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Need some feedback. I've got a subaru that is calibrated for sea level. at 6500 feet, it is running on the rich side, a little too high to pass emmissions. This is a carbed EA82 1.8, I think it is the hitachi (right?) Anyways, I'm failing at 2500 rpm. CO LIMIT- 1.5 Tested- 1.55 The only real way to correct this is to get the carb rejetted, which I will probably do, but I need to get this car regsitered ASAP. I can't wait to mail order some jets. So, I need suggestions on a vacuum line to pull to lean things out. Preferably one that will not cause anything emissions related to stop working. Best contender I see is one right behind the carb in the middle of the manifold. What goes to this?

Clutch issue= Not being able to get in gear with car running. Tranny issue= Not being able to get in gear with engine off.

Any idea where to get jetting from? Also, how can I check the float setting? I don't think that is the issue, but just to make sure...

HC- 40ppm, max 400. This is for both idle at 2500. CO- max 1.5, tested .1 at idle, 1.55 at 2500. However, the "dyno" results are more telling. CO was off the scale from 35 mph on up. They use a grams per mile measurement, so I can't make an apples to apples comparison. Lets just say it was way too high. I only need to pass with the basic test, but I would like to fix the problem rather than fool emissions. Fuel consumption and CO output both indicate I should lean it up a bit.

Here's the deal. I recently picked up a 1987 DR wagon with a carbed 1.8. I believe it should be a hitachi carb? Non computer controlled. I'm having trouble getting the car to pass emissions. Hydrocarbons are within spec. The car runs and drives normally. However, CO (carbon monoxide) emissions are way too high. These are caused by a rich fuel mixture. This vehicle also gets worse fuel economy than my previous subaru (1985 dual range- basically the exact same car). I'm thinking the carb was calibrated to sea level. I am at 6500 feet. I have had both an enhanced "dyno" test and a normal idle and 2500 rpm test. The enhanced test had it maxing the scale for CO emissions at 30 mph+. On the normal test, it passed at idle, but failed at 2500 rpm. What I need to know is how to adjust the carb for a leaner mixture at off idle on up to full throttle. The carb is running fat up in the thin air. Please note that it idles perfectly, bith in the low emissions sense and the drivability sense. I am not talking about adjusting the idle mix, I am talking about setting the carb up to run leaner when off idle. Is there an on vehicle adjustment for this? Will it require diiferent jetting? If so, where the hell do I get it?

Will a 1987 dual range wagon have SPFI? If it is a certain model (gl, GL-10) will it? I am looking for the elusive SPFI dual range combo. I called a buy here/pay here lot that has an 87 wagon with the dual range, but they don't know if it is carbed.

So why will making the car run rich improve performance again?

Sorry, you can't fool physics. The issue is temperature. As incoming air to the engine is heated, it becomes less dense, occupying more volume. So, your engine ingests less oxygen when it is fed air at 150* vs 50*. Thus, it makes less power. The general rule of thumb is that for every 10* intake air temp increases, you lose 3% in power, ceteris paribus. As the motor heats up, the motor proceeds to transfer the heat into the incoming air. Thus making the motor run cooler, and limiting the engines ability to transfer heat improves performance. I would look to improving your cooling system and looking at using a lower thermostat. Adding an intercooler will make tons of difference as well.

Adjust your choke.

Another vote for the oil pump seal. After you have the belts off, it takes about ten minutes to pull the pump off, replace the seal, and bolt it back up. Considering that the oil pump seal costs ~5 bucks, its a no brainer. Otherwise you will be swearing when you have to tear the belts off to get to it again. Changing the water pump can be a good idea as they are relatively cheap (around 30 bucks) and once again will save you from having to tear into there again. Also look at your tensioners to make sure that the springs are ok.

What you are talking about is not a symptom of a carbureted car, it is a symptom of a car out of tune. A carbed car should run just as well as a fuelie car in 98% of conditions. A properly set up carb will be drivable on cold starts without bogging or hesitation, and should never have issues with not idling or hesitations off of idle. The 2% basically comes down to not running quite as well when the choke is on as a fuelie car, and extreme temperatures and altitudes that are VERY different from the conditions in which the carb was set up for. I run my carbed subaru in -20* winter starts, and it needs about 5 seconds to warm up before I stick it in gear. I've bumped it up to the top of 14,000 foor mountains, and still no drivability issues, aside from a more wobbly idle (which could be the lack of air anyways). So, with that said, I would check your vacuum lines, your ignition system, and then seriously look at a carb rebuild to get it up to snuff.

218000 right now, original engine and tranny. Doesn't burn oil. When the tranny is cold, it has a little grind going into third, but thats it. I daily drive the car, and take it camping. It also does duty pulling my jet-ski.

SO there is some diagnostic light that comes on every 60k miles regarding EGR? What exactly is it telling you to check about EGR? Every other car I have owned has been jsut about maintenance free with that.

Ok, help me out here. ABout three weeks ago, I changed the oil in my EA-82 wagon. I immediately ran into issues with lifter tick. This car had ZERO problems before. I spent several weeks trying various "fixes in a bottle" including heavy weight oil, MMO, and the like. I experienced varying degrees of success, but it would still occur. Going crazy trying to figure out the culprit, I swapped on a new filter. It helped things quite a bit, BUT THE LIFTER TICK WAS STILL THERE, and prior to the oil change, this car had no issues. So today, I decide to bite the bullet, and replace the water pump, timing belts, and oil pump seal, figuring that the real culprit was there, and that the fresh oil just knocked some sludge loose that was masking the issue. When I take the skidplate off, sitting on top of it in all the sludge is a nice ball bearing. I am quite surprised to see it there, and place it aside. Then, a few hours later when I get the oil pump off, I look at the oil filter housing to see a spring in a pocket I had never noticed before. Lights go off, and I realize that the ball bearing probably goes in here? Is this it? Is this why I am having issues? How is this supposed to be assembled?

I'm not trying to beat him down, I'm stating facts. Fact is, there is a much wider selection of aftermarket parts for a KIA than there are for 1980's subaru's. For Christs sake, these things have about the worst flowing heads of any production vehicle in history. I mean, it's freaking awesome having 4 cylinders with 2 intake ports. It's the Pontiac 301 of the import community. I'm not saying these are bad cars. I LOVE my subaru. But that doesn't cloud me into thinking its something that it's not. My advice is put aside any mod money the kid is thinking about putting into the car, and to use it to buy a car that will make him 100x happier. I doubt 1500 bucks in mods on one of these wouldn't even get him within 2 seconds of a 14 second timeslip, which is just barely getting into performance car range. However, 1500 bucks can get him a good project car that can turn 14's stock, and have an actual aftermarket with affordable parts. If he wants a rally style car, AWD DSM's can be had in good shape starting around 2500. Liking your car is one thing, having completely unrealistic expectations for it is another.

Sounds like most of the stuff you are talking about is maintenance items or the like. I'm more referring to removing emissions controls, carb swaps, and the like. Advancing the timing a few more degrees or opening up the air intake tract is one thing, viewing an 80-90 HP subaru as a good performance platform to sink $$$ in engine builds and turbo installs is quite another. Don't bother, you average Kia makes a better starting point.

My advice would be to enjoy the car for what it is. Due to the non-existent aftermarket, you are not going to be able to modify the car to make it even marginally faster than what it is, but you will kill it's fuel economy, and drivability. Really, why piss money away on mods to turn a 21 second 1/4 mile car into a 20 second 1/4 mile car? Either way, it is still patheticallly slow. You can either live with the fact that it is slow, and that the car excels in other areas, or you can do stupid money wasting mods that sacrifice the things the car does well to try and get it to do something it will never do, namely be anything but piss-rump roast slow. Save your money. If you want a performance car, go buy one, and keep the subaru as a poor weather and poor road car.

I want to stick with a wagon, so that leaves me looking for 1987-1988, right? And no turbo option.

I think blind brand loyalty is a symptom of ignorance.

What year did FI start with the dual range?

Here's the deal. About a year ago, I picked up a dual range wagon for free. It has been a great car. However, a year later, the wagon is starting to show thats it's time to retire. It has 217k, the tranny is grinding, the engine has lifter tick and next to zero oil pressure, and the water pump is screwed. The body is rough too, and I just don't feel it is worth fixing it. So, I am looking for a replacement. I love everything about my current vehicle, but I would prefer one with EFI. But I want to keep the dual range. They never had a turbo model mated to the dual range tranny, right?

Mine does that. I always assumed it was because it has an unsynchronized first gear, which is pretty common on older vehicles. In this case, first is geared so low that you don't need it above 5 mph anyways. 2nd works fine from a roll.

The 4x4 coilovers have a height adjustment. Actually, the 4x4 setup has height adjustments both front and back. On the back, there are "teeth" that the spring mount clicks into place on near the bottom of the coilover assembly. There are 3 or 4 teeth you can set ity to, each with a varying ride height. You would need a spring compressor to compress the spring, and then readjust the height. The fronts can be adjusted very easily, you just loosen the two bolts on the side of the spring perch, and spin the bolt in the center to raise/lower.

So I am tearing into my EA82 motor today to fix a coolant leak. I was all primed to change out the pump, as I thought it was coming out the weep hole. However, I notice that the pump bearings seem fine. I pull off the AC to get a clear look and see that the obvious culprit is the water pump to water pump junction. The pipe wobbles around in my hand freely, and I can see water dripping out of the junction. Upon further inspection, I see that this has to be the most mickey-mouse thing I have ever seen on a production vehicle. All that holds that together under high pressure is a cheesy o-ring? WTF? I have no confidence that me putting it back together with a new O-ring will seal right. What are you guys doing on these?

what models will be compatible? I'm seeing one for a 1990 loyale, is that going to fit an 85 wagon?