zmarrott Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 so this morning for the first time since I figured out how to start my car in cold, I had one hell of a time getting it running. as I found out a few months ago, I have to pretty much prime the engine by stepping on the gas twice before cranking and itll fire right up. however this morning after doing the same thing, it just kept cranking with out firing. tried stepping on the gas while it was cranking, and nothing. after a minute of this it finally fired, but was only holding about 500 rpm idle. that's not so unusual, as ive seen it do this idle before. when I tried to bring up the rpm, it killed it right away. start it back up, same low idle. now I can bring it up to about 1000 before it dies. try again, and it goes to about 2000 before it wants to die. I held the rpm at about 1700 for a few minutes before I saw the temp needle move, and after that it seemed fine. im guessing my carb somehow threw it self out of wack, as ive had it be hesitant to rev up when cold like the mixture is off a bit. any ideas or consensus on my idea of whats wrong? and if it is the carb, where is the mixture screw? I believe I have the hitachi carb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmarrott Posted February 15, 2016 Author Share Posted February 15, 2016 EDIT: just went to start it after it sat for a few hours, and same problem. However this time I noticed I have very high oil pressure. almost in the red of the pressure gauge. where should I go from here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragingbull Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Try a fuel treatment/additive for cold weather. This helped my Brat last winter! Don't forget the engines getting old. She's no spring chicken! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman2 Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Can't help you on the carb except to say that Ragingbull's suggestion would be my first try. Maybe some Seafoam. On the oil pressure mine has done that for 19 years and counting! The oil pump has a spring loaded relief valve that should recirculate any excess pressure to the sump. What weight oil are you using? I have run plain 10w-30 for the last ten or more years. I have noticed over the 19 years I have owned this Brat that some brand filters would make it read higher as would heavier weight oil. Maybe you have the combination of both? Mine starts out maybe a hair under the red, with in 5 miles it usually dead between the red and 50. After 10-12 miles in sets a hair over 50 at cruising, maybe where 35 would be at idle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downwash77 Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Hard cold starts are usually choke malfunctions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downwash77 Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 A manual choke kit is the cheapest fix. If it is a choke problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmarrott Posted February 16, 2016 Author Share Posted February 16, 2016 (edited) i pulled off the airbox to get a good look at the carb yesterday, and to me it looks like theres something wrong with the choke. when cold its fully shut, and opposite when at temp. no movement from the throttle or playing with the linkages, and the plastic housing that has a wire going into it for the choke is not tight at all. the bracket that is supposed to be screwed on to hold it has one screw that's been replaced by a now broken pop rivet. also i played with the mixture screw till it felt more responsive, which also happened to be with the screw all the way in. and it did start fine this morning except for the oil pressure. as for oil, ive been running high mileage 10w30 and high mileage fram filters. before, my oil pressure would usually go i think just above 50 on cold start and when at temp, the idle was around 25 psi. and it seems to fluctuate more, though i may just be noticing it more than normal. my uncle suggested running 5w30 for an oil change to see if it would clear the oil pressure spike on startup, cuz we were thinking maybe some gunk got knocked loose and got caught in an oil passage. Edited February 16, 2016 by zmarrott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman2 Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 That is possible on the oil. The spring loaded port is not that terribly big. Long time since I have looked at the pump to see if the bypass is before or after the filter. I can't imagine a piece of build up plugging a port inside the engine to cause a pressure spike. Too many other routes for the oil to take. Why not pull the pump and inspect. Our EA81 motors are not designed with 5w-30 oil, so I would pass on that thought. I also run 10w-30 high mileage, Mobil 5000. I use WIX or NAPA filters. Don't care too much for Fram. Doubt that is your problem though. Not a terrible job to pull your pan and clean it also. I have done mine twice in the 19 years I have owned my Brat. To replace the gasket both times. It was very clean the second time. On one oil pump I had installed as a replacement the bypass fail open. Oil pressure fell by half when it did! Lucky it had a lifetime warranty and was replaced for free. As a side note our gauges are not considered the most accurate around. With that in mind maybe something got hung up in the pressure sender, if that is possible. Another easy check if you felt up to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmarrott Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 (edited) is there much of a problem when pulling the oil pump? ive read other threads mentioning that it is very very easy to warp the pump and cause leaks upon reassembly, and from what I can see in my area, I have very limited access to a new one and I don't really have the money to fork $200 to my local Subaru dealer to get me a new one. Pulling the oil pan is something ive been planning to do as well as the rocker covers, been leaking from all 3 as well as the oil pump from what I can see. Edited February 17, 2016 by zmarrott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman2 Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 If it is leaking from the oil pump you need to pull it. Find out if you need a gasket or new pump. Valve covers and pan are pretty easy. Mine was leaking at the original pump also when I bought it. Turns out my pump had a crack in the casing. They are not too bad to pull, but if it is the factory pump it will take some effort to dislodge it from the front of your engine. You can order a new pump if needed. Check Ebay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmarrott Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 not sure the exact locations of the leaks except that the whole bottom of the engine is wet with oil up to the valve covers and around the oil pump. id bet it is the original pump, as the car didn't have the best childhood before I got it. rusty as all hell, and a good amount of body damage on the passenger side along with dry rotting hoses all over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 unless you drive in esrever all over the place I'd bet it could be the front crank oil seal or the oil pressure switch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman2 Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 That was what I thought mine was too, a front oil seal. Not the easiest place to look at and determine origin. Replaced the seal to determine it still leaked. That was many years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Yeah, crank seal or oil pressure sender leakage will cover the bottom of the engine. Pressure sender will leak where the screw that holds the wire attaches. Just not a good seal between housing and screw portion. Why, I no not. Crank gets worn down where the seal rides, creating a groove, that the seal can no longer seal. New seal is a temporary fix, as it can't maintain good sealing contact on the crank. Fix for that is a redi-seal, or shaft sleeve. They slip over the shaft to give a new area for seal to ride. Timken #'s; Front KWK99147 Rear KWK99298 National #'s; Front 99147 Rear 99298 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmarrott Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 took a good look under the engine and to find where every leak is coming from I sprayed off the whole underside with 2 spray bottles worth of degreaser then a pressure wash rinse off and it looks like it may actually be from the front crank seal. hopefully that doesn't require anything like splitting the block does it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman2 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 No, you don't have to split the block. Seal goes in from the outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmarrott Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 k. after a few days of use with the engine sprayed off, i can see i am leaking for all 5 locations; valve covers, oil pan, oil pump, and front crank seal. also, yesterday after work the car had another hell of a time starting. was about 40f out and it did the same crap as the morning i started this post. what makes it even more confusing is it started just fine yesterday morning (and this morning for that matter) when it was well below freezing when using my standard stomp the gas twice then crank. also it was hesitant today when i went to start it at lunch, though not as bad as yesterday. its doing this now only after i turned the mixture screw all the way down, but it doesnt run as well when warm at any other setting of the mixture. im gonna rebuild my carb when i get the chance, but what might be a good temporary fix till i can do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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