subaruru

Thanks a million, Jeff, I'll give it a whirl soon! God bless you! Walter

HEEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPP! I am trying to replace the halogen head light bulbs on my 1986 Subie, and am stumped! I posses two Haynes and one Chilton manual that all cover my vehicle, but they all rump roast-U-ME that even the greenhorn/dummy knows how to remove the sealed-beam head light assembly and then remove the halogen bulb. Manuals are supposed to ASSUME -N-O-T-H-I-N-G- -- they are supposed to be written for folk who know nothing about these things (if you know it all, what need of a manual?!!)! Anyway, I am where I am, with three USELESS Subie manuals, so can anybody tell me how the halogen bulb is removed (I finally figured out that the bolts that hold the head light assembly are located inside the engine compartment, and I see that there is some kind of ring that says "<-- Off" and "On -->" [turn left, or right, as the case may be], but this gets me nowhere, for neither position allows the ring in question to slip off the bottleneck in question). Thanks a million, and I hope that it wasn't you who wrote those PATHETIC Subie manuals! Subaruru

Thanks for the many contributions... I see that the Labor Day holiday is over! I'll take your advice, Gloyale, and see if I can't find the spot on the engine where that ground wire attaches.

Thanks infinitely for this clarification, Gloyale! Now I just have to figure out where the business end of the corresponding ground wire on my EA82 goes... it doesn't seem to be long enough to reach the fan itself, but maybe the alternator or the A/C "freon" pump, though, what point, that?! Thanks again!

Since you don't bother to explain yourself, I presume that you have this piece of dogma from Ayatollah Khoumeini... um, I mean, from Pope Francis, of course!

Maybe one can ignore it, but better to look the beast in the eye first; to state that there is no such animal because one has not oneself seen it is not looking the beast in the eye! I have at least 3 online references to it, two of them IMAGES and the third a written references. Check them out, please (I am keenly interested in this topic because I too have a "loose" ground wire that looks like it may go to the radiator - and it WAS connected to SOMETHING before my helper yanked it off without making note from whence he removed it, that much is obvious from the shiny spot where a washer-nut assembly kept it shiny, while around this shiny area is a grey-black layer of the usual "engine grease", i.e., petroleum fluids mixed with dust). In the images, you will see the ground wire attached to the body near the battery. Exactly like on my 1986 GL Loyale, 4DR, FWD, EA82 Engine, 2bbl carb [i omit hub cap color... ]. Thx! subaruru The written reference is the online Subie DIY repair manual in PDF format (look on page 392, or just plug in "radiator ground wire" in the search function (look for the loupe) and it should take you there): How to Keep Your Subaru Alive: http://www.scribd.com/doc/24542568/How-to-Keep-Your-Subaru-Alive Note added 04Sept2014: Here is a link to an USMB discussion RE the radiator fan which, it is suggested, will not function UNLESS the radiator is grounded: Temperature Switch - Radiator Fan: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/114204-temperature-switch-radiator-fan/

Hey, folks, I think that this might be the ground wire that connects to the radiator, but where? It looks like it might fit exactly on the nearest radiator fan shroud bolt. Anybody have a picture of how/ where this connects? OR, if you have a similar vehicle, can you check yours and see where the "business end" of that ground wire connects? Thx! Subaruru

Dear subiemech85, I have a NEW question RE grounding (anyone may jump in here, as long as s/he is knowledgeable about the issue at hand!), I had someone help me replace a rusted-out heating/cooling system pipe, and he doesn't remember where goes the ground wire extending from the frame around the engine bay, just in front of the battery (1986 GL loyale, EA82, 2bbl carb model engine). It looks like it might connect to the alternator, but I'm not one for Russian Roulette when it comes to electrical stuff! You can see, in the image linked to below, what looks like the same ground wire setup that extends (in the linked image) from the blue frame just to the left of the outlined square that highlights the battery, where the wire in question seems to duck down into the engine bay in front of the battery [which is exactly what it would do on my subie if I connected it to the scew/nut assembly that allows the alternator (I think it's the alternator - it's the smaller belt-driven gizmo just underneath the larger, belt-driven gizmo on top) to slide outward and upward in order to take up the slack in the belt]. Thanks much to any and all who can clear this up, thus helping me to avoid what might otherwise be a costly round of Russian Roulette! Here's the image in question (the gound wire in question is located in the bottom left-hand corner of the pic... OOPS! You'll have to scroll down a bit to see the image, the link to the separate JPG image itself failed! Nope, it failed too - I uploaded the image myself!!!). Thanks again! subaruru

Hey, ruparts, My 1986 GL Loyale EA82 engine with a standard Hitachi, 2bbl carb has three of the suckers, and the wiring is color-coded - blue, black and white, I believe. They have parts numbers, all of them consisting of the following base number: AESU128. Two of them - AESU128-31 and AESU128-34 seem to be stacked, one on top of the other [how's that for redundancy?! : -) ] - while the third one, the AESU128-3 (I was wondering if it wasn't a "33", since the other two have two digits after the hyphen, and, indeed, a google search didn't turn up anything for a "3" whereas it did for a "33"... that second "3" digit is near the edge, where it may not have been properly engraved/ stamped, so I'm pretty sure that it is in fact a AESU128-33!). I am having a nightmare with this because a neighbor who said he knows Subies like the palm of his hand apparently doesn't know even his own hand, because he just pulled off the three solenoid gizmos while I was removing something else, now he doesn't have a clue as to how they hook up... we were finally just trying to match the bends in the rubber tubes with the available metal pipes, but my whiz mech has removed the tubes so many times now that even that attempt has been shot in the rump roast [you think maybe the guy is trying to sabotage the effort?? : -)]. Anyway, I'd appreciate it if anyone is knowledgeable - in a specific way - about this solenoid/ valve setup, and can tell me exactly where they go/ how they hook up, also taking the color coding into consideration. I can provide some photos of the solenoids/ valves tomorrow (they all three look EXACTLY alike in their core, i.e., less whatever knobs and "trumpets" extend out from the core). While trying to fit them in the available "slots", I managed to break off the tiny, trumpet-shaped, plastic filter on the end of the solo AESU128-33, but I'm thinking of just glueing it in place with Q-bond, rather than invest a fortune in a new one (it is not a moving part, nor a weight-bearing part). So, ruparts, does the "ru" have anything to do with "Russian"? Just curious! Do cvidanija! ("Until we meet") subaruru [Nope! Neither "ru" there has anything at all to do with "Russia"! : -) ]

I have two items: PRAISE, and a greenhorn question. To the PRAISE: I am completely blown away that anyone would be kind enough to his fellow man to do what Loyale 2.7 Turbo has done for us all in his "Ideas on Swaping a Weber Carb on EA82´s" article! I don't know if the guy is a Latino or a gringo (he's from Latin America, but lots of gringos have migrated "south of the border"), but a gringo would typically make some kind of book out of it, which you'd have to pay to access, so I'm figuring Loyale 2.7 Turbo to be a Christian(Catholic!) Latino, with his heart in the right place (at least not in his wallet!)! Muchas gracias! To my dumber-than-a-dummy question: I am thinking of having someone do such a carburetor swap on my vehicle, which also has an EA82 engine (1986 GL, Loyale, 4-door sedan), but with a 2-barrel carburetor with an automatic choke. But what kind of autmatic choke? I have seen reference to electric, "water" (what's that?!) and manual chokes, so is my automatic choke electric, or what? (Anybody can jump in here and try to answer this question -- in fact, Loyale 2.7 Turbo has already done enough for all of us!) Thanks a heap (good sense... it can also be said sarcastically)! subaruru

Dear MOTM (man on the moon), This is a little bit off-message (I too have an occasional, weird (EA82) heating problem, but right now, the problem is a leak with a heater pipe, and I'm trying to figure out the nomenclature), but in post #6 on this page, you mention a "heater core pipe". Is this the pipe that comes out at, or just below, the intake manifold on the driver side and connects to the heater (intake, I presume) hose? I need to know because I have to replace that short, zig-zagged pipe, which only presses in, though it is anchored with a screw-and-strap arrangement to the engine at the exit end, where the rubber hose fits. What I need to know – I should probably start another thread for this unless one already exists – assuming that the animal is indeed the Heater Core Pipe, is how much junk I'll have to remove to replace that pipe? The Soobie dealer says that I'll probably have to remove the Intake Manifold (a new gasket there, and I'll have to borrow someone's torque wrench!). Anybody tried this before? Thx! subaruru ps: I found this link for a different model Soobie that describes the animal as a heater pipe, and it clearly indicates that one has to remove the Intake Manifold, though that seemed to be only in order to extricate a broken (rusted off) pipe still embedded in the IM: (http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/128361-metal-heater-pipe-worn-thru-on-88-leone/?hl=%2Bheater+%2Bpipe). pps: Actually, I just had another chit-chat with the Soobie folk, this time with the head honcho of the parts department and he checked it out for me. The pipe in question – Subaru part number 14067AA041 – is also called the Water Bypass Pipe. According to the Parts Head Honcho, it is NOT necessary to remove the IM, since the pipe in question attaches to another rubber hose that sticks out of the Water Pump. I might have to disconnect a ton of tubes and pipes that make it difficult to get to the water pump, but removing the IM is NOT strictly necessary, according to the PHH. Btw, this would explain why the tube "leaks", but not a lot, and ONLY when I'm driving it: it is still attached to that hose coming out of the WP down there in the deep, dark recesses of that part of the engine, it's just that the clamp OBVIOUSLY slid down the pipe and is NO LONGER clamped around the end of the hose that attaches to the forward end of the pipe in question. In fact, if I wanted to be stingy, I could just take that shortened pipe off [we shortened it because it had a hole at the second bend of the "Z" curve... OF COURSE, that's where it would poke a hole if erosion were to be a problem, and note that THE REASON why erosion became a problem here is that A PREVIOUS OWNER used only water, not anti-freeze (this was in sunny CA), which (the latter) contains rust inhibitors!], clean it up with a wire brush, then find that clamp down there and reattach everything... but I think I'll go with that new WBP! I WILL return to this when the job is done and dusted!

The smog station refused to even test the car! They said it had an alignment problem - it does not have an alignment problem! (I can hold the steering wheel lightly pinched between thumb and forefinger, and it tracks with no pull!). I think that on the day, I was unlucky to get a wus for an inspector! He finally conceded that it might just be low tire pressure, and when he said that it pulled to the left, and I know that the left front tire is a bit low, I figured it might be that... the guy was still afraid to check it, had someone else try it (another wus! - imagine, it had been tested twice in the 3-4 previous days, with no problem!). I gave it up, also because I am now positive that there is something very WRONG with this carb... Adding up ALL of the problems I have had with this motor, and - not least - THEIR SEQUENCE, with all of the clues and the hints that I have run across both here and elsewhere, I am now CONVINCED that the Hitachi carb on my car's engine is WARPED, and that this is the source of the VACUUM LEAK. Moreover, I am equally convinced that the warping of the carb occurred way back when, when I overheated the motor almost to the shutdown point (I can trace my misery with this car back to that epochal event!). I must buy a rebuilt Hitachi carb (for emissions reasons, I can't go with the Weber carb, at least not for smog inspections), but now I am confused because there are apparently different DCZ-328s (they have suffixes): a 502, a 502A and a 503A (Autozone, or National Carburetors); and a SR039 or a SR040 (Royze Carburetors... the difference between the two is that the SR039 has a so-called 4-prong connector (whatever that is!) while the SR040 has a 3-prong connector). How de heck do I know which category my carb belongs to?! - I can't even find the DCZ-328 designation stamped on it anywhere! H E L P ! ! ! !

Thanks, Subarule. The smog check lasts for 2 years, so if the car runs better on a Weber carb and if the switch back and forth isn't too daunting, then it might be worth the trouble. I think maybe, given what you have suggested and given the details I provided, that the explanation for the mystical up and down changes in the idling RPM is a false-air (air leak) problem. I will try and tighten it up somehow. Thanks much! I'll provide feedback later!! . . .

Thanks everybody, I am now installed in Denver. I have an urgent appeal regarding the adjustment of my car's Hitachi carburetor, because the trip to Denver devastated my economy, meaning that the purchase of the Weber carb will have to be postponed (gas prices were out of this world – and still climbing! – and I was towing the car on a dolly behind a Uhaul truck, their smallest, but still pretty gas-hungry compared to my old Subaru). Unfortunately for me, my CA registration runs out soon, meaning that I have to have the car smogged in Denver, where they have very strict emissions standards. In fact, I have had it inspected twice now (they give you unlimited retries within a 10-day window of opportunity), where the first time it failed miserably, probably because in trying to adjust the slow idle (SI), I monkeyed with the air-fuel mixture (AFM) instead. The second test, after I had a Craigslist mechanic reset the AFM, eliminated the HC ("hydrocarbons", or a measure of unburned fuel) problem completely (from 6.11 down to 0.82, where the acceptable threshold is 2.50), and reduced the CO2 problem from a whopping 75.38 down to a mere 21.10, where the threshold is 20.00). However, I fear that the gains will not last and are at least partly due to the chemicals that the "mechanic" used: a gas tank additive (TA, or Fuel Injector Plus Intake Valve Cleaner, by Valvoline) and the carb-cleaner spray that he used generously (I had earlier given the carb a good spraying with AutoZone's spray when I replaced the spark plugs and mistakenly adjusted the AFM instead of the SI). I didn't have more than 5 bucks worth of gas in the tank so I didn't dare use the entire bottle of TA, using instead about half – maybe I should have used all of it (I still have about 6-7 oz of the 12 oz bottle left, should I use it now???). Moreover, to thin out the TA, I drove around until the tank was near-empty, then put about $7 of gas into it and drove back to the smog station (SS). Tomorrow is my last shot, so I want to see if there is anything in this world that I can do to pass that damn test short of installing a Weber carb, for the alternatives are not part of a very happy ending, at least not for the short run, and I really like this little car (a garage mechanic advised me to sell outside of the Denver area where there is no, or only mild, smog testing). I have noticed that my linkage seems to stick when I floor the accelerator (ACC). Initially, this was only at the carb end, but one day it also happened at the ACC end, so I attached a save-my-friggin-life cord to it that I cleverly attached to the dash using a strong spring. After some time, the cord was no longer necessary. Just before I left CA, the car suddenly, while I was driving, revved up to over 2500 RPM (!), worrying the dickens (choose your favorite 4-letter word!) out of me. It was in response to this that I seriously screwed up the AFM. The next day, or soon after, the engine suddenly dropped down to a quiet if slightly uneven purr, like it used to run. Immediately after (and probably during!) the first smog test here in Denver, the car was again running at 2500 RPM, and there was nothing I could do to fix the problem (I believe I may still have been mistaking the AFM for the SI). When Dr Spray (the "mechanic") left with his cash in his pocket, the car was running seemingly perfectly, but I must say that it dropped down to this purring level all of its own, after Dr Spray had sprayed the carb generously, also the linkage (also with some WD-40), and after I had added the TA, exactly as it had done there in CA when it suddenly, for no immediately identifiable reason, went from a heart-throbbing 2500 RPM down to a normal of about 1000 RPM. (I mention all of this in order to provide some clues.) I had earlier told Dr Spray about what I felt was a linkage problem (the cord was still attached to the ACC, though not to the dash). He said that the culprit was a skinny, "piggybacked" cable (a left-over manual choke cable?) that was jerry-rigged alongside the ACC cable and attached with the help of a locking plastic strip (LPS). Dr Spray said that the function of this cable was to help retract the choke, I believe, but that it wasn't necessary, and moreover that the LPS was sliding into the ACC cable groove on the half-wheel gizmo on the carb and getting stuck there, so he cut the LPS and laid the "piggyback" aside, where it would do no harm (I have no idea if this was the real problem or was simply part of Dr Spray's bogus analysis/ gimmicky corrections). Btw, Dr Spray said that the proper AFM adjustment is 1 ¼ turn backed off from dead bottom. Does that sound about right? Is this a hard-and-fast rule, or is it an adjustable parameter, given my circumstances? Unfortunately, by the time I went to the SS (remember, I had to burn off some of that TA), the car was running at 1500 RPM. Just outside the SS, I managed to get it down to 1250 RPM adjusting the SI alone (I didn't dare monkey with the AFM again), but after the test, it was at about 1600 RPM, and there was nothing that yours truly could to with the SI to make it go back down. When I have started it and warmed it up since, it runs normally at first, but after some driving, it unfailingly creeps back up toward the 1250 mark, or higher. This pattern is symptomatic, it begins in a normal-like state, then creeps up to an excessively high RPM, usually somewhere in the range 1250-1500 RPM. Btw, Dr Spray said that the carb was not tightened properly and therefore was sucking in false air. He could only reach 3 of the 4 screws, none with a torque wrench (I may own more tools than that guy has!) I hope that this novella offers some clues, and I am hoping that GD, who has advised me to stay away from adjusting a Hitachi carb, nonetheless offers some advice, for my back is sort of against the wall right now, where ideal solutions belong to the long, not the short, run! If anyone needs additional info, shoot; I'll check in regularly. Dr Spray – perhaps not surprisingly – did not respond to my email appeal for additional advice (he has since advertised himself on Craigslist as a carb specialist, figuring, perhaps, that there is easy money in suckering people like me... he's probably right... while we were on the way to the Chase ATM to pick up his cash a call came in for work on a timing problem, but Dr Spray declined, saying excitedly to me afterwards that he had to avoid getting into jobs that were more trouble than they were worth). . . .

Thanks, GD, I'll give them a call after I get myself installed in Denver - I am on the way there in about 2 weeks, if all goes well, from sunny SF East Bay. I'll "report back" when I make the move. Thanks again to everyone for good input. Subaruru

Thanks to Nickolai and to 92_Rugby_Subie! It sounds pretty encouraging! I have earlier seen my car listed as a 2bbl (2 barrel carb), but when I see images of this critter, it has two barrels, or compartments, I guess you would say, whereas mine has a single compartment with a single choke. Since it doesn't have a manual choke, it must be an electric one. I have seen so much negative stuff written about fake Weber carbs (Made in China) that I am a bit skeptical, though I haven't seen any references to fake conversion kits. I'll have to try and find it on Craigslist, but again, there is always the risk of receiving Made in China crap unless you can pick it up locally, meaning that it is almost better to trust a regular business like the route that Nickolai went. I'll have to check it out. In the meantime, if anyone knows anything about the difference between a 1 bbl and a 2 bbl carb (how they look), please tell me if mine is a single or twin barrel carb. Thanks again!

I have read/ seen online that there is such an animal as a Weber conversion kit for these original Hitachi carburetors. Has anyone had any experience with these? I have seen them on eBay, which I tend not to trust a lot, but have also seen them on the website of a Weber distributor in the UK called Webcon, which I tend to trust more. What say, anyone tried this route to a cheaper (I guess, but at $319 for the conversion kit at eBay, I'm not sure it's so cheap!) Weber carburetor? Thanks!

Thanks, GD, How do I determine which kind of Weber carb I need? According to Autozone, all 1.8L engines for my year and model use a DCZ-328 if we are speaking of a replacement carb from National Carburetors, if that is any clue.

I have a 1986 GL Loyale, 1.8L, 4Dr, FWD, silver hubcaps OOPS! It also has manual transmission! I have had a lot of trouble getting this car to idle properly and in fact, several mechanics whom I have hired to help me out seem to be about as clueless regarding where to adjust the warmed up idle (aka low idle) as I, even though they haven't been too embarrassed about receiving payment! Anyway, we are where we are, as they say, so I need to move forward with this project, so I turn to good ol ultimatesubaru... To approach this topic in small steps, rather than do a complete Freudian psychoanalysis of my old Soobie, let me begin by asking two related questions regarding IDLE ADJUSTMENT: 1) Should the sleeve that rings the warmed-up idle adjustment screw be rigidly fixed to the carb, or is it okay of it is "loose" (flexible, or in any case not rigid)? I ask because the other day, it seemed to me that the sleeve in question was rigid, and that the screw could only make a half-turn (now it makes about 20 turns!), but now the sleeve is as loose as a goose... however, I was using a fatter screwdriver than was probably too wide, and since it was a bit short, it was hard to get it completely down into the screw. I fear that I may have damaged the sleeve by using a screwdriver that was too wide at the tip (not really the tip because it is sort of carrot shaped even if flat at the tip). 2) Does it sound reasonable that the idle adjustment screw in question should be able to make 20 or so turns? I ask because initially, it seems to me that it could only make a half-turn. Please allow me to end on a statement rather than a question... This car seems to lack power, especially over the mid-range, that is, it accelerates sluggishly until the car warms up, then it is more or less a normal car. Yet, when I hit the gas for serious, it races off like mad. Does this carb need an adjustment, or should it be replaced? Thanks, subaruru (I was groggy-sleepy when I posted this initially... the landlord keeps roosters... sorry about that!)

Mysteriously, the gas pedal now pops back, so something must have pinched it, or maybe it was the cold weather (an argument for some WD40!). Anyway, apropos the carburetor - which I am now convinced is shot, since the idle screw now turns about 50 revolutions before it bottoms out, whereas before it only turned a half-circle, and the sleeve housing was firm before, whereas now it is floppy, PLUS, no matter how I adjust the idle (now with a warmed up engine), it makes no difference, PLUS, PLUS, suddenly the idle jumps from 800-900 RMP to 3000 RPM and there is nothing that can cause it to settle down again, except when the engine decides that it has had enough of that nonsense and settles down again to 800-900 RPM!!! - where can I find the OEM number, or whatever, that belongs to this carburetor? I figured that it would be possible to just click my way through the options at the online car parts company and it would then tell me which carburetor (make that refurbished carburetor!) I needed for my car, much like when I search for a new air filter, etc., but no, it offers me a whole pile of options! Any qualified help will be appreciated! Hope you all had a wonderful President's Day! zzz Subaruru

Hmmm, I tried adjusting the idle screw, but it didn't make the slightest difference where I positioned it (it rotates about ½ circle). I fiddled again with the throttle cable (yeps, that's what it's called, I have since learned) and got it to idle pretty good, but I have no idea how the LOP situation will be. I have in the meantime ascertained that the spring on the accelerator (gas pedal) is shot (the pedal sticks, but I can always pull it up with my foot, though it sometimes revs pretty wildly!!!). To my amazement, no part dealer lists this item (not even a complete accelerator assembly), not, even, Subaru USA! Next stop: Pick-n-Pull! In the meantime, I'll see if I can rig some kind of spring reinforced string from the gas pedal up to the steering column or wherever I can attach it so that the pedal pops back when my foot isn't resting on it (I'll have to hope I don't get pulled over in the meantime! ). ps: If anybody responds to my altered thread, please copy the "AND, a noob too, please!" part and paste it into the Title, that way I'll know that you are directing your reply to me and not to the other guy. Thanks!

I think I may be getting somewhere on this problem... To channel your thinking in the following, I believe that the problem may boil down to an improper adjustment of the accelerator/ choke cable. Here's the skinny: When I experienced the overheated engine/ coolant leak problem, the mech had to remove a lot of the "junk" on top of the engine in order to get to the water pipe with the hole in it that was the source of the leak. Including, disassembling the accelerator/ choke cable. When he was done, he reattached everything, but the car ran poorly - it idled like dung (the human version )! Unfortunately, the mech's wife had fallen and broken a hip and he got a bit pressed for time, so I ended up trying to adjust the idle myself, which I thought involved adjusting the accelerator/ choke cable, because I could see that the mech had not reattached it in the original position (I could easily "read" this from the swath of clean threads that should have been dirty). So I went about trying to adjust it myself, but still it did not run well. In Reno (I was living in the SF Bay area before, where I now live again), I had another mech - he had even worked as a garage mech on Japanese cars, including soobies - adjust the idle, and he went to the same gizmo (the accelerator/ choke cable) to adjust it as I had gone to, but the car simply did not idle well. I did a lot of slight monkeying with it in the months after that, but it still idles - and accelerates - like crap. Finally (recently) I bought a Haynes manual, and from that I see that the idle adjustment is in a completely different place (!) - is a completely different adjustment - than the accelerator/ choke cable!! These experiences have more or less convinced me that my problem, the LOP (Lack of Power) problem, is that the adjustment on the accelerator/ choke cable is such that the combustion chamber receives a gasoline-air mixture from the carburetor that is either too rich or too poor in the medium range, but when I floor it, everything (all the cocks) open up to the maximum, and the gasoline-air mixture is perfect, which is why it only runs/ accelerates properly when I floor it. So, there is quite likely no causality at all between the overheating and the poor performance, other than the fact that the accelerator/ choke cable was not reassembled to its proper position after the cooling system leak was repaired. If we assume, for the sake of the argument, that this is the problem, the how in the heck does one adjust the offending cable "properly"? I have tried to bone up on this in my Haynes manual, but have found nothing specifically on this topic. Any suggestions (I am loath to go to another mech when the last one I hired tried to set the idle by adusting the very same accelerator/ choke cable as I, greenhorn, had!)? Thanks m u c h o !

Pursuant to the advice on installing a Weber carburetor... How can I determine what engine type I have, is it part of the VIN, or is it stamped on the engine block somewhere? Most users in the above seem to suggest that my engine type will be an EA 81 or an EA 82 (but which is it, and if not, what else could it be?). To buy the Weber carburetor, I will apparently need to know my car's engine type - most parts companies don't seem to lead you through the selection process, holding your hand, like they do at, for example, Autozone (and Autozone doesn't have Weber carbs for my car). Thanks.

I have a similar lack-of-power (henceforth LOP) problem with my old 1986 GL Loyale 1.8L nonturbo FWD. I was dumb enough to try and get a response here on an old - very old (5 years) - thread, to which no one replied. I hope I'll have better luck here. What caught my eye with the old thread (http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38576&page=4) was something that a user by the name of Midwst said: that the LOP could be caused by an overheating that did permanent damage (to what, exactly, the guy didn't say, but maybe he meant the head gasket). Here was my pitch back then (about 8 months ago): ---* Hey! The bit about "overheated and has engine damage" really struck a note. My old 86 Subaru GL Loyale used to have lots more uphill pull until I had an overheating problem (one of the pipes that came out of the engine developed a hole because the former owner ran it with water only (!)), and it heated up to the border with the red area. Ever since then, my Loyale has been a gutless wonder, it idles like crap, but runs slightly better when it warms up, but the main problem is the lack of power which only begin to manifest itself AFTER the overheating problem. A damaged head gasket? A damaged (melted?) timing belt? Thanks for 'listening", and I would appreciate any informative reply, especially replies that suggest some process of elimination for arriving at the problem. ---* Well, to update this a bit, I was recently trying to get onto the freeway with a slightly cold motor (given my car's gutless state, it has to be really, really warmed up before it will accelerate even reasonably, and it wasn't this time) and the ramp ahead was running out fast, a car was coming up behind me fast, so I floored the damned thing, and to my surprise, it took off like it had a rocket behind it (remember the scene in Toy Story? :cool:), which makes me think that there must be a dead spot, meaning something gummed up inside the carburetor. The thing is, though, the noticeable gutless state only started after I had that very serious overheating (the needle almost reached the north pole position!). However, I hadn't had the car all that long, so maybe I had simply been driving it timidly. I dunno, but in any case, if it can respond as aggressively as it did when I floored it, I would guess that it can't be a head gasket problem. Anyone got any suggestions (and please don't speak in mechanic-speak, cause I'm not much of a mechanic, though, years ago, I took an all-around brake & tune-up course and aced the test , but maybe they got my test score mixed up with someone else's).

My apologies to everyone who might have been waiting for feedback from me on this issue! I have been buffeted quite a bit lately, and have simply not had the time to look left or right. Before posting this belated feedback, I read through the postings that have arrived since I last was here, and see that the discussion continued fine without me, but since I promised feedback, here it comes... Thanks especially to Loyale2.7Turbo for the suggestion of removing the cable that operates the HH as a solution to the problem, for it works (it worked for me, anyway, though I only disconnected the cable and secured it at each end with twisters so that it can be reconnected in the event that I might want to purchase a new HH someday - besides, this was a lazy and effective solution, so that only made it better). Thanks to Gloyale for naming the part (the Tee in question), and in that connection, I can only say that it is hard as the devil to find such a part, when no one seems to know what size the brake line is, short of taking a look at the car itself! Not even Subaru USA could tell me, nor could any parts company or any junk yard. I see that some have suggested that the leak starts because the cable is adjusted too tight and others say that it make no difference, except that poor adjustment may aggravate the problem. I don't know about that, I tend to trust scientific (empirical) studies more than opinions. But I will say, for what its worth, that the problem with my HH first arrived after I had the booster replaced. Maybe there was a small leak there that would have been worse had there been more power behind the brake pedal, and that finally happened when I installed a new booster. But maybe it was sheer coincidence, i.e., just because A happens quickly followed by B does not mean that A caused B, something that is hard for most of us to accept, since we seem to be wired to see causality everywhere, based simply on the close temporal connection between A and B! Anyway, problem solved, so anyone who is tired of a leaky HH can just disconnect the cable - and I disconnected it at both ends, btw, just to make sure that it didn't in any way influence the operation of the clutch - and they will likely have solved the problem. Happy 2011! (And I'll be back with graver problems in another thread regarding a gutless engine that I suspect has something to do with the carburetor, because one day when trying to get on the freeway with a sluggish accelerator and an entrance ramp running out quickly, I just floored the damned thing, and it took off like it had a rocket behind it!)