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BigAl

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Posts posted by BigAl

  1. If your Subie's Carb is Shot and you Need to Pass emmissions, I Believe that Maybe the Easiest & Cheapiest solution "Could Be" to obtain a Used but Known-Good Hitachi Carburetor, the same as the Stock one; maybe from a Profesional Rebuild Shop... Sometimes they can Receive your Old Carb as Part of the Price.

    Kind Regards.

     

    I may end up going that way if cost gets too out of hand. I just scheduled it one more visit with a Subaru specialist so I can be sure that is the problem before I pull the trigger. Thanks for the advice. :)

  2. Does Colorado allow the emissions system to be modified (as in gone)? With a Weber you would need to get rid of most if not all the emiss. sys. parts.

     

    See what CO's laws are about vehicle emissions before you jump to a Weber.

     

    CO isn't terribly concerned with how everything looks under the hood as long as it runs clean. So not too worried about that piece of it.

  3. Well my poor little 85 hatch seems to be getting sicker by the day. In my most recent attempt at emissions it failed on CO by over double the limit. It has had a full tune up and a new cat installed, so being short on ideas I took it to a shop with a 5 gas analyzer to give me some ideas. They spent close to 2 hours playing with A/F mixture and couldn't get it anywhere near a passing number. Their conclusion was the carb is in need of a full rebuild or I am having problems with the air injection and they wanted a ridiculous amount of money to look any farther. I admittedly suck with carbs, but am trying to learn.

     

    So my question is.. Is it worth getting a rebuild kit for the factory carb or should I go with the Weber? How difficult is the Weber to install / tune / work on versus the stock single barrel?

     

    Also, this car is in CO, so it would need to be jetted for high altitude. Would the Weber need to be re-jetted and if so, how difficult is it to find and swap the jets? Lastly, which Weber (model #) do I need for an EA82?

     

    I really don't want to sell her, but if I cant get this figured out in a way that makes some sort of financial sense I may have to go that way.

     

    Sorry for the long winded post. Thanks in advance for any help guys. :)

  4. Why don't you drive it up to Cheyenne and back? I have had a couple old Subarus that wouldn't pass and had been thru countless short trips and no long ones. This cleaned the engine, exhaust, etc out and made it run great. I also run Premium around here in most of my cars it seems to be worth it for the gas mileage if you have a good tight engine. 44K is pretty subtle and I doubt it would sway your readings at all.

     

    Well she saw a few highway runs before the temp tags expired, but no good long runs. Engine seems to be in good shape, despite the rich condition, so I will give it a switch to premium and see how it does.

     

    Thanks :)

  5. After looking at the graph, it looks like the high CO readings are across the board as far as speed is concerned.

     

    Also, any advice on changing the PCV valve? I have never seen something so hopelessly buried under hoses and hardlines. After 20 minutes all I have accomplished is a slice in my palm and removing the attached hose. I don't seem to have a tool to get at it.

     

    Thanks again :)

  6. So over the last couple months have been playing with my new hatch to try and get her through emissions. I am getting close but something is eluding me. The car is an 85 GL hatch 5 speed 4WD (EA81).

     

    Done so far:

     

    * General Tune Up (plugs, wires, corrected timing, oil change, air filter)

    * Ensured proper float level on carb and adjusted idle speed

    * Replaced catalytic converter

     

    She is so damn close to passing, and the only thing I am over on is CO. The reading is 29.0 out of 20.0 allowed. This makes sense as high CO output is an indication of unburned fuel, which would also explain the intermittent after fires i get in between shifts

     

    Strangely though, the service manual states that after fires are mainly caused by vacuum leaks and NOT by incorrect air / fuel mixtures. So I spent about an hour and a half hunting down vacuum lines and reconnecting a few orphans that had come loose or fallen off. My question is, could those 2 small disconnected vacuum lines have been my problem or do I need to be looking at adjusting my air / fuel setting on the carb?

     

    Thanks in advance :)

  7. Motor is a hydraulic lifter EA81 with 211k. Not sure if any rebuild or refresh work has ever been done on it. Watched carefully on the drive home and it looks like I am right on with what GD is saying. Sitting right at 25 PSI at idle when hot and resting at 70 PSI during cruising speeds (55-60mph). Guess I was just being paranoid. I will still get a mechanical to check it out just in case.

     

     

     

    Thanks again guys :)

  8. Unless you verify the gauge reading with a second reading from a shop gauge (mechanical would be the preference), anything you do or do not is based on speculation. TEST - then hypothesize. It may be nothing more than a bad sending unit or mis-calibrated gauge.

     

    GD

     

    Thanks GD :)

     

    I actually did things backwards and searched after making the post, seems the high readings and faulty sensors are all to common on these engines. Looks like I need to hook up a mechanical and verify what I am seeing. Any idea on what a 'Safe' range should be when its up to temp?

  9. I realize this is an old thread, but glad I found it. I just ran into this on my 84.5 Hatch. Didnt start reading high until after my oil change, I was really freaking out, the factory guage would be pegged at 75for a good 10 minutes, but she runs like a champ and no nasty sounds. Used a good filter and Mobil1 10w-30 right at the perfect level. Glad to know this isn't abnormal. I know it's a few years late... .but thanks guys :grin:

  10. So finally got around to doing an oil change on the hatchback and am seeing some weird symptoms.

     

    Before the oil change, the oil pressure sat around 50-60 PSI at cold idle and dropped near 30 at warm idle. When up to temp it would run 60-70 at highway speeds (2800-3500 RPM).

     

    After the oil change, it sits well over 70 PSI at cold idle, and even after allowing the engine to warm for 6-7 minutes, it does not drop. If I try to drive it like this, I can not take it above 1200 RPM or the pressure spikes past the top of the gauge (75 PSI+). After a few minutes of gentle driving, the oil pressure will drop down near 50 at idle, and will sit right at 70-75 PSI under highway load, but it will not return to its original levels.

     

    I have triple checked the oil level and it is perfectly at the full mark, not over, not under. I used a NAPA Gold oil filter and Mobil 1 10w-30.

     

    According to the manual, 10w-30 is a recommended viscosity, so I don't think the oil is to thick. Also, I figured that even if I had used an incorrect viscosity, the pressure would come down after allowing the engine to warm, so I dont think that is my problem. Any ideas? Is this engine really that sensitive to synthetics? Any help would be appreciated, continuing to drive it at these high pressure levels is making me uneasy.

     

    Thanks in advance guys (and gals) :)

     

    Al

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