coil? or anti dieseling soilnoid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry DeMoss Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Power wire for the distributor from the coil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 You guys are all too good. Turns out it was a loose connection on the negative side of the coil. I don't know for the life of me, why it would work everytime except when going around a left hand turn (wires weren't tight or under any tension). As soon as I tightened up on the connection all was good again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breaffyaviation Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 You guys are all too good. Turns out it was a loose connection on the negative side of the coil. I don't know for the life of me, why it would work everytime except when going around a left hand turn (wires weren't tight or under any tension). As soon as I tightened up on the connection all was good again. Damn, I was certain I had it ,worn muffler bearings first guess . Second guess ,Giggling pin loose on the laughing shaft . Jude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbrickell Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 I had a similar problem on my old 86 VW Golf diesel. At certain times, I would randomly lose headlights, then, bam, back on. Quite disconcerting at night at 70mph on the highway. Anyway, loose wire, something would shift at certain times, braking, accelerating, turning even slight corners, etc. Poked around and found a loose ground wire. I would suspect something similar in your situation. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbrickell Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 wow, you got it handled already. nice. good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 rogue brewery dead guy ale.......ship to: brian 1234 wishiwas first ave dreamland ,wa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 I think I will send my check to the USMB since the first answer turned down the beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 You are good; you should consider a job with a Subaru dealership. Thanks for doing this. coil? or anti dieseling soilnoid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75subie Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Brad must really know his subes:brow: i love this board:-p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruloverbrad Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 HAD A FEW, RAN INTO LOTS OF WERID THINGS. had a coil wire pull lose willin once give it gas hard would loose spark did the same thing going left very ovious at night..lol. had a bad motor mount. Brad must really know his subes:brow: i love this board:-p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 HAD A FEW, RAN INTO LOTS OF WERID THINGS. had a coil wire pull lose willin once give it gas hard would loose spark did the same thing going left very ovious at night..lol. had a bad motor mount.I don't think I have a bad motor mount, but I'll check it out. Too bad I didn't know that yesterday when I had it up on the ramps to do an oil change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruloverbrad Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 You are good; you should consider a job with a Subaru dealership. Thanks for doing this. THOUGHT ABOUT THAT ONCE. when i drove up in my 1981 subaru wagon with 6 inch lift they laughed to hard at it, tried to sell me "a good car" of all things a vw . everytime i go down there and ask for any parts they act like the parts were never made. they suk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 THOUGHT ABOUT THAT ONCE. when i drove up in my 1981 subaru wagon with 6 inch lift they laughed to hard at it, tried to sell me "a good car" of all things a vw . everytime i go down there and ask for any parts they act like the parts were never made. they suk.That's too sad. We're fortunate to have some good dealers here in the NW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85Sub4WD Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 THOUGHT ABOUT THAT ONCE. when i drove up in my 1981 subaru wagon with 6 inch lift they laughed to hard at it, tried to sell me "a good car" of all things a vw . everytime i go down there and ask for any parts they act like the parts were never made. they suk. the dealership in Raleigh caught my car on fire ~8 years ago by pouring oil down the preheat tube (my car hasn't seen a dealer since then) - I went back there recently to request the TSB's for my car, and they said they never kept the TSB's, and refered me to the head mechanic in case he remembered them - their head mechanic is now the same guy who poured oil down the preheat tube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruloverbrad Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 sounds like typical shops around here with subarus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now