lefty2053

Looks like I am the winner. 1985 with a mere 142,000. Looks like this one will last me a while. Wow, I guess I should read all the pages before talking trash. Still not bad for the year.

I went to a local parts store today to stock up on some parts that would be needed later on. They are going out of business and have a 50% off sale now. I got some plug wires, Belcon lifetime for my 85 2dr Hatchback. Drove home(20miles) and tried to put them on. The shortest wire on the car is longer than 3 of the wires in the box. I had to take them back and the guy came out and looked at my car and then in a book once more and then said to me: "You have an 84 engine" He said by the time the car gets to the US and titled it is 1 year old. I kinda laughed and said that sure is strange, then got my money back. WHAT THE HECK IS HE TALKING ABOUT? The title says 85 so the engine should be 85 correct? 1.8 carbed ea81! Any thoughts on this?

Opened it up yesterday and the cap had rips around the rubber. Looks like it was the wrong cap for this car. The rubber was so tight on it,that it was torn in 2 spots from just putting it in the radiator. Will get a new one today. I did check and the fluid was a little weak so I drained some and put in more antifreeze. It looks to be running a little cooler now. Thanks for the replies.

192 degree

I finnally got the new thermostat installed and now the car temp goes up almost to the last line which is the red line. It was 1/8 inch from the red line. It never went into the red before the fan came on,but I am wondering if this is normal? Before with the bad thermostat it always stayed just above the first mark on the temp gauge. And at that setting I never could get the car to heat. The heater is working now though. At what line is normal? 1985 2Dr 4WD 1.8 Carb.

Thanks for all the replies. I am having the brakes checked also while it is in the shop and will have them replaced if needed. I have been having a metal on metal noise coming from the fron end. I was able to look at one of the front brake pads and it looked fine to me with the metal warning plate about 3/16 of an inch from the disc. I have heard the sound from that front tire before but am not sure what it is. Most of the time I hear it when driving real slow and turning either right of left. It also makes the sound when I am coming to a stop. So I thought it was the warning plate. I will have the guy check out the other axle while he is at it. Don't want to take it back to him with in a week for the second one. I will ask about his warrenties on the parts and labor. He is buying the parts and putting them on.

I got my first torn boot, 1985 2dr Hatchback 4WD right side. Not being able to do the work myself, I caled a local shop and they quoted me $125 installed for the whole axle and CV boot. $90 for just the CV boot. I plan on having them do it since I am disabled and can't handle that kind of work anymore. Big O tires wanted $169 for the same job. Is this a fair price for this work? I did call and get a quote of $71 for the parts if I bought it. Re-manufactured from NAPA. So I guess the Labor would end up at $54. Just wanted your input, I most likely will have the job done next week. I figured the Whole re-man is better for the money than just replacing the boot.

Thanks I will check into that also if this continues.

I am going to have the fuel pressure checked if it doesn't clear out. Last night I ran my wife to work and back and it didn't do it that trip. I guess it might have been from running it out of gas and sucking up the junk out of the tank that did it if it doesn't do it again.

1985 2dr Hatchback 4wd Ea81 with carb. I have now changed both fuel filters, the car is timed, new plugs. Newer distributor. After changing this last filter(rear) the car has more power, but the thing is still sputtering when I use hard acceleration. Not all the time, but most. If I let up just a little on the throttle it will smooth out. I let the tank get to empty and below before changing the last filter. Could this have caused it to suck up more junk from the tank and it will just take a while to clear out? Also could putting on the new filter cause problems with air in the line? While checking to see if there was any gas leaks from the new filter I was hearing a lot of gruggling from the gas tank. I opened the gas cap and it sounded like it sucked the gas down not out of the filler tube. Could I have the wrong gas cap on this? Sorry for all the questions, but I know you guys will have the answers.Oh and yes I got the filter on correct with the arrow out.

Sorry, it's a GL 2dr hatchback with 4WD. Carb and 4speed.

Ok I was under the impression that this car had a 1600 engine. I went to NAPA today to pick up a fuel filter for it and he told me that the Ea81 is an 1800. Which is it? Also, can the fiber tube that goes from the air cleaner to the exhaust cause a backfire if it has a hole in it next to the exhaust? I get exhaust fumes in the car when I warm it up in the morning and I looked down next to that side of the car to see exhaust fumes coming up from there. I got a distributor for it from one of the members here and I had told him it came from a 1600 engine, will this cause problems? The one I got from him was totally different, but it has been working fine so far. It also had it's own coil with extra parts attached to it, which mine did not. Yes I am a rookie(noobie) to working on cars and just want to get things correct if I can. I bought the fuel filter because I didn't know there were 2 on this car when I bought the first one. I am having a stuttering problem with hard acceleration only. Thats the reason for the filter. I checked the coil wires to be sure they were tight. The first filter I bought, I told NAPA that I had a 1600 also. Does that matter? Sorry for all the questions, just want to get it right.

Thanks for all the replies. When I put in this new Distributor I also put in the Coil that came with it. I am not sure I have the wires spliced very good on it. I will check them out today and see if that helps. I used a tube like connector that you put on side of the wire in one side of it and the other on the other side and then just crimp them. Might not be getting a good connection.

Are there any other ideas what could cause this?

I did run it down to just below 1/4. But it only took 8.4 gallons to fill it up so I still had about 5 gallons left. At least I think it holds 13.5 gallons. Not real sure. Never run it empty or even down to the red line.

1985 Hatchback 1600 carb. Just the last 2 days this starting happening. When ever I am taking off fast or going up a hill and have to use most if not all the accelerator, it sputters and then clears out once I am at cruising speeds. I just put in a new fuel filter (NAPA) a month ago. Just timed the car 2 weeks ago, it has new spark plugs. The distributor is a used one from another car that I replaced because of bad bushings and the new one I put in is working fine since. When I bought this car, the guy told me he puts in a gas treatment once in a while and I have just bought one today to try that out. Any other ideas? Could the filter be clogged already? The tank is filled up, and I am using the same gas I have always used. Never had a problem with their gas. I have owned this car since Febuary.

Thanks for all the input. I used to own a 1990 Chevy S-10 that ran like caca with regular in it, but ran great with the mid grade. I might try that with this machine, but I am worried that after running regular in it all it's life and then changing will hurt it. I was told that high altitudes and higher grade gas can harm engine components.

What grade should I be using on this 1985 2Dr Hatchback, Carb 1600 Ea81? I am getting 28MPG now using regular unleaded. Would I get better than that, and would it increase performance if I used Premium gas? The book says 91 octane and I have been using 85. When I bought it the guy told me he used regular unleaded so I didn't change. So what are you getting for MPG and what grade of gas? I have been told also that higher grades in high altitudes is bad for the motors.

Just going by what he told me. He said the pulley that the fan belt goes on is a one piece aluminum deal that is part of the cam shaft. The end of it broke off so he can't hook a fan belt to it. Thus not being able to charge the system,because the alternator has nothing spinning it to charge the battery. He might have meant the crankshaft. He said it is all one piece, and the end that broke off(Pulley) is not a bolt on type. I haven't seen the car myself and only talked to him once about it.

Just got mine fixed with the same problem. It is the bushings in the distributor. I got a good used distributor for it and it is fine now. Mine started out making 300 RPM jumps and went to 1000 with in a week. Didn't want to have a bigger problem down the road, so I replaced the distributor. $50 including shipping. New was anywhere from $169-$194. And yes you can most likely replace the bushings, but I choose not to mess with that. Every since I was a little kid(many moons ago) I would take things apart and not get them put back together again.

My son-in-law just told me he has a 91 Justy. Runs fine but the pulley broke off which is connected to the cam shaft and he has to charge the battery every time he drove it. No pulley ,no charging system. Question is; How hard is it to replace that? It's a 3 clyinder 2 WD and gets great mileage. I was thinking about buying it from him if it isn't too hard to repair. Oh and he also said the sway bar on the front is off as well.Any help is appreciated.

Thanks for your replies, I did get the car fixed, it was the distributor that was bad. All is good now.

Might want to ask lmdew for a disty. I got one from him this week and it is out of an 81 something or other and it is working fine in my 85 hatchback. By the way lmdew, thanks big time. Got it working this morning, I was 1 tooth off like I thought.

Unless your going a long distance from home I would carry any of those in my 2D Hatchback. I like getting the best mileage I can at this point. But if there was one other thing I would take, it would have to be warm clothes if I have to walk with my thumb out.

Wow, the guy over here in Delta, Co wants $50 for a used one. If you have them and I can't just replace the bushings in this one, I will most likely get one from you. Glad to see others from Colorado here. I checked the Disty and I need the one that has only 1 pickup according to the guy in Delta.