Alex C Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 HI everyone, I have an older (82 GL sedan 4-door auto) with many problems and I am seaking help, lots of help. I have owned this car since feb 28 of 97, driven it pretty much everywhere (110k since Ive owned it), rebuilt the motor ( have the higher performance cam ), blew both head gaskets ( still got me home) redid the head gaskets myself, Ive done the wheel bearings, replaced the carb three times. As you can see I have done a lot with the car. Now however it is throwing interesting problems my way. The carb is getting very bad, doesnt want to start or idle in gear for about 5 minutes, yet when warm wants to idle around 2000 rpm. The local guys arent sure whats causing this. Also it tends to fall on its face when you give it gas for the first 10 minutes, maybe longer depending on temp, but will catch after spitting and missing for a few moments. I am also experiencing tranny problems. It hums and whines, and if I downshift to lower gears and let off the breaks it sounds like one of those spring powered toy cars when the gears are skipping, very bad sound. I get most of my whining in first and second, but not much in third. And now in the last few days it is chattering in third (clutches probably). I regularly check the fluid, its clean, red, and full. But the car is at 207K miles. Any help anyone can offer would be great. I should warn you though that I have a car repair budget of 20 bucks right now( probably be that way for a long time). Thanks Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Well - I say rebuild your carb yourself - probably fix a LOT of your problems in that respect. The 2000 RPM idle is probably your choke mechanism But.... sorry to say that your trans is probably shot. Sounds like the diff is going south. The EA series autmatics are not known for reliability over 200k miles. Somtimes much less than that. You should know that your trans has two types of fluid - the front differential uses plain old 90 weight gear oil.... also if your checking the fluid, how are you doing it? The only way to check the "red" fluid in an automatic is to pull the plug on the side of the trans - the dip stick goes to the diff, and if that's red........ well you get the idea. BAD TIMES. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 11, 2004 Author Share Posted May 11, 2004 OK, I honestly am a bit scared of that hitachi (its a CA car), I wounldnt know how to rebuild it. AS far as the trans goes I know for a fact that I have three dipsticks under my hood, one for the engine, one for the tranny, and one for the diff. They all have the proper fluids within. the diff dipstick is under the spare tire frame, the tranny is on the right of the spare tire (standing in front of the car facing the engine). Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeEyedBandit Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Sweet you finally found it here, this is matt from the als land. I have a hitachi that all I need to do it yank it off the car. I will let you know when I get it. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 11, 2004 Author Share Posted May 11, 2004 Hey matt, I sent you an email earlier today. Thought your internet was down? get it fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Glad to hear that you have the correct fluids. Having never owned an auto myself, I mistakenly thought they didn't have sticks for the hydraulic fluid. Wonder where I got that from.... huh. Don't be scared of the hitachi. It's no worse than any other carb, and the bad reputation it has is not deserved. I could rebuild it for you, but I'm afraid it would cost more than the $20 your looking to spend. Probably more like $100 plus shipping. Swapping carbs might be a cheaper option, but finding one for your year could be tricky. All Hitachi's aren't the same, and you need the proper one in order for it to hook up right with your vacuum lines. Other years *may* work - with slight modifications to your vacuum routing, and possibly not so slight modifications, but it requires that you have an intimate knowledge of the vacuum system, and understand what each line is for and how it should be hooked up. Even tho I know the system quite well I find that I need to refer to the FSM for the year that I'm putting the carb on, and the year the carb came off in order to succesfully restore the carb to proper operating condition. Bad gas mileage (less than 20) is the least you can hope for if it's done incorrectly. I would say that improper routing, bad vacuum components, and bad choke adjustment is the cause of most people's problems with the Hitachi, which isn't a bad carb at all once you get past it's scary looks, and complex vacuum system. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 I have a good 82 2WD automatic tranny. Make me an offer on it, I'm about 200 miles north of ya. As for the carb, rebuild it but use a good kit and get somene to copy the proper pages out of their FSM, as those carbs are quite picky, but are good when properly rebuilt... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaggy_in_ky Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 I have had the same trouble with the carb on my 86 gl hatch ea82.. And much like you I have about the same budget...lol I have to wire the choke shut just to get it to idle and then it's at 1500-2500 rpm.. I can't find a decent replacement carb for any less than $250... and I have found webber kits for around $350... I know nothing about rebuilding a carb, and am not the best mechanic in the world either..lol... I would like to re-do the old hitachi thats on it - unless someone can tell me how to get rid of the mass of vacum hoses that lie under the hood... ( thats my main fear of going with a webber...) By the time I pay someone to rebuild my carb.. I could buy a new one!!. So I'm stuck.. and considering I drive my car for work... I need someting I can at least do in one evening.. ( or at worst one day ).... I have an 87 gl wagon that also has an ea82 parts car but its minus a carb... If anyone needs body parts or interior parts.. I would be willing to consider partial trade on a good used carb.. I will pay the diff... i just need HELP... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 86 hatch would be an EA81.... are you sure it's not a 3 door? If it IS a hatch (EA81), I have a carb that I can rebuild and send to you. $100 plus shipping, and you send me your old one. It will cost me $30 just for the rebuild parts. Look on the back of the carb float bowl and find the model number on the carb. It should be a DCP-306-??. I have a -26 here that should be the same as the one you have.... GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 11, 2004 Author Share Posted May 11, 2004 Is there a way to check if I have the correct hitachi on my car? Also does anyone have the vacuum diagram I could see for my car as Im doubting if its all hooked up properly now ( I get ~18 mpg). Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 The automatics didn't get as good a mileage as the manuals did. Still, being a 2WD (3.7 diff), you should get at least 25 I would say (my 4WD manual Brat with 3.9 diff was rated at 24-28, and I get around 27.5 usually). Your carb should be a DCP-306-14, -15 or -19. Or you might also have a carter weber single barrel, which would be a TYF-7419S. Those are the correct numbers for the 82 model year. It's most likely a -14 since it's a 2WD. I don't have vacuum routing info for that year - sorry. You should head up this way - get that tranny from Andrew (Hondasucks), and I'll help you rebuild that carb. The Kit is like $30, and it can be done in an afternoon.... GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 11, 2004 Author Share Posted May 11, 2004 I know its a hitachi, and I guess matt(three eyed bandit) has a spare. But till I can get that from him any ideas on a quick fix? Like opening up the top or something? I know when I bought the car I could get 400 miles from a tank of gas( 15.8 gal). Now its a lot less than that, maybe half. I certainly cant afford his tranny, its about ten times my price range, lol. Also I doubt mine would go that far. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Too bad about the trans. If I had one, you could have it since I can't stand those things anyway. You could always convert to a manual 5 speed 2WD. Should be pretty easy, you just need the tranny, flywheel and clutch, pedal box, and associated cables and linkages. You can pull off the top of the carb, and blow out the jet passages in the bottom of the float bowl. That might help a bit. Adjusting the choke is a good idea as well. You have to drill out the two rivets on the housing, and replace them with bolts or self tapping screws. Inside the housing there is a brass pin that you need to remove on the outer edge to allow you to adjust the choke. Also knock the pin out (if it has one) that covers the idle mixture adjustment screw on the bottom of the carb, and remove the needle. Try blowing that passage out with air as well, and making sure the needle and it's seat are clean. You can do all this with the carb on the car, and while it might help, there's no guarantee that you're problems won't be just as bad or worse aftewards. These are the most common problem areas that I have found anyway. Look for vacuum leaks too - I bet you have a couple. Use spray carb cleaner to locted them with the engine running. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 11, 2004 Author Share Posted May 11, 2004 Ive thought about converting to a manual, but I need to find an alternate pedal arrangement, maybe a hand lever for the clutch ( driving a manual with one foot is a pain). As for vacuum leaks the only one I have is the one solenoid ont he far left of the manifold that broke its connector ( it has always been that way). I checked for other leaks and nothing does anything if I spray around the carb with carb cleaner while it is running. Do you happen to have pictures on that fix? Also what would make it worse if I did that fix? What do I set the choke for? and when its hot or cold? I know its closed when it is cold. thanks Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 I did some thinking, that tranny has been sitting in my shed taking up space for almost three years. You want it, come get it it's yours. If you can't make it up here, then find someone who is heading down that way that's willing to haul it down for ya. AS for the carb, I dunno, I had a stack of carbs but I gave them to Jason cuz I no longer had an EA81. You don;t have an ECS light cuz its an 82, but drive it around a bit (like 10 minutes or so) adn then WITHOUT SHUTTING THE ENGINE OFF, pull the kick panel out from under the steering column (above the pedals) and count the flashes on the ECU (You'll see a black box with a window in the front with ablinking red light behind it, count the flashes. Long flashes are 10 and short flashes are 1, write down the codes and look them up. YOu could have a problem with the car that the computer is picking up, but there is no "check engine" light on the 82, at least there wasn't one on mine. (e.g, 3 long flashes and 2 short flashes would be code 32) watch carefully, there could be more than one code present. The autos didn't get that great of mileage, my 82 only got around 24. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 11, 2004 Author Share Posted May 11, 2004 OK, i just went and looked at the carb, I also remembered I had stuffed my old( 2nd one) hitachi rebuilt by holley ( worst money i ever spent)in my trunk and I know I can compare that to whats on my car now, same thing other than the holley rebuilt is missing a vacuum hookup from the front, the hole is there but no post. Anyway, I figure I can practice on this junker first and see what I learn. I also grabbed a couple photos while I was out there of the general arrangement of the lines and of the broken solenoid. Ill post those a little later tonight. As for the tranny, Thank you very much, Ill ask around for anyone heading south from portland. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeEyedBandit Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 I have a vacuum diagram for your car if you want to look at one, also I will grab that carb so we can compare and work something out to get it running. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 12, 2004 Author Share Posted May 12, 2004 You know it runs Matt, how else could I drive to Al's to harass you guys? But thank you for all of your help so far. Here are the three pics I just took http://id.mind.net/~alexc/Subaru1.jpg http://id.mind.net/~alexc/Subaru2.jpg http://id.mind.net/~alexc/Subaru3.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted May 12, 2004 Author Share Posted May 12, 2004 OK, I drove it around for 10 minutes or so and looked ( its a green LED btw), nothing. But I did notice later that it flashes when I go to turn it on, one series of tries while playing with this produced 3 short flashes, about a half hour later it only did one long flash. these were reproducible at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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