I know this is not the correct forum, but this one get a lot more traffic than the Historic one. And I really need some help....

This car is really getting on my nerves. Driving to work this morning, rolling along the freeway at 70 mph, everything is fine, then blehhh! All of the sudden the car acts like it has no power. I don't know exactly how to describe it. It just kinda bogs down really bad.

So anyway, I get off the freeway and into a hotel parking lot, and it is just running like crap. Doesn't want to idle by itself, have to keep feathering the gas pedal to keep it running. Goes on like this for about 5 minutes. Then it starts running okay but not great, but good enough so that I can get back on the road and to the parking lot at work which was only about a mile and a half away. WTF?!?!?!?!?

Any ideas what I should check?

Could be several things but here's a few. If you've got junk floating around in the carb, that can happen. Water in the fuel. Bad disty shaft, though usually that doesn't come and go. A coil going bad, bad connection or ground. And one that is overlooked and recently bit me in the butt.... A bad CAT. If it still has one, it can do this. I fought mine for almost a week with the same symptoms. Part of the core was broke and would flop around inside and plug up the exhaust. I found out it only takes around 1psi of backpressure to bog a Subie down. No CAT, no problem.

What carb are you running? Has it been cleaned/rebuilt ever?

 

Could be igntion related - how's the distributor shaft play? Electronic or point/condensor inside?

 

Check the coil resistance on primary/secondary windings?

 

GD

Could be several things but here's a few. If you've got junk floating around in the carb, that can happen. Water in the fuel. Bad disty shaft, though usually that doesn't come and go. A coil going bad, bad connection or ground. And one that is overlooked and recently bit me in the butt.... A bad CAT. If it still has one, it can do this. I fought mine for almost a week with the same symptoms. Part of the core was broke and would flop around inside and plug up the exhaust. I found out it only takes around 1psi of backpressure to bog a Subie down. No CAT, no problem.

 

I have checked the carb several times for this, and can't find anything unusual. As for the coil and such, I just got it back from the mechanics shop where they checked all that stuff and said it was okay. But I know that doesn't mean it isn't bad now.

 

Does it have a CAT? Darn good question. I 've never actually looked under there myself to see. I'll have to ask the BF, he's the one that usually does the under car stuff.

 

What carb are you running? Has it been cleaned/rebuilt ever? GD

 

It's the original Hitachi. I had it rebuilt about 3 years ago by a carb shop, I was too chicken to try it myself.

 

GD

Could be igntion related - how's the distributor shaft play? Electronic or point/condensor inside? GD

 

No play in the disty, electronic.

 

GDCheck the coil resistance on primary/secondary windings? GD

 

Not sure what this means, but I'm sure I can look it up in one of the books I have.

 

Thanks guys, you've given me some things to look at, but I really am about a nano second away from selling it and letting someone with a little more knowledge and patience deal with it.

Thanks again,

Bobby

Did some more checking on the things you guys suggested. Guess what I found? The shaft in the dusty has some play in it. So,

I guess the question now is...where do I get new bushings, or a new distributor? I will do a search, but I thought I would ask here first. Thanks a bunch for the help,

Bobby

How much play? That could defnitely be causing some of those symptoms.

 

You can find a used one through the "wanted" section of the board and then send it to these guys:

 

www.philbingroup.com

 

They can rebuild and test it out, etc and the price is generally cheaper than a reman from the usual sources. Rockauto has reman housings with vac cans (no module) for $115 if you wanted to swap your module over.

 

The bushings are tricky to install and require that the old one's be machined out I'm told. I wouldn't try that yourself.

 

GD

Did some more checking on the things you guys suggested. Guess what I found? The shaft in the dusty has some play in it. So,

I guess the question now is...where do I get new bushings, or a new distributor? I will do a search, but I thought I would ask here first. Thanks a bunch for the help,

Bobby

 

 

 

eBay. One seller had remans for the price of dirt. Or send yours out for about $45 plus shipping but you're going to get the same deal in the remans and the current seller was blowing them out for like $30 or so !

 

WHOA!!!! look at the price now! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1977-78-79-SUBARU-1600-DL-GF-BRAT-1-6-REMAN-DISTRIBUTOR-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ350220572063QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

I've already gotten mine - paid a few bucks more but I ain't cryin' over it.

 

Good luck,Bobby.

 

 

 

Edit - just noticed after posting that this is for a Calif. MT but look thru their stock or contact them. I got one for 4WD - 49 States - non Calif. and I'm sure you'll score one too.

 

 

That Calif. model is e'tron - no points.

Edited August 24, 201015 yr by moosens

Thanks guys. I talked to Roger the Subaru Genius (my mechanic) last night, and he said that if I can get new bushings, he knows what needs to be done to get it working again.

I guess he has done the procedure many times during his career..

So I guess I will get the bushings and let him have at it. I don't have access to a timing light or anything anyway, so it will be best to let him do it all.

At least this way if it doesn't work right, I have someone else to blame....

Thanks again for the help..

Bobby