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Distributor vacuum advance=broken


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Hey, on my 1984 coupe, the vacuum advance is not working, I tried moving the mechanism by hand, and it would not budge. What can I do to fix this?

 

If you take the "stator" plate out of the distrubutor, you may find that the vacuum advance plate is rusted solid to it. Soaking it with WD40 will eventually get it loose. I'd then take it apart and clean all the rust off it so it can move smoothly.

 

Remember which side of the magnet was facing up. The car won't run if it's flipped over.:dead:

 

Also, if the diaphram is leaky- as most are, you can open up the clamshell by grinding away the outer edge of the crimped rim on your grinding wheel. Clean off the dirt and grime and loose crumbling neoprene coating being carefull to NOT damage the cloth backing. Then, coat the diaphram on BOTH sides with silicone gasket sealer (ATV). Be sure to coat the outer rim of the diaphram so you can seal the clamshell back up. Put the clamshell back together squeuzing out the excess sealer so there's no leaks around the rim. Let it sit over night to cure.

 

Wayne

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What do you do to keep the shell together? Clamp or something? :confused:

 

Just a little extra silicone sealer around the rim of both sides of the diaphram holds it all together. The diaphram edge is actually sandwiched between the rims of the halves from the factory. Mine's remained sealed and airtight for 6 months now with only the silicone holding it together.

 

Clamping is only necessary to hold things in place until the silicone cures. (because of the spring) Was a messy job, but the silicone should last forever.

 

The trick is to only grind off the edge enough to allow opening it up. Then there will be plenty of surface left to silicone glue the halves back together.:)

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Hey yeah Check thew mechanical advance, remove the stator and then ignition unit and clean it up, get it moving freely again. You can check the vacuum advance (quickly), just take if of the distributor and attach a hose, push down on the spring put your finger over the hos and see if it holds vacuum. If not get one from a JY or fix it like stated previously (although never done this myself)

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Some Vacuum Advances came with Double Pipes, some are Single Piped. I Changed the one Double Piped that came in my EA82 Wagon, for a Single Piped one, Connected right to the Weber Carb, and it Performs Much Better!

If your Subie got a Single one, is easy to Fix as Directed in the Previous Posts, but if its Double, I think is better Idea to change it by a Good one, Maybe you can find it Easy at a Junk Yard.

Good Luck! :)

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  • 3 weeks later...
Some Vacuum Advances came with Double Pipes, some are Single Piped. I Changed the one Double Piped that came in my EA82 Wagon, for a Single Piped one, Connected right to the Weber Carb, and it Performs Much Better!

If your Subie got a Single one, is easy to Fix as Directed in the Previous Posts, but if its Double, I think is better Idea to change it by a Good one, Maybe you can find it Easy at a Junk Yard.

Good Luck! :)

The double is for retard and advance for auto matic trans cars,

Or so I was told long ago!

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Some Vacuum Advances came with Double Pipes, some are Single Piped. I Changed the one Double Piped that came in my EA82 Wagon, for a Single Piped one, Connected right to the Weber Carb, and it Performs Much Better!

If your Subie got a Single one, is easy to Fix as Directed in the Previous Posts, but if its Double, I think is better Idea to change it by a Good one, Maybe you can find it Easy at a Junk Yard.

Good Luck! :)

The double has advance and retard used on automatic trans cars only,

Anti backfire or anti knock, Or so I was told a long time ago.

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Last I checked it was like $50 to have the vacuum advance rebuilt. The website said one price, and I was quoted a higher price by the person I emailed, said "Oh the website is out of date" so you might wanna check, if it's still $45 on the website, you should be able to get that price, or it's false advertising...

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