smelly_cat

GD, your post was insightful. I agree with you. I don't know why the float still is being a bugger for me. I have rebuilt the the carb and removed the top of the carb 3 times to mess with the float.. poke around .... bending the tab etc. I took the little mesh filter at the float out just because i was mad. I did start smelling gas last night and opened up othe carb return valve a little to relieve the pressure some. the pump got quieter , I guess due to it has to push gas less hard. I'll be sure to post if I blow up. S/C I get like 27 mpg in the city and I usually RPM to 3000 between shifts. I figure its running OK and I got the idle on like 1ooo. (I should lower that some) The best I ever got was like 32mpg doing HWY in the 90's S/C

Thx folks. I'll give it try and let you know what happs. SC

I had this problem with my 83 GL with the carb running out of gas. AFter changing every filter and pump and rebuilding the carb. It still would run good one day the next it would conk out while I climbed hills or sped up. Here is what I did and it fixed the problem. I hope this explanation makes sense I got 2 gas shut off valves. One went on the top of the fuel filter hose that goes back to the tank. One went on the gas line that returns gas after the carb float valve fills up I pretty much closed them almost all the way and now the GL runs fine, all the time. I figure that the gas has to go into the float chamber now due to the increased pressure and the lack of an escape route to the tank. What does everyone think of this? SC

Thanks everyone, I have not got a chance to play with the wires yet. I'll let ya know what happens SC

I have had this Sub sitting under a tree since 98, My toyota blew up, so I ripped out the mildew carpet and now drive ole reliable every day. With that in mind, The fuel gauge no work anymore , since I can go like 400 miles on a tank load, its not a big problem. Has anyone fixed their fuel gauge? Were should I start and note : the sending unit wont come of the off the tank because the nuts or bolts are rusted to the point of fusion. s/c

Maybe stuck float, gas starvation.sc

This is my mantra. If its running smooth and getting good milage. leave it alone. Regular plugs and wires work fine, I've many helped manye people repair perfectly good cars after they tried replaceing all the stock parts putting on all that high performance stuff SC

Well its done. I got a cable off the net for 25 bucks, took a half day and 2.5 hours later. Tadaa. Installed. I had the cable ordered last week and kept on driving the GL. On Monday I was about a mile from home in second gear and POP, no more clutch pedal. I had to drive about 3 miles out of my way running stop signs so that I would not have to stop. It was a challenge. Again thanks to everyone, especially Gen Dis.. Great picture show and I did have the old cable kinda threaded wrong. The new cable is smooth a Butter. Cheers SC

Thanks for the help Everyone General disorder, Great link. When I read it, I got sick to my stomach from remembering what a pain cable changes are. Knowing that I did not install the wrong cable makes me feel better. I think when I installed the cable in 98', I did not remove the pedal and just used plyers and screwdrivers to get the cable on and off the pedal. It was hot, it was uncomfortable. Taking the pedal off is a stroke of genius. I'm sure my improper install made my clutch glitchie. As a update. Today, I checked that the cable was tight to the throwout bearing lever and it was taunt. I was hoping it was loosening on me , but i think it is stretching, or something that is holding it, is bending. I can drive but the clutch grabs with the pedal about 1 inch from the floor. Iy Yi Yi... SC

My GL ran wacky and there is a a solinod that sticks a pin into the carb that shuts off the gas when the key is off and the wire to that was broke. SO I had been running with the idle circuit shut off or something, Im not sure its a head gasket if there is no water loss, maybe a stuck/burn valve. sc

About 10 years ago, I broke the clutch cable and bought a new one. From what I remember, it was a real nasty time getting the darn thing to install. After I got it in it, I vaguley remember that I did not think it was installed 100% correct and I have never been real happy with the rough pedal feel. But is worked and thats ok wth me, Yesturday I shifted and heard a pop and now the pedal freeplay is larger and I am wondering, maybe in 98, I installed a 83 cable to my 84 GL 1.8. Do any of you think that is possible? or most likely I just installed it wrong? SC I also think the pop sound means I get to revisit changing the cable again

I broke off the wire to my anti diesel solenoid on a 83 GL, Now my GL runs like a bowel movement. How the heck are you supposed to remove it with out twisting the wire? Any body know were to get a replacement? Any Ideas? I did not find any thing in my 30 seconds spent trying to google it. SC

I got a 84 1800 with a carb and I get the same problem, I think it has to do with the float valve sticking or the float is miss adjusted. does the gas recirculate from the carb back to the fule tank on your 87? SC

Well I went and got a new radiator off the internet for 90 bucks. I did have to buy a bigger radiator cap but thats ok my old one needed new rubber. It says its for a Brat and it has the A/T pipes so I think it has extra cooling capacity. I ran around today, Its July 10, very hot , in Georgia, and no overheat. I keep checking the gauge and I am not overheating. WHoopee, I thinks I'm fixed. Thanks for the help . SC

I got to work today and the water temp was not in the red. I guess the radiator spray off and the internal cleaner did a little work. Thx All SC

Thz. I'm pretty sure its in right since it was messing up and getting hot before i changed it and it it still is hot. The spring side goes in the engine, That is my thermostat Motto. Since I ran the can or radiator cleaner I have not drove it. I am excited to see what happens when I got to work Monday. Whoopee. Work.. SC

You right about replacing this rediaotr . I all ready have JP weld in 2 or 3 places to hold a blown seem shut. I ran the radiator cleaner in it anyway and some chunky stuff came out. While I was warming it up with the radiator cap off the thermostat finaly opened and woosh. I got a 2 foot hurl of water and anti freeze out the radiator cap. It made me think that there was more than just hot water pressure and that maybe some slipping head gas pressure was included. OR maybe I should not run the car with the cap off. I need to check the spark plugs to see if any of the spark plug tips look messy. Does a head gasket on these Sub's involve engine removal? From the looks of things it might be easier than a regular inline 4. SC

I hope it aint a head gasket, I already have a sick toyota van with one of those. SInce the GL has been sitting for about 7 years I am thinking its the radiator but when I look in the filler hole, there is a plate in front of the radiator tubes and I cant tell if they are plugged. Thanks . for the suggestions. SOmetimes when I work on this thing I find out it is not a normal car. By the way, The fan is coming on automatic when its hot. Im about to run some radiator cleanner threw it to see if I gets any cooler SC

OK team, This 1800 84 GL is on a slow overheat. I changed the thermostat and it did nothing. Let me tell you that for hard to change thermostats. Suburu wins the prize in my book. I can drive 9 miles and the temp gauge is in the red. When this happens I turn the heat and blower on and it seems that it stays steady at the low side of the red in the gauge. I have not ran it so hot that the needle hits the stop peg, but I bet I could if I turn off the heater and race hard. It is now summer and running the heater is unpleasant for me. Is there someting in the motor other than the thermostat that will make it run so hot other than a worn out radiator? SHould I poor radiator cleaner in it or will that cause some unforeseen damage? SC

I use the compartment to keep my Plyers, that I use to pull on the wire, "that used to have a plastic handle that broke off", to pop open the hood, so I can stare at all the hoses and vacuum lines that I don't under stand. While I sit on the side of the road, wondering why my GL won't go. SC

thx Exister, I rebuilt the carb and the engine runs pretty fine . I got some choke kick down problems and sometimes I idle at 3K. but it goes. This fuel starvation is driving me wacky. I thought this morning I would have a pleasant drive and after about 7 miles cough sputter s buck conk. Side of the road. Ran the starter for about 40 seconds Vroom last 3 miles to work no problemo. Its the hardest problem to troubleshoot cause as soon as it happens, it fixes it self. Crazy huh? SC

Would a Sticking or clogged Bowl Vacuum Valve cause the float bowl to pressurize and prevent gas from goin into it? I drove to work today and decided to take a windy 2 way road. My 84 GL SW started buckin and coughin again, and it had run pretty good all week. After causing a log jam and making 30 people stuck behind me late for work . The GL restarted and drove like a charm for the next 4 miles. So I'm fumming when I walk in the office. A coworker who was stuck behind me, said that sometimes fuel lines collapse and choke off fuel, so after work today ,while I was seeing if the lines were mushy, I discovered this little valve (Bowl Vacuum Valve ) , I popped of the top of it and the sponge filter was like a rotten dead mouse, so I cleaned it out and I blew/ sucked on it and nothing happened, I washed it out real good and it appears that is actvates when the smaller vacuum line sucks. I theorize that when the car is running it opens and fuel vapors and pressure is pulled out of the foat bowl. Anybody think I am on to something? Also.. I think using my lungs to aspirate this valve has made me a little ill. SC

Thx Junkie, I sprayed a ton of carb cleaner on the linkages, poked around with a screwdriver and worked the pedal some. I still get a throttle stick when I floor it and it revs a 3000 but now it seems like i can kick the pedal and the revs will drop to about 1500. This seems to be an improvement. In the past I had to shut the engine off and restart it to get the rev to drop under 2k. SO that is kind of cool. I think I need to pull the horn of the carb all apart again and see if I can find something hinky. or maybe it will work itself out. I need to get some WD40 and blast the linkages just in case its something easy SC.

It appears that when I accellerate my carb does not return to idle. so I be bop around idling at 3000 rpm. its very annoying. I cut off the engine and restart and the throttle resets until i mash the gas hard. Does the secondary diafraghm have anything to do with this? It seems that when I poke a screw driver in there around this diafragm . I can knock the idle back to 1000. I don't know if I unhooked a cam that is supposed to hit it or if I put the wrong vacumn line to it Any one a clear picture of how all Hitachie carb is supposed to look? 83 1800GL SC

I can replace the filters again and prove you right. I pulled the air filter off and brushed around in the gas /float intake hole this weekend. used a can of Carb cleaner and put it back together . Drove OK, but a few times I sputtered when I goosed the pedal. still not getting enough gas. I also get the ECR light when the car gets hot and now my temp gauge is in the red. Maybe this is a CLUE? I changed the thermostat today and it still overheats. at least the gauge says its hot. I'm not sure the engine is hot. The good news is this. It runs and gets me to work but as a car for my kida, its too darn finicky. sc