February 20, 200620 yr This happened recently on my '84 Brat. Putting it out for grins to see if anyone can guess what the cause was. I was just fortunate to stumble across the cause but certainly didn't figure it out. Symptom: Car would stumble and engine would seem to miss or lose power on left hand turns only. Right hand turns no problem; straight ahead no problem. No unusual noises from under the hood or drivetrain. No loss of power other than when making left hand turns. Extra information (not that it will help any:rolleyes: ): '84 Brat with a junkyard EA81 engine with 120K on it; runs well, quiet and doesn't lose oil between changes (at 2000 mile intervals). D/R 5 speed transmission from EA82 along with 3.900 LSD. Rear swaybar from Whiteline. Good axles with no torn boots. No A/C or power steering. Weber carb and Accel coil (yellow) that have been in the car for over 3 years without trouble. Car will do an honest 85 mph in 5th on a level road. I'm putting this out as a challenge. First one to figure it out will get a check from me for your favorite brew (no 30 year old wines please:eek: ). It also demonstrates how sometimes simple things can cause running problems. I would guess I could have spent lots of money at some repair shop before the cause was found and fixed.
February 20, 200620 yr i'll take a chance at it, but forget the brew, lol in order to be fair one guess a day? i would suspect a loose wire
February 20, 200620 yr your engine ground wire was tight enough that when turning left, there was enough body roll that it temporarily pulled the wire, causing a bad ground connection...
February 20, 200620 yr Author i'll take a chance at it, but forget the brew, lolin order to be fair one guess a day? i would suspect a loose wire Damn! First shot across the bow and you have it! :clap: Any thought of where?
February 20, 200620 yr Author your engine ground wire was tight enough that when turning left, there was enough body roll that it temporarily pulled the wire, causing a bad ground connection...Yep, it was a loose wire, but not a ground wire.
February 20, 200620 yr Author You guys are all too good. Turns out it was a loose connection on the negative side of the coil. I don't know for the life of me, why it would work everytime except when going around a left hand turn (wires weren't tight or under any tension). As soon as I tightened up on the connection all was good again.
February 21, 200620 yr You guys are all too good. Turns out it was a loose connection on the negative side of the coil. I don't know for the life of me, why it would work everytime except when going around a left hand turn (wires weren't tight or under any tension). As soon as I tightened up on the connection all was good again. Damn, I was certain I had it ,worn muffler bearings first guess . Second guess ,Giggling pin loose on the laughing shaft . Jude
February 21, 200620 yr I had a similar problem on my old 86 VW Golf diesel. At certain times, I would randomly lose headlights, then, bam, back on. Quite disconcerting at night at 70mph on the highway. Anyway, loose wire, something would shift at certain times, braking, accelerating, turning even slight corners, etc. Poked around and found a loose ground wire. I would suspect something similar in your situation. Good luck.
February 21, 200620 yr rogue brewery dead guy ale.......ship to: brian 1234 wishiwas first ave dreamland ,wa.
February 21, 200620 yr Author I think I will send my check to the USMB since the first answer turned down the beer.
February 21, 200620 yr Author You are good; you should consider a job with a Subaru dealership. Thanks for doing this. coil? or anti dieseling soilnoid?
February 21, 200620 yr HAD A FEW, RAN INTO LOTS OF WERID THINGS. had a coil wire pull lose willin once give it gas hard would loose spark did the same thing going left very ovious at night..lol. had a bad motor mount. Brad must really know his subes:brow: i love this board:-p
February 21, 200620 yr Author HAD A FEW, RAN INTO LOTS OF WERID THINGS. had a coil wire pull lose willin once give it gas hard would loose spark did the same thing going left very ovious at night..lol. had a bad motor mount.I don't think I have a bad motor mount, but I'll check it out. Too bad I didn't know that yesterday when I had it up on the ramps to do an oil change.
February 21, 200620 yr You are good; you should consider a job with a Subaru dealership. Thanks for doing this. THOUGHT ABOUT THAT ONCE. when i drove up in my 1981 subaru wagon with 6 inch lift they laughed to hard at it, tried to sell me "a good car" of all things a vw . everytime i go down there and ask for any parts they act like the parts were never made. they suk.
February 21, 200620 yr Author THOUGHT ABOUT THAT ONCE. when i drove up in my 1981 subaru wagon with 6 inch lift they laughed to hard at it, tried to sell me "a good car" of all things a vw . everytime i go down there and ask for any parts they act like the parts were never made. they suk.That's too sad. We're fortunate to have some good dealers here in the NW.
February 21, 200620 yr THOUGHT ABOUT THAT ONCE. when i drove up in my 1981 subaru wagon with 6 inch lift they laughed to hard at it, tried to sell me "a good car" of all things a vw . everytime i go down there and ask for any parts they act like the parts were never made. they suk. the dealership in Raleigh caught my car on fire ~8 years ago by pouring oil down the preheat tube (my car hasn't seen a dealer since then) - I went back there recently to request the TSB's for my car, and they said they never kept the TSB's, and refered me to the head mechanic in case he remembered them - their head mechanic is now the same guy who poured oil down the preheat tube
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