musubk Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 (edited) I'm having a problem with the EA71 in my 1977 wagon. I had the car running on a new Weber carb and was using it as a daily driver for about two weeks. The clutch was slipping and there was some oil leaking so I pulled the engine to install a new clutch and oil seals, now since reinstalling the engine I can't get it running again. When I try to start it, it fires right up as if there's no problem, then somewhere within 5 to 20 seconds it suddenly slows down and dies. It kind of sounds like it's running out of fuel, but there is fuel in the tank. The only other thing I did while the engine was out, is remove the EGR pipe and cap the vacuum port on the EGR valve, and I removed the 'vacuum control valve' because I think it only was used for EGR. I have just enough time to check the timing with a light before it dies and the timing looks good. Any ideas what my problem might be? Edited October 30, 2018 by musubk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musubk Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 I've been searching and I found some posts saying the fuel pump might be shutting off because either the alternator or the voltage regulator is bad. Both of those parts were replaced this summer but I guess I could try hotwiring the fuel pump and see if the problem goes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Good man !!! You searched archives and found the issue and are about to confirm. Man if we all were like you the world would be smooth creamy and delicious. Lol Store bought alternators generally crap out fairly quickly. Even straight out of the box at times ! Let us know what you’ve found. Find that receipt or hopefully it’s on their computer and you have a warranty. It’s just a fact of life owning these old cars with no more dealer parts. So use their warranty and get a fresh one. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Moosens couldn't be more correct about the alternator, i''ve gone through 4 alternators, 3 fuel pumps and 2 regulators in a year and a half, it's a good thing they have lifetime warranty, Oreilly's is loving me im telling you. what i would do is diagnose alittle before doing all this at the same time. -try blowing some air through the fuel line from the engine side to the fuel tank, in that direction, then start the vehicle up, if it dies in a few seconds again, -disconnect the fuel line connecting to the fuel pump (which my bet is on the fuel pump) and let it pour into a container of sorts, let if run for as long as the engine lasts for, there should be a steady stream of fuel, not drips every so often, -i doubt it's the regulator, i've had my subaru run at 7.3volts before, starting with a full battery you can pretty much drive the vehicle for a few days as long as you don't have the A/C or radio on or headlights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musubk Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 (edited) I don't think I'll have time to diagnose tonight, but tomorrow I'll get back to it and figure out if it's the alternator or possibly the pump. Are there any alternators that tend to last longer, or should I just buy whatever I can get and expect to replace it often? Edited October 30, 2018 by musubk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 It’s a tough world these days for finding quality parts for cars this old. Pretty much go with what you can find , but search for that elusive quality part as you go. Sometimes old stock shows up but as for alternators I haven’t seen an original in new form for many years now. Old schoolers like me are ok with Beck-Arnley parts because you’d often open it up and find a genuine Subaru part inside , or at least get a quality made part which fit correctly. I should still have at least a couple used and even a reman or two as well. Sold one about a year ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musubk Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Well she runs just fine with a hotwired fuel pump, but the 'charge' light on the dash stays lit. I guess that confirms it's new alternator time. I also found a lot of arcing from the coil tower to the +/- terminals on the coil. I'm actually really impressed though. The car hasn't run in more than a month and it's been pretty cold here lately - around 5F last night and today's high was still below freezing - but it started up pretty much instantly. Edited November 2, 2018 by musubk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 10 hours ago, musubk said: Well she runs just fine with a hotwired fuel pump, but the 'charge' light on the dash stays lit. I guess that confirms it's new alternator time. I also found a lot of arcing from the coil tower to the +/- terminals on the coil. same with mine, not sure why every EA71 i've come across never has power to the wire where it's suppose to feed to the fuel pump, i just tap in where the ignition coil gets it's power from. that charge light is actually fairly accurate, trust it, if it's on, something isn't right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musubk Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 Well this is embarrassing. It turns out there was nothing wrong with the alternator at all, I just forgot to plug it back in after reinstalling the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musubk Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 Now there's a horrible squealing noise coming from the bellhousing. It goes away when the clutch cable is slack but starts if I tighten it up, and changes when I hit the clutch pedal. Throwout bearing? It's a new bearing though. Maybe it didn't get seated correctly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 9 hours ago, musubk said: Now there's a horrible squealing noise coming from the bellhousing. It goes away when the clutch cable is slack but starts if I tighten it up, and changes when I hit the clutch pedal. Throwout bearing? It's a new bearing though. Maybe it didn't get seated correctly? probably damaged it when installing it, happened to me once 2 years ago, when it's installed, put your pinky finger in there and turn it and feel for any bumps, gosh that sounded weird, anyways it should be perfectly smooth with no imperfections, they're very delicate, try tapping it in next time only by the outside ring of the bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 11 hours ago, musubk said: Well this is embarrassing. It turns out there was nothing wrong with the alternator at all, I just forgot to plug it back in after reinstalling the engine. it always happens to me with the ground spade terminal plug, this is the only vehicle i have that has that extra plug, always forget when i take it apart to get to something else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musubk Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 6 hours ago, Subasaurus said: probably damaged it when installing it, happened to me once 2 years ago, when it's installed, put your pinky finger in there and turn it and feel for any bumps, gosh that sounded weird, anyways it should be perfectly smooth with no imperfections, they're very delicate, try tapping it in next time only by the outside ring of the bearing. That seems likely. It was a tight fit and I used a hammer and punch tapping around the edges to get it seated, and accidentally seated it too far and had to tap it back out a bit too. Maybe when I get it back out I'll just take it to a shop with a press and pay a few bucks to have them swap the bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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