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Tried starting the engine this evening and it sounded like it completely lost compression. Any thoughts?

Tried starting the engine this evening and it sounded like it completely lost compression. Any thoughts?

Well, 2 poor starters from NAPA caused the slow crank issue. The replacement Positive cable helped but when he got a good starter, much better. Aftermarket AT cooler added - has improved the Trans AT Temp. Still taking a bit of starting fluid to get it to start. Once running, it's fine. He can shut it off and start it right back up so fuel pump is working. I'm thinking the ECU is not turning the fuel pump on initially to build pressure. He's checking with a pressure gauge tee into the fuel line. If it's the ECU, I told him we could add a switch to the control circuit of the relay which would let him turn on the pump prior to start. I have to look, but I believe the ECU is just providing a ground for the control circuit of the fuel pump relay. Easy Button, if that's the case.

Hi everyone, I mapped the connector in the car. But I need the rotation and phase signals to operate and test the ECU on the bench. Can anyone help me with this?

It'd be interesting to see the temp gauge at 65 MPH versus the last time you drove it. That radiator looks kinda bad, but I took one out of my car that was worse, albeit it was one of the later plastic tank ones. The cooling fins were literally falling out of it. I had a brass radiator welded/repaired like yours is after a wreck in a different vehicle, and that thing lasted nearly 40 years! Some of those guys do great work.

Try looking for a flexible hose with the correct sized banjo bolt fittings on each end. Mamba on eBay sells good products, you just need to find what works - an early RS Liberty/RS Legacy or wrx one could work if the banjo bolts are the same size. Cheers Bennie

Cold idle startup is solid. Ambient temperature was 89°F. After revving the engine to transition out of warm-up, the idle RPMs drop very low. I adjusted the carburetor idle screw to raise the RPMs above 700 and set the timing to just over 8 degrees BTDC. It's improving little by little. I'm currently running a cheap Amazon fuel pump until the correct one arrives from RockAuto (shipping from New York). I can still smell remnants of the old fuel coming from the exhaust. Once the new pump arrives, I plan to add fresh gas to the tank and see if there's any improvement.

Alright let us know how it goes. My old eyes don’t see the crack I was expecting at the left side near the pivot pin. But hey you’re on the right path.

And great info, thanks bushy. Kind of glad I’m sticking with my 70s cars. Good luck.

Just a little info at this time. The rest of the country pretty much all has the 49 states Hitachi and the Carter single barrel is much less common to the point that those folks now can’t find diddly for their carbs. Carry on.

I have a 2005 Impreza RS wagon that has the H1 bulbs in it. Anyone have any feedback on the H1 LED Headlight Bulbs? Thanks, Larry

The California Hitachi actually flows pretty well. It gets you several horsepower over the 49-state Carter version. There's also a 49-state Hitachi, but I've never seen one here in California. Unless you pair it with other upgrades, I don't think a carb swap will give noticeable power gains. It is, however, more complicated to work on.

It should run best with the solenoids plugged in. Make sure the green test connector under the dash is not plugged together, then get your 'scope on the o2 sensor line. Keep in mind it's an unheated sensor, and you may need to rev it a little to get it to come to life. It should be switching between around ..2v and .7v every couple seconds. Check at idle, at a constant no-load slight rev, and during gentle driving. It'll always be rich at full throttle, by design. If the o2 sensor is switching at idle, but you have more power with them unplugged, check to make sure the power valve isn't stuck closed. On the topic of power valves, make sure not to damage the gasket around the tiny passage in the middle of the carb when taking the top half off. It's easy to tear, and will smoke and run like total spoob if you do tear it. Also check secondary is opening correctly - it's semi-vacuum-operated and can be sticky. And, of course, clean every single passage and jet in the carb... Also check timing. Rich mixture can hide overly advanced timing. Check timing with vacuum advance unplugged and idle set correctly.

Here's the old busted pedal assembly and the replacement I found. The replacement looks beefier.

I wasn’t familiar with any upgrade in 1984 They’re all susceptible to the same cracking. It splits from the pedal pivot pin. You’ll see it when you get it in front of you.

OK thanks. Yes, Fred, you nailed it suggesting the pedal box cracking. The metal tab holding the clutch cable to the pedal assembly definitely sheared. I already sourced another pedal assembly with a stronger design (upgraded from 1983 with this flimsy tab to a 1984 style), I'll get the pedal assembly fixed and the cable rerouted and it sounds like everything should be good. I was real worried that these springs didn't make any sense. Thanks for giving me more confidence the springs are not an issue. I will continue with repair.

Yeah, it's all California emissions junk. I'm pretty sure it's robbing some horsepower. Honestly, it'd be way easier to slap on a Weber carb and call it a day. But I must comply with laws.

I learn something new every time from you guys in this forum—really appreciate the insights. The solenoids are a bit noisy, and I initially assumed the ECU was causing the chatter or there was a bad connection. Interestingly, when I unplug them, the engine runs noticeably smoother. But when they’re connected, it feels like the engine is starving. I’m planning to clean the carb a bit more and take a closer look at the O₂ sensor. According to the manual, the solenoids operate based on readings from the O₂ sensor.

Wrapped up the cooling system project this weekend. I ended up going with this radiator: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK323PVN. The fitment of it was good, not excellent, but good. I had to enlarge some holes at the bottom of the fan just slightly so I could get the bolts to line up with it. While I was in there, I replaced both hoses and installed an OEM thermostat and gasket. The real snafu was after I had pulled a vacuum on the system and got fluid in it to install the cap, only to find out the cap that I had ordered for my 84 was way smaller than this radiator could use. I did some research on here and found a GD post here that stated I needed the 82's radiator cap. Found an 82 cap locally and drove it up the road during a rain storm yesterday. I did notice the windshield seal is leaking so gotta get a plan on that, not that I'm going to be driving it much on rainy days anyway but we get quite a bit of rain here in the fall months. After the drive, I noticed my brand new Continental belt had some fraying on the sides of it. I did notice my alternator was quite loud and had planned on eventually replacing it. I threw on a spare that I had that came with the wagon and it was totally dead with nothing on the volt meter. Ordered one from Rockauto this morning.

That's normal operation. The duty solenoids allow extra air to mix into the fuel in the emulsion tubes, leaning the mixture. Off all the time, mixture is too rich and you get black smoke from the exhaust. On all the time, mixture is too lean, you knock and can't go up hills. The ECU varies the on/off duty cycle (hence the name) to adjust the fuel mixture in the middle of this range, until the oxygen sensor is happy, cycling just above and below stoichiometric.

Those springs do not affect the feel of the clutch in any way, and they're often simply missing... If you felt something change, look elsewhere.

Hello. I have the same problem now. My oil supply line has crack and i need to renew the line. the genuine part is not available anymore at subaru. can anyone say what exactly i can order elsewhere and will fit without problems? thanks alot...

Love your work fellas! Cheers Bennie

The throw out bearing looks to be correct. Those little retainer clips are easy to deal with, just bend them until the desired shape/tension is achieved. When you say the clutch became loose, what do you mean - the feel of the clutch pedal was loose? It could be a snapped/breaking clutch cable or an issue with the pedal box cracking. The cracking issues is apparently common. This can be plated to put strength back into the pedal box so it doesn’t happen again. Cheers Bennie

I’ve never seen those devices before. Californian unit? We certainly didn’t get them in Australia! They almost sound like air pumps. Cheers Bennie