Muffinland Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Hey I've been having a few issues with my performance on the highway since I bought my 83 GL Wagon 4WD. The issue is that the engine is very unhappy in 3rd and 4th gear. I was totally convinced that it was the winter weather of Michigan holding the engine back at higher speeds, but today we hit 70 degrees F and the engine still drove rough. The engine will almost always go up to redline in 1st and 2nd gear while I'm hopping on the highway, but once I hit 60 mph today, the engine refused to go over. However, it was only a few days ago where after work it was about 50 degrees and on my way south, the speed was incredible compared to today. It hit the end of the speedometer. Yes, this is a teeny bit over the limit, but I'm just trying to find an average here. The crazy thing is, is that on my way back north the engine was struggling in the 60-65 range. Why is my engine so inconsistent? Is this just the nature of the beast? Or is there a junk part somewhere? Thanks for reading and any answers I receive. If I'm not specific enough, just ask and I'll try to give more details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyeights Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Have you tried changing the fuel filter by the tank underneath? Often times it gets overlooked until it's nearly plugged up solid. It might be all covered up with years of mud and be hard to find. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Also sounds like time for a Carburetor Cleansing... Dirty carbs are Temperamental. Kind Regards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Are you the original owner? If not, did the previous owner have same troubles ? May be the reason they sold it and only let you test drive it in a southerly direction Might sound harsh, but instead of you asking everyone what it could be, can you tell us what you have done to it since buying - seeing as though your troubles only started since then. And if you have done nothing, previous owner done nothing - you are in for a bit of work and few parts to buy Has it got a cat converter that early ? They can cause some weird intermittent power losses..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muffinland Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 Are you the original owner? If not, did the previous owner have same troubles ? May be the reason they sold it and only let you test drive it in a southerly direction Might sound harsh, but instead of you asking everyone what it could be, can you tell us what you have done to it since buying - seeing as though your troubles only started since then. And if you have done nothing, previous owner done nothing - you are in for a bit of work and few parts to buy Has it got a cat converter that early ? They can cause some weird intermittent power losses..... Unfortinetly Im not the original owner. so far I've gotten a new exhaust from cat converter to the muffler and thats all regarding the engine. I have slightly touched the carbs fuel mixture, but I only went about half a turn, and that improved my performance, it didnt hinder it. Thanks for the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muffinland Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 Also sounds like time for a Carburetor Cleansing... Dirty carbs are Temperamental. Kind Regards. Sorry if this sounds silly, but are Hitachi's hard to clean? I've only ever messed with lawnmowers. I'll also need new gaskets, correct? Thanks for reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muffinland Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 Have you tried changing the fuel filter by the tank underneath? Often times it gets overlooked until it's nearly plugged up solid. It might be all covered up with years of mud and be hard to find. Good Luck My instructor for my school said that the fuel filter was in the top right of the engine bay. It's also see-thru and looks fairly new. I may still give it a try. Thanks for the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyeights Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 The instructor is half right. Please, if you ask someone for help then perhaps you should actually LISTEN. There is ANOTHER fuel filter that gets MISSED. It is back underneath the car and no one ever changes it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 The instructor is half right. Please, if you ask someone for help then perhaps you should actually LISTEN. There is ANOTHER fuel filter that gets MISSED. It is back underneath the car and no one ever changes it. +1 Change BOTH filters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Check plug wires, cap, and rotor. My Brat would start off fine, but would struggle to get to/maintain highway speeds. turned out to be a fried wire at the disty cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/127820-ea81-rear-fuel-line-routing-need-pics/ That thread has info you need. Post #6 has EA82 fuel pump and filter. Post #7 has EA81 fuel pump and filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muffinland Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 The instructor is half right. Please, if you ask someone for help then perhaps you should actually LISTEN. There is ANOTHER fuel filter that gets MISSED. It is back underneath the car and no one ever changes it. Sorry, I just never heard of a car with 2 fuel filters. Everything I've worked on has had one. How common is the dual filter setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapper 157 Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 (edited) Sorry if this sounds silly, but are Hitachi's hard to clean? I've only ever messed with lawnmowers. I'll also need new gaskets, correct? Thanks for reply To put it bluntly, Hitachis are a living hell of small parts and vacuum tubes. So yes they are hard to clean. Try sparying carb cleaner down the throat to see if that will help before you go in there. And when you do, make sure you have a clean station to take it apart on. and I recommend having a fellow mechanically inclined friend to help you, that way you have two pairs of eyes on eveything. Take it slow too. If you try to rush it you'll mess something up. Buy a rebuild kit too. (I recommended Walker kits) If you can get it tuned correctly, these carbs can be very reliable. Just don't rush, always refer to the diagram (or USMB) if you get lost, and you'll come out of the the carb rebuild on top. God speed. Edited May 2, 2015 by Sapper 157 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapper 157 Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Also sounds like time for a Carburetor Cleansing... Dirty carbs are Temperamental. Kind Regards. To quote you Loyale 2.7, "fuel injection is a science, carburetion is an art." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 (edited) OK, so you are young, cute and still at school then, and advancing from simple lawnmowers to a four pot boxer? We'll have to go a bit softer on you then I only thought BRATs /Brumbys got the two fuel filters. I think the rear is just before the fuel pump, not just after it, down left hand side rear wheel if your fuel pump is not up on lhs front near bonnet hinge. When it is not performing at its best, is it actually giving you any symptoms other than just not ripping along ? Like a miss or sputter ? Many searches may prove fruitless other than on gogle and give you a new door into many posts. Most wil say give it a full service. I say, pull spark plugs, pull ignition fuse, which is also fuel pump fuse I think. Do a compression test of all cylinders, foot to floor while cranking each time - then tell us what you got. For non turbo EA81 you'd see 160 to 190 psi in good order. Do it engine cold, then back together, warm it up, plugs out, do it at engine operating temp, see if it improves 10 psi or so. You could go off and replace each tune component at atime, see if you can catch what improves things if at all. Tell us if you stay with same grade fuel, buy from same place. Inside dizzy is mechanical advance bits affecting timing. Sometimes they can fall apart, break bits that may then catch, work intermittently I did have an EA81 that was peepy one day, bit sluggish another - it was a hydraulic liftered unit as opposed to the solids I have run since. Waiting on your comp test - a very good first off basic check that can reveal heaps. You could have a valve guide that has worn oddly, allowing a valve to go off centre for southerly directions, back in place on northerly direction (joke Joyce) I ought a dud EA82 engine that had a mystery, think I found it on dissembly ..lots of things can cause lotsa problems. as for cleaning a carb - there is stuff called carby cleaner that you spray inside its throats with air filter off and engine running and following all safety directions of product - it is flammable stuff- spray it on a spark somewhere under bonnet or hot exhaust and you may set fire not only to the engine bay, the car, the shed, house, trees or entire town around you so you need to be smart and careful how you go about it. the carb cleaner is a solvent and can work its way into small air beed jest, other tiny holes and free up some operations, not require a rebuild if this fixes problem Edited May 2, 2015 by jono Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muffinland Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 OK, so you are young, cute and still at school then, and advancing from simple lawnmowers to a four pot boxer? We'll have to go a bit softer on you then I only thought BRATs /Brumbys got the two fuel filters. I think the rear is just before the fuel pump, not just after it, down left hand side rear wheel if your fuel pump is not up on lhs front near bonnet hinge. When it is not performing at its best, is it actually giving you any symptoms other than just not ripping along ? Like a miss or sputter ? Many searches may prove fruitless other than on gogle and give you a new door into many posts. Most wil say give it a full service. I say, pull spark plugs, pull ignition fuse, which is also fuel pump fuse I think. Do a compression test of all cylinders, foot to floor while cranking each time - then tell us what you got. For non turbo EA81 you'd see 160 to 190 psi in good order. Do it engine cold, then back together, warm it up, plugs out, do it at engine operating temp, see if it improves 10 psi or so. You could go off and replace each tune component at atime, see if you can catch what improves things if at all. Tell us if you stay with same grade fuel, buy from same place. Inside dizzy is mechanical advance bits affecting timing. Sometimes they can fall apart, break bits that may then catch, work intermittently I did have an EA81 that was peepy one day, bit sluggish another - it was a hydraulic liftered unit as opposed to the solids I have run since. Waiting on your comp test - a very good first off basic check that can reveal heaps. You could have a valve guide that has worn oddly, allowing a valve to go off centre for southerly directions, back in place on northerly direction (joke Joyce) I ought a dud EA82 engine that had a mystery, think I found it on dissembly ..lots of things can cause lotsa problems. as for cleaning a carb - there is stuff called carby cleaner that you spray inside its throats with air filter off and engine running and following all safety directions of product - it is flammable stuff- spray it on a spark somewhere under bonnet or hot exhaust and you may set fire not only to the engine bay, the car, the shed, house, trees or entire town around you so you need to be smart and careful how you go about it. the carb cleaner is a solvent and can work its way into small air beed jest, other tiny holes and free up some operations, not require a rebuild if this fixes problem Symptoms include when I lift off, it rattles a little bit and will give off little pops (sound like really quiet backfires). Symptoms for when I'm attempting full throttle at operating temp in 4th gear are a missing sound. It doesn't even sound like its igniting. It will give the normal sound of a WOT and combustion and then all of the noise stops and it takes me down until I lift off the throttle. Cap and rotor look very new, points are barely worn. The spark plugs look as new as the cap, rotor, and wires. I do know that some spark plugs can come bad, or if they're dropped then they are as good as done. Today I also learned that the car probably had either a bad fuel pressure regulator or it was converted from mechanical to electric. There is a very shiny bit that is zip tied to some tubes in the engine. As for fuel I was told to try 89 octane and I'm sure that that is what the GL is running on now. Looked it up and the article said that after long amounts of years without rebuilds, engines get carbon buildup and may need higher octane. How do I know if I have hydro lifters or solid? I'll have the compression test done by Monday, hopefully. Thanks very much for all of the suggestions. This helps a ton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 To quote you Loyale 2.7, "fuel injection is a science, carburetion is an art." Yes, exactly. To put it bluntly, Hitachis are a living hell of small parts and vacuum tubes. So yes they are hard to clean... Yes, also you can mistakenly change sides' parts... and after many disassemblies and reassemblies, they get loose and fail more often... Those are some of the Reasons why I swapped a Weber Carburetor instead of the Craptachi. Kind Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coxy Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Hitachi carbs are renowned as one of the better carburettors for off road use something to ponder, Webers are good in some ways not so good in others ever had the external unfiltered primary air bleeds in a Weber downdraught carburettor block up not fun. I agree Walker Carburettor kits and not to mention all the other small oddball parts they supply such as Anti Dieseling valves, power valves, various replacement diaphragms jets ect they really supply most anything to rebuild a carburettor properly. Seems everyone complaining about Hitachi carburettors forgets most of them did many tens of thousands of trouble free miles before they started playing up, Much like the much detested EA 82 surely those were reliable when much newer, Seems we all forget when something gets older it may just need a little more than a basic cursory glance and tickle up to bring things back to reliable working standard. At least with early cars it is actually possible to fix things without taking out a second mortgage. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) the new exhaust, did that include replacing the cat or was it not replaced? as cats can make a blody racket of a rattle at times, maybe go quiet when they block the free flow of the outlet. The Y pipes then sound shocking if cat material been shook out !t Rule of thumb for hydro or solid was the adjusters on the tappets - anti tamper looking for hydraulic. Expect yours to be solids if as old as car points dizzy eh ? Edited May 3, 2015 by jono Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muffinland Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 the new exhaust, did that include replacing the cat or was it not replaced? as cats can make a blody racket of a rattle at times, maybe go quiet when they block the free flow of the outlet. The Y pipes then sound shocking if cat material been shook out !t Rule of thumb for hydro or solid was the adjusters on the tappets - anti tamper looking for hydraulic. Expect yours to be solids if as old as car points dizzy eh ? The cat was not replaced, only the piping, resonator, and muffler behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 ... Seems everyone complaining about Hitachi carburettors forgets most of them did many tens of thousands of trouble free miles before they started playing up, Much like the much detested EA 82 surely those were reliable when much newer, Seems we all forget when something gets older it may just need a little more than a basic cursory glance and tickle up to bring things back to reliable working standard. At least with early cars it is actually possible to fix things without taking out a second mortgage. Well said Sir. Kind Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Question for the MuffinMan .... does your tach jump all over the place when you try to reach WOT? if so, I'd put my $ on the disty. You got any spare parts up there? Know anyone with a similar disty you can swap? Hopefully, you have replaced the rear fuel filter by now... it's been how many days? If you plan on owning a 1983 Soob, then you should plan on doing at least $300 in maintenance parts. And yes, you will do the work yourself. Then, your Soob will run another 30 years. Get a $20 multimeter and learn how to use it. You can check plug wires, coils, resistance, continutity, 12volt and grounds. This forum is a goldmine of information .... if you choose to learn. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.•°}{°•.Jįhąbąrų.•°}{°•. Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 These Topics Are So Old! But, The Exact Issue I Am Having. The Tachometer, "Surging¿" wth Causes That? On That Note, I Can Hear The Distributor Making, Almost Like A Grinding/Surging Noise?! Been At This For 2 Weeks Straight! REALLY NEED HELP! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steptoe Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Well, what level of skill have you got? Rather than try test bits, you could try throwing a complete set of tune up bits at it and hope for the best. Pull dizzy cap off and peek inside, tell us what you find. Compression test also helps share info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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