Alexx

Just thought I'd bump this.

A lot of good advice. RooBuilders in Colorado rebuilt my carb, and yes, he does great work on the Carburetor bottoms getting the throttle shaft nice and steady. If you have bottom's of carbs that you can't fix you might want to see if roo builders needs any rather than junk them.

Final Update. I did not have the hoses put in correctly when I rehooked the car up. I had videotaped the carburetor and hoses before I disassembled it and sent it to Roo Builders in Colorado. I since have discovered I made a couple of mistakes. Once the hoses were reconnected the car no longer rough idles. The only very minor issue is the car doesn't fast idle until warm. A very minor issue for Southern California. The car runs great and I passed smog. Thanks Roo builders, the best $225.00 bucks I've ever spent.

The clutch cable seems to have become uncooperative. Perhaps water got into the cable housing? I stopped driving the car because I had to put the clutch all the way to the floor to get it to shift. What should I do next?

When you say it wasn't that hot, what are you refering to? It's the middle of summer, so if it was warm outside, then rest assured the engine was heating up. I've never experimented with my subaru but I doubt you can drive it without any water in it with the hope that the wind will keep it cooled if you keep the car moving. If your engine was not knocking and pinging then maybe somehow you lucked out.

It sounds to me like you tried to kill your car first by driving it when it was overheating. If you aren't in any danger by stopping, you should always stop immediately when your car begins to overheat.

I understand. Sometimes it's better to spend your time making money and then passing the money onto to an expert who will fix your carb right then spending the time you could be working making money trying to fix the problem that may not be easily fixable.

Just a note in case you've overlooked it (Like I did) The underside of the Subaru hood has a diagram of how most of the vacuum hoses attach. Mine is still easily readable even after 23 years. Roo builders recently rebuilt my carburetor and even sent me drawings for the vacuum hoses but I couldn't quite grasp the drawings. I brought the subaru to a friend to look at the vacuum hoses and he commented that GM cars have diagrams printed on the front part of the engine compartment. Suddenly a light went off and I looked up and saw a pristine looking diagram of the vacuum hoses. The diagram is easily viewable but with the hood up it's just something I just kept overlooking. Usually I am drawn to the carburetor and the hoses and not the darn underside of the hood. If you ever decide to replace your hood with one from the junkyard make sure it has the identical diagrams as the hood you are replacing(there's also one for engine timing and tuning).

It always surprises me how much we don't support the few remaining craftsmen that keep our old cars alive even as they support us with their willingness to do the job at a reasonable price. Unless you are willing to machine out the base of the carburetor and add brass fittings you're probably wasting your time.

yeah, send it off to roobuilders in colorado and have them rebuild it for around $225.00

I'm not sure if non California Subaru Carburetors don't go out of adjustment as much as California Subaru Carburetors. I suppose if there are less elements attached to the throttle shaft, it may remain truer than a Carburertor with more "stuff" attached to it.

My 81 subaru suddenly started dying on me one night. I would turn it over, it would run for a few seconds, then die. The car kept turning over then it would die. I then had the carburetor rebuilt by roo builders and the problem completely disappeared. Carburetor rebuild kits won't solve your problem. Check your throttle shaft for play, and if there is play in it, then that probably means as you try and accelerate, the carb's throttle shaft has so much play in it isn't working properly. Originally I had my carburetor rebuilt locally in Southern Ca. It worked pretty good for about a month. There was one slight hesitation spot at around 30-40 mph. After a few months the just rebuilt carb's performance just went downhill. I was shocked to find out I was a gross polluter just one year after having the carb rebuilt locally with the standard carb rebuild kit. Then I sent the carb to Roo Builders (gosh this sounds like a commercial) and the car started right up when I got my carb back, and then I passed smog. One little problem is the choke isn't set right when the car first warms up, but overall I am very happy that the car passed smog quite easily and there is no hesitation when I accelerate. My Subaru has 256,000 mile on the original engine. I bought the car from the original owner at 81,000 miles, and around 100,000 miles I switched to 20-50 oil. I have only used premium gas in it and the car has never overheated. (once the fan was accidentally disconnected for a few days but luckily I the radiator was full and the subaru never complained even when I was idling in traffic during the summer, although I don't recommend this!) I had the car's transmission rebuilt at 190,000 miles and ever since then the car has run as peppy as the day I bought it.

I had to have my 78 smogged. I don't know what the cut off is but it might be around 1975!

Well, since I passed smog with plenty to spare, I'd rather not tangle with the carb gods in the sky. Imagine if I switch and my readings go up and I fail anyway! I think drilling out the rivets and replacing them with nuts and bolts may allow me the option to shift the choke dial. I know somebody who will take a look, but it won't be for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, it will mean some really rough idling first thing in the morning until the car is warmed up.

haha, our last posts came in at the exact same time. Can you guys adjust your choke dial on Oregon Subarus?

I'm in Southern California!

Where is there?

Well, I passed my California Smog Test with flying colors! Thanks Roo Builders for rebuilding my carburetor. The only down side is the car really has trouble warming up because of the choke issue. In California they don't allow the choke dial to be moved, it's actually riveted into position. I was told by a subaru dealership mechanic that years earlier there was a gentlemen in the Los Angeles area who actually was an expert at drilling out the rivets that hold the choke in place and readjusting the coil so that the car would warm up properly. He has since passed away. So now I have a car that passes smog by plenty but is a son of a gun to start in the mornings.

Well, I got my Subaru pre-heater hose from Subaru. It's really quite well made. I think List was 40 something dollars and they discounted it by 10 bucks. I don't feel cheated as it is extremely well made, far superior to what you get at the local auto parts store.

The Dingus on the side refers to the black round device that says mixture on it? On my carburetor (California version), it is riveted in and cannot be adjusted. I have heard that some people drill out the rivets and readjust the internal spring, but that is well beyond anything I would attempt to try. Anyone ever tried to drill out the rivets and try adjusting the internal spring?

How do you set the choke?

My rebuilt carb runs real rough until it warms up.

So you got a rebuilt carb? Did you trade in your carb?

I don't know if you experimented but if you turn that screw too much in the counterclockwise direction it is spring loaded and will shoot out and instantly turn your car off. I would be very careful with that adjustment and make sure that it is not near the point of no return because if it is it could vibrate loose while you are driving and that could be very dangerous.

Just thought I'd bump this.