So my soob is a pile. it runs like absolute poop, no midrange power, sometimes hitting the gas means the car dies, idles at 100 rpm, unless i sit on the accelerator for 5 minutes, and the breaks are not responsive at all. I don't know what to do. I've changed the plugs and wires, made sure there no vacuum leaks, over and over and over again. I tore out the altitute compensator, which helped a tiny bit, I just recently busted all my knuckles trying to take out my cat converter, ripped it open and it was clean. It has a new battery, a new coil, clean air filter. So what do I try next? i'm about to put in a new oil pump because this one sucks and I'm leaking. plus almost no oil pressure which i hear may be normal, but just to be safe. if anyone has anything I should try, please help me out. Thanks!

 

I took out the radiator so that I can put my new pump in. Though I doubt the pics will help, at least it's something to look at.

 

kevlar

 

i dont' know anything about carbs unless they go in my mouth, but how old is yours? any adjustments/cleaning help it out?

it sounds like a carb problem to me.

 

 

i have to say tho, that motor is CLEAN

And almost no rust in the engine compartment.

did you change the other fuel filter, by the fuel pump??

the idle adjust screw is long, in about the middle of the air box, underneath it

, and the breaks are not responcive at all.

 

Still sounds like a vac issue to me. Unless there's something else wrong with your brakes, and it's totally unrelated. Is is possible your booster is shot?

I want to agree with hodaka rider.

 

With engine off, pump the brake pedal maybe 10 times. This will insure that the booster has used any vacuum stored.

Now, with you foot on the brake pedal, start the engine. If the pedal falls away from your foot, ( so to speak), chances are the booster is good. If the pedal doesn't move any, booster diaphram is shot. Hence poor brakes, and lousy running engine.. Blown booster diaphram is a major vacuum leak.....

Sounds like the carb needs to be cleaned, rebuilt or replaced. You may need a carb base plate gasket or the base plate could be loose. Could even be as simple as a cracked vacuum line. The altitude compensation valve is neccessary in your area. The air is thinner and the valve compensates for it. Sounds like you need to find a shop that knows Subaru's.

 

 

The brake issue is due to poorly adjusted rear brakes.

alright, FYI we've cleaned the carb real well twice. Also, our fuel pumps have been changed as well. I can assure you that there are no vacuum leaks as far as I can tell from the engine, but i never even thought about the booster. is this a common enough problem that I can hope that thats it? I've got my radiator and my cat converter laying on the garage floor still and I need to put that crap back together before I can check that booster, but that's a fab idea thanks a lot. I still don't have an emissions sticker for my car, and I chiseled out my cat converter i hope it wont effect it too much. Do you honestly think I should put my altitude compensator back on if i can get this car running ok?

kevlar

You should probably change your ignition coil too. It looks like it's pretty old.

well, the guy who GAVE me this car said he changed the coil not to long ago. It's got good spark, so I don't think thats an issue.

Man ... that car is way too nice ...errrr I mean it MUST be junk ... just sell it to me cheap!

 

J/K!! :-p

 

The EA81 is pretty bullet proof, I would say there is a problem with the carb tho, it's an Hitachi!!

 

I fought with my Hitachi for a month or so, cleaning it (I'm an ex motorcycle mechanic so I really mean clean ), replacing idle solenoids, and I finnally realized for all the trouble I was going through, I could be ahead in time and money by getting a weber.

 

What a difference!! I got more power AND mileage!

 

I would look into that booster tho, I haven't had that problem myself, but I'd trust these guys they know their stuff!

 

btw ... what year and model car? more pics! lets see the rest of this clean car!

Qman mentioned the base plate gasket. I would not over look this. Its worth checking.

It's an 84gl 4wd hatchback. The back seat is all tore up on the top, and the dash is cracked from sitting in the sun for the last 5 years with no use. I'll get some pictures tomorrow if we manage to put this exaust back together. I could give ya some pics as it sits in the shop if you REALLY want. haha.

 

Anyway, back to busines....I want to get a holley webber for it, but i'd really like to see if i can get this thing to work first. why dump $400 on a car that i can't fix? what if it's not a vacuum problem ? :-(

base plate gasket? sure, i'll go check that here soon. Thanks.

Anyway, back to busines....I want to get a holley webber for it, but i'd really like to see if i can get this thing to work first. why dump $400 on a car that i can't fix? what if it's not a vacuum problem ? :-(

 

Man, the hatch is the best for an off-road lifted ride, it has the short wheel base and you can get seats and dash boards pretty easy, but no WAY would I pay $400 for a carb ... there was just some post about rebuilt webers for $65 ... I got mine from Edrach on this board ... all I had to do was buy a kit, an adaptor plate and just goto carbsunlimited.com for the stuff your local parts store most likely won't even know that carb exsists! ... the only quark of these carbs that I have found is that they don't deal well with the ethenol in the gas too well, just replaced a powervalve that was only 6 mons old, but nothing major, you should be into a weber for less than $100 for everything .. trust me ... you WON'T regret that ... and get yourself a lift, super swampers and a LSD rear end and have some real fun :cool:

right, so the base plate gasket is in fine condition. nothing to worry about there. So you think I can get a webber and everything I need for around $100? because, that's not a bad deal. and that would probably take care of this garbage! and yeah, I'm all about getting a lift for this. I'm just worried that it might not pass emissions with a webber and no cat converter.

So here are some more pics. I'll be working on the soob some more tonight, going to replace that oil pump, put the exaust back on, put the radiator back on, and going to test out that booster. wish me luck!!!

 

I ripped off the grill because i needed to get to the pump.

 

hey, i pmed you

I think it's the Honda banner in the background...it's bad Mojo for Subarus...Honda ATVs and Dirt Bikes on the other hand are awesome...but Honda cars...I think the Sube feels out of place.

damn what I would pay for a hatch in that shape!!!! $$$$$$$$$$$$

I'll get some pictures tomorrow if we manage to put this exaust back together.

 

I hope this isnt a dumb question but are you running it without the exhaust right now? Cause if thats the case that could be a big part of your problem or the whole problem. These cars are designed to run on a certain amount of backpressure. If you are running it without the exhaust or a big portion of it the it wont run right. Just a thought though it might be way off.

hatchsub is totally correct.there needs to be a certain amount of backpressure to make it run properly.i had my y-pipe completely off and was fiddling around with the carb to no avail.as soon as i put it back on i was able to tune it as best as you can a hitachi.at the least i wo9uld check the brake booster first and if it is good i would just rebuild the hitachi.the kit is like thirty five bucks and it is relatively simple if you just sit down and do it.but like i said, sit down and do it,it is not for several sit downs.....you will get lost if you walk away from it for more than an hour.at least i did....took me several days and a lot of headaches to get it back on track......but, i know that damn carb like i fathered it now.

I have a carb and manifold with a carbie that looks rebuilt. I would sell it for $75 and I will be in the springs pretty soon I think to deliver something anyway. Photo available. My money would be the carburator base plate is warped.

what about a loose carb? I've had a few carbs that were loose at the baseplate and it would run until you moved it back and forth, then it would sputter and try to die.