CornerHard Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 Hello, I have a 1983 Subaru GL 5Dr wagon (EA81?) which recently stopped starting. It: - Cranks - Has fuel (plugs covered in plenty of fuel after cranking) - Has spark during cranking - Won't start even if I take the air filter cover off to allow direct air to the throttle body What should I check next? Some sort of carbureator issue? I'm new to the carb world, so helpful resources would be nice Are there any online manuals with torque specs and info such as where the oil pressure sender is located? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thealleyboy Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 The other essential is fuel delivery to the carb. You should try to determine if it's getting to the carb, and whether the amount of fuel is sufficient to keep the car running. Starting fluid, or gasoline will give you a quick and dirty answer as to whether the car is capable of running in its current state. I'd try that first, and come back with your results. good luck, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indrid cold Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 I have had the pin strip out that retains the bottom gear on the distributor so it twisted a bit, I still had spark but was not insinc with the piston position... this is very rare so look at that last. Do you have a good spark or a weak spark... can't imagine that being the problem.... usually something would happen if there was some spark. Fuel on the plugs... sounds like you got lots of fuel too... hmmmmm... Not much help... but welcome to the board. Someone will come along and give you somemore ideas.... there is also a "Search" feature above, you can go look at some of the older posts regarding "no start" etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 sounds like you might have too much fuel going to the cylinders. If you have fuel covering your plugs, then thats a goos sign that its rich, so rich to the point where it fouls the plugs and won't start. Have you tried to clean the plugs and put them back in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beataru Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 hehehe i know.. im a timing belt nerd.. check the distributor to see if the rotors turning.. REMEMBER WHERE YOUR WIRES GO!!!! or youll be even more screwed for the time being.. if its not.. well.. we'll know what to do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 hehehe i know.. im a timing belt nerd.. check the distributor to see if the rotors turning.. REMEMBER WHERE YOUR WIRES GO!!!! or youll be even more screwed for the time being.. if its not.. well.. we'll know what to do! EA81's do not have timing belts. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornerHard Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 EA81's do not have timing belts. GD Yep, that was one of the reasons I decided to buy one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phizinza Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Does the car try to fire? Or is there just nothing there? If you want to make sure your spark is in the right place do something like this. Take off the timming mark cover for the flywheel. Take out number 1 spark plug (battery side, on the front for EA81's.) Hold your fingure over the plug hole while turning the crank with a socket and tbar/ratchet/breakerbar or big AFS spanner. When you start to feel pressure build up in the cylinder take your figure off, look in and watch the piston til it gets to the very top. Now take your disty cap off and make sure the rotor is facing where the number 1 lead would be. Your timing marks should be visible on the flywheel at this point as well. Also make sure you have the leads on the cap the right way round. Firing order for an EA81 is 1,3,2,4. Gearbox 3--|--4 1--|--2 Radiator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beataru Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 really??? i didnt know that.. cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 really??? i didnt know that.. cool! yup timing gears on the back part of the engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phizinza Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Pushrod FTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoscowSubaruDude Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 If it's just flooding, something that worked for Sunshine when I came to bring her home this weekend is jerk the fuel pump fuse... I yanked the SPFI fuse, does the same thing... you can do it the hard way and plug the hoses after you take them off the carb... make sure you have spark (remove plug, keep wires on, hold on head, and crank... check for spark) and then crank it over a few times... it'll burn the flooded gas out of the cylinders, which, due to the flat design, can become quite a bit. Give it fuel again, crank a few times, and bam. Do it with throttle wide open to start with, make sure you get enough air. You are running a fuel filter, right? I ran without a filter for a month or two on my first suby, it does have something to do with regulating flow... gas mileage went down dramatically, and it ran way rich. Wouldn't start half the time, sounds just like this. That's just my 0.02, sounded like our problem earlier. Best of luck to you, and let us know how it turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornerHard Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 First off, you guys rock I've never seen such a collection of helpful replies when I first join a car forum. I guess old school Subie guys are just cool that way :cool: So Monday night I replaced the fuel filter and checked the spark, but didn't have any luck getting it to start. Tuesday night after reading this thread, I poked around a bit to see where hoses hook up to the carb, then was able to get it to start after a couple attempts by cranking it at WOT It seems to be fine now. Maybe the fuel filter + WOT start to air flooded cylinders was the answer? Over time the car has been getting gradually harder to start in the morning when it sits overnight. I don't know if the problem was solved by the fuel filter, or if it will continue to crop up. - How do I clean the carb? Is there a how-to guide w/ pics on a Subie site somewhere? - When I would drive up the mountain pass last snow season, if I was heavy on the throttle for too long, the car would eventually start sputtering, lose power, and die. I'd have to sit by the side of the road for a while before it would start up again with full power. - Other older subies I've driven hold their RPMs above 2k for a bit after first starting to warm up. Mine doesn't do that. Is this normal? - Where is the engine speed sensor for the tach located on the engine? Once in a while, my tach starts spazzing out, even though the engine is running fine. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beataru Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 On my broinlaws 86 GL all we did was keep the engine at about 3grand and spray tons and tons of carb cleaner in it (the car was runnin real bad when we got it!) and it is a lot more responsive... well... at least as responsive as one would think :-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Hopefully by changing the fuel filter you solved the problem of the engine slowly dieing while climbing a long slope. If you still have trouble I would check the fuel pump pressure. You may need a new pump. The problem with the tach may be due to alternator noise and you will need to repair or replace it, if that is the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoostedBalls Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 On my broinlaws 86 GL all we did was keep the engine at about 3grand and spray tons and tons of carb cleaner in it (the car was runnin real bad when we got it!) and it is a lot more responsive... well... at least as responsive as one would think :-p That was probably due to excessive buildup on the back of the intake valves. But this problem however, sounds to me like a sticking choke or excessive rich mixture. Possibly from sticking fuel bowl inlet valve. Sounds like time to run a potent mixture of injector cleaner through the whole system on an almost empty tank. A couple cans of B-12, or Lucus Oil, or Seafoam should clean it out. Just put it in when the tank is almost empty and drive around with a heavy right foot. It should run like crap for a while then you should see some improvement. Make sure to change the plugs after this and check them after driving for a day or two to make sure they have a slight brownness on the ceramics. Let us know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beataru Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 That was probably due to excessive buildup on the back of the intake valves. But this problem however, sounds to me like a sticking choke or excessive rich mixture. Possibly from sticking fuel bowl inlet valve. Sounds like time to run a potent mixture of injector cleaner through the whole system on an almost empty tank. A couple cans of B-12, or Lucus Oil, or Seafoam should clean it out. Just put it in when the tank is almost empty and drive around with a heavy right foot. It should run like crap for a while then you should see some improvement. Make sure to change the plugs after this and check them after driving for a day or two to make sure they have a slight brownness on the ceramics. Let us know how it goes! Lucas is the good stuff... i put some fuel treatment in my dads Isuzu desiel and WOW was THAT STUFF POTENT... I could barely keep that thing cool for the rest of the week(i added the entire "treats up to 100 gallons" bottle in a 32gallon tank) so Lucas knows what there doing...it ran great after the fact.... oh yeah were talking subarus here... well japs all think alike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 well japs all think alike Hate to follow you around like a babysitter, but we don't use the term Japs either, many many people have Asian connections, and find the term derogatory, especially due to its historical background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beataru Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Why would people find it derogatory??? all i said was that the japanese are the only ones who can build a desent car.... people should think highly of japs...i know i do..... (no one said that the germans were smart.....just good engineres!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcspeer Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Before I got to your post I was wondering why no one had mentioned the choke, sometimes getting someone to move the choke by hand, open and then closed while you are trying to start the engine will do the trick. That was probably due to excessive buildup on the back of the intake valves. But this problem however, sounds to me like a sticking choke or excessive rich mixture. Possibly from sticking fuel bowl inlet valve. Sounds like time to run a potent mixture of injector cleaner through the whole system on an almost empty tank. A couple cans of B-12, or Lucus Oil, or Seafoam should clean it out. Just put it in when the tank is almost empty and drive around with a heavy right foot. It should run like crap for a while then you should see some improvement. Make sure to change the plugs after this and check them after driving for a day or two to make sure they have a slight brownness on the ceramics. Let us know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 Why would people find it derogatory??? all i said was that the japanese are the only ones who can build a desent car.... people should think highly of japs...i know i do..... (no one said that the germans were smart.....just good engineres!) I think very highly of the Japaneese, i just think that you are showing your age and your ignorance by calling Japaneese people Japs, maybe you forgot about the internment camps during the war. I hope you can understand that this is a very diverse family web site, and that using derogatory comments, weather you find them to be or not, will not make you welcome here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beataru Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 No offense...but i didnt know i was talking to a psychologist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.