Hello. Today I took my 1983 Subaru GL with a 3AT with an EA8T engine on the dunes. It did really well, then I went down a hill messed around and then tried top get back up this hill, 2 hours later ,driving the heat gauge to 1/8" under the max mark, and having a "A.T. Oil Temp" light come on all the time, I got out. THen the car started to idle high(around 6700RPM), but that was just a stuck valve.

OK my problem is when I get to 4000RPM in 1rst it starts bogging and spazzing out, then in 2nd at 3000rpm it spazzes and in 3rd at 2300RPM is craps out. It's like chugging and revving up then down. I haven't had a chance to look at any problems. but at 800rpm it's timed 11deg BTDC. This only happend after i took it in the sand. THere was a lot of bouncing and jarring, along with high revs and bogs. I was thinking it was the govenor, but I don't have the chance to look till tomorrow.

SPREAD IT ON (The suggestions) THANKS!

What kind of exhaust are you running? If you got it that hot (there could be other issues here also) I tend to think the cat might have fried.

Well, I took my muffler off. How do I know if I fried my CAT?

If there is a lack of air coming out of the pipe then it could be plugged.

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You can pull the O2 sensor out and that will also tell you if the cat is bad.

How will pulling the s3ensor out tell me if the cat is bad?

It will release any exhaust that is backed up by the cat. If there is no change in the way it runs, then the cat is not the problem. Like I said in my first post, there could be other issues here. You severely abused the car and if you didnt also blow a head gasket, I would be real surprised. A compression test will tell you if there is a HG problem. Check the oil for moisture, and the coolant for oil. These trannies are notoriuos for going dead, so this could be another problem. So you have your work cut out for you.

Yeah, didn't work. Pulled the plug where the sensor should be, and it still did the same. I had a tip that it could be the tranny filter, gunna have to flush tranny and check/replace filter and fluid...any other tips?

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Start looking for a 5spd D/R tranny.

HAH I expected this

I would check the compression and stuff before tearing out and swapping the tranny. But any excuse is a good one to do it.

Go figure, it was the fuel filters, now I think the CAT is clogged, I tried bangin it out, but gave up and slapped her back on DANG IT! THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP!

I cut the CAT and took all the guts out and welded it back together. now I ordered the Flowmaster for it

Sand in the fuel lines and in the carb is the #1 problem we encounter on the dunes. Most of the cars we bring have an extra see-through plastic fuel filter just before the carb so you can see how well the fuel is flowing without taking anything apart.

 

For sand in the carb, we have aftermarket air filters and put women's nylons over the air filter so the filter does not get clogged right away. Some people RTV the filter in place to keep the sand from sneaking around it.

 

To avoid the overheating problem in the future you need to upgrade your tires. I know that most older gen Subaru drivers are frugal, but you will have a lot more fun if you put a little money into a set of tires that provide better floatation on the sand. A tire that does not help the car stay on top of the sand wears out the engine because you are effectively digging a hole in front of the tire the whole time. If your tires roll on top of the sand your engine is not overworked.

 

The most affordable way to do this is to get a set of 8" or 10" wide tires with soft side walls and run them at 3 or 4 psi. BFG All Terrains work great, a friend uses them on a 2wd car and gets around on the sand great.

 

Most people don't want to listen when it comes to using very low tire pressure, but it is the #1 most important thing you can do to keep from getting stuck and to be nicer to your engine.

 

The next time you go out, stop and take a picture of your car in the sand (in the soft stuff, not the hard packed wet stuff) and a picture of your tire prints. If you leave tire tracks more than 1.5" deep, you need to address tire floatation.

What kind of filters do you use, i've looked for some holley triangles...no luck.. I'll take a picture of the cars and check the tire prints. This 4rth of july weekend, i took my sube back out on the sand... she did awesome. No problems. But I only aired down to 20 PSI and the tranny temp light came on after about 45 mins. I actually had to put it in 2nd gear...that's the fastest the car has been on the sand...of course the hard stuff.