DFA Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hello everyone. I bought this 87 gl hatch last summer with a lot of issues. Currently the last one has kept it from running. I have 0 spark to the coil and dont know where to go from there. My buddy has the same year in the wagon and I've swapped out his coil for mine and still nothing. All the fuses seemed fine too. I was reading around that it could be a t belt? I haven't checked to see if the rotor spins or not. How hard would it be to replace a t belt in this car? I don't know if it's a given but it's injected. I love this car! It's in kinda rough shape atm and I would love to get it back on the road. Any suggestions would be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hmmm, a GL Hatch should have an EA81 (no timing belts), not an EA82 (timing belts). Zero spark to the coil means the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor aren't the current issue. But it could be your disctributor. On FI models of EA82 the disty houses the crank sensor which is needed to pulse the coil I believe. So try a disty swap if you can easily. MAKE SURE to take note of orientation before removing so you can install the new one the same way. Or you'll be posting a swap about how to properly line it up, which we get a lot of. When you swapped coils did you swap the FET (or does your car have one, i'm not sure since I'm still confused about EA81/EA82 in your case?). The FET is a little device on the coil bracket that can fail too and prevent spark. But yes if it has timing belts it could definitely be those. Drivers side is more likely to fail but at this age with unknown maintenance it could be either side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Wiggle the ignition switch then check for voltage. They often melt down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Is the FET the little box under the coil with 2 prongs(1 vertical, 1 horizontal) that plugs into the fender? I cleaned off the connectors on that and plugged it back in. Should I have the battery unplugged while doing this? Thanks for the fast replay grossgary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 If you're car is an 87 and Fuel Injected, it is a 3-door coupe......NOT a standard hatch ("hatch" in the subaru world refers to the EA81 2 doors) You have an EA82 engine. You need to determine if your disty is spinning. take off the cap, and crank over the engine. Does the rotor turn? if not, you have a busted timing belt. Check this before beating your head against the wall chasing a no spark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Wiggle the ignition switch then check for voltage. They often melt down. Okay I'll do that thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 If you're car is an 87 and Fuel Injected, it is a 3-door coupe......NOT a standard hatch ("hatch" in the subaru world refers to the EA81 2 doors) You have an EA82 engine. You need to determine if your disty is spinning. take off the cap, and crank over the engine. Does the rotor turn? if not, you have a busted timing belt. Check this before beating your head against the wall chasing a no spark. Awesome, you're answering both of our questions. That's the car though. I'll go outside and check that now. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 yeah the rotor doesn't spin. Looks like I have a job ahead of me guys! The only auto parts store in town is NAPA and they're known for giving wrong parts. Anyone know the part # so this doesn't happen? I hate working on something, getting it all torn down, open the new part box and it's the wrong one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) Do what Gloyale said first. *Edit* Nevermind, you did. Just order timing belts for any 80's subaru. They're all the same. Check the idler pulleys and make sure they are perfect, or just replace them. Edited February 16, 2010 by Nug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Do what Gloyale said first. *Edit* Nevermind, you did. Just order timing belts for any 80's subaru. They're all the same. Check the idler pulleys and make sure they are perfect, or just replace them. Yeah my dad was telling me about the idler pulleys. What about a good manual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Yeah my dad was telling me about the idler pulleys. What about a good manual? There should be a good writeup on it in the USRM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 There should be a good writeup on it in the USRM. thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerandt Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I have a Chilton's and then also a set of service manuals by Subaru, but will mention that this site is your best resource by far. This site is a gold mine of information if one only takes the time to dig. I also recommend watching The Art of Subaru Maintenance on Youtube.com (thanks Miles!). It really helped me visualize some of the key steps. Here's one to start with. Also the one timing belt procedure; http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50768 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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