DaveS Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Thanks for all the help you've given me the past two weeks as I've worked to bring a '87' GL five-speed wagon back to life. Blew the head gasket and still drove the beast 60 miles over a mt pass back home. I've got it back together but I've a few questions: What is the likely cause of my stuttering/dying? Dirty fuel filter or maybe a vacuum line got mixed-up when I put everything back together? I'm not sure. I'm guessing it's a dirty fuel filter because it was colder than a witch's mammary gland who' lying face down in the snow today (perfect time to test drive) and I ran out of gas (been cold for a few days and the thing sat with an empty tank). In the shop it ran pretty swell, but it was warm there so Hmmm? If I did cross a vacuum line (I think I have them right), would it cause stuttering and the such? Also, I thought my oil pressure would be better than before installing the new gaskets, but it's not. At least not at top RPM... at stop signs it is reading higher than before. I wonder if it was reading high because the 'o' rings between the heads and the cam towers were shriveled up and partially blocking the oil passage? Or maybe I screwed something up? Or maybe a hunk of dirt is partially blocking the oil sending unit's input? At start up it read well over the 45lb mark on the car's oil pressure gage, but dropped down to below the 45lb mark when I drove it around. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Welcome! More Background info is Needed in order to Properly Help You, info like: ► Is your Subie Fuel Injected or is Carburated? ► Which Kind of Oil (SAE Number) Are you using on it? Kind Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Oops! It's got a carb and I'm using 10/40 like I did before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Carburator, huh? ... so these might be Keywords: ... and I ran out of gas... It could "Swallowed" Dirt to the Carb, but also... ... If I did cross a vacuum line (I think I have them right), would it cause stuttering and the such? ... ...yes, there are some hoses that originally should go from the carb to the carbon canister, if you cross them, sometimes the engine will run for a while and then it stops... You can test if that is the culprit, by capping closed temporary all the vacuum ports and see if the engine works. Kind Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 I'm pretty sure the fuel filter is the problem... and I never disconnected the canister, so I don't think those are the issue. Yeah, the real key words; 15 degrees f today as I was test driving and cold like that for the past ten days the car has been sitting outside with an almost empty gas tank. I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of condensation that snuck in there and is probably causing the problem. I just wanted to see what you nice folks thought. Sometimes there is a little thing that makes a huge difference and so I thought I'd see what folks more knowledgeable thought. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Don't forget about the fuel filter at the pump under the car just ahead of the passenger side wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 That's the one I think need the replacing. Should have done it while the car was on my buddy's lift, but I was too 'busy' to stop by the parts store. Woe be me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 and Mr Fox, thanks for the useful video on setting your timing belts and your distributer... though I forget to do the second rotation before installing the distributer and I had it set 180 degrees off. Easy fix (thankfully). But your instructions were very helpful and I'll never pay to replace timing belts again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 You are very welcome. I made the videos so something would be there when people are 'looking it up' I advocate that subarus are a good example to learn how to work on cars with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Dirty fuel filter it was. Thank the Subaru Gods... (or whomever) In reply to Mr Fox; my dad was a mechanic, and as a child I did as much as I could to avoid following in his footsteps. Unfortunately I chose both my early career and early cars to be incompatible; I drove a lot for a job that paid practically nothing, and I was doing it in an '69 vw bus. So, to make a long story longer, I was forced to be mechanical despite my attempt to avoid it. Funny how the world works. After my second bus broke down in a – I won't call it miserable because there were some nice folks there who helped me out – but it is the flag stone capital of the world. Ashfork, AZ was where I was stuck for two weeks trying to locate a running vw engine that I could afford. That was the last vw straw for me and I swore off the beast unless I were to win millions and was surfing again... but that's not something I waste a lot of time dreaming about. The Suby engine reminds me a little of those old days, except the repairs seem to last much longer. Thanks for the help, and for this awesome website! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 I think I've finally got the GL running right... had a couple of mixed-up vacuum tubes, which were a bit of the problem, but the main issue giving me grief was I needed to set the idle up a couple hundred RPM. Amazing the difference in how it preforms at low speed with the idle set properly. Also splurged on a set of new plug wires and that helped quite a bit too. The oil pressure problem was mainly the fact the wire from the sender was scraping against the main pulley (oops) but also I realized I used 5/30 wt oil in the engine for the first oil change. It's been so cold I figured that was a wise choice. With that oil I also added half a bottle of Lucas oil conditioner, just in case, and I'll use 10/40 when I change the oil in another couple hundred break-in miles. The oil pressure gauge is no longer a source of my angst. It runs much better... I even retraced the trip I did when the head gasket blew and no problems. In fact my milage is up around 30 per gallon (from maybe 24 before) and I don't seem to be using any fluids. What am I going to do if I'm not always checking the oil and water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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