Hey guys. My 83 brat is sorta having problems as of right now. I start it up and drive it round for a bit and all of the sudden, it loses power and it sputters no matter how much i press the accelerator. i dont know whats the problem. first subie so i dont know too much about it. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hey guys. My 83 brat is sorta having problems as of right now. I start it up and drive it round for a bit and all of the sudden, it loses power and it sputters no matter how much i press the accelerator. i dont know whats the problem. first subie so i dont know too much about it. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Check your fuel filter, primary and secondary. If it's carbureted, you can turn the key off as soon as it starts losing power and then check the float level. If it's low, you're not getting enough fuel to the carb.

 

Good luck!

where are the primary and secondary filters located? we replaced the one in the engine compartment

the primary one is by the fuel pump, underneath the car in front of the rear drivers side wheel

drivers side, under the body just in front of the rear wheel.

On ea81 motors, as far as I know, the one you replaced is also called a fuel separator. Does it have three fittings on it? If so, it separates fuel vapor from the fuel itself. It also acts as a secondary filter.

 

The primary filter is just forward of the rear pass. wheel, towards the center of the vehicle, and is located on top of a triangular plate. The plate is held on by three 10mm bolts.

 

The filter can be replaced with one similar to it if you can't find the exact one. Just take it to the parts counter and ask what they have that will match. Make sure the inlet and outlet sizes are about the same, and that the angle of the fittings is similar.

 

-Aaron

thanks for the info ill check it out as soon as it stops raining

Check the fuel filter first - easy fix if that's it. The FILTER is by the pump. The one in the engine bay is the vapor seperator - it routes fuel vapor trapped in the line between the float bowl and the fuel pump to the carbon canistor so pressure doesn't build up on a hot day in a parking lot. The filter inside this is largely overkill, as nothing really ever gets by the one at the pump anyway... unless you had corrosion inside the body hard lines.... yuckies.

 

I've had the Hitachi floats get stuck closed before too - can you restart it again after it's sputtered out? Really annoying problem to track down, as the float doesn't stay stuck for long when you start poking around looking for problems. Replaced the needle and seat and never had another problem with that one.

 

Check ignition coil and distributor as well - could be a heat related ignition failure. Check for spark when it dies.

 

GD

Something that I have come across on a couple of Brats is that the fuel tank gets corroded and rusty. Chunks of rust and sedement plug the fuel line that draws fuel out of the tank. On my old 86, I tried 2 sets of filters and a diffrent pump, and a carb rebuild, to no avail. But when I swaped tanks, it cured the problem! The only hard part is finding good tanks that arent already rusted! Kurt

Something that I have come across on a couple of Brats is that the fuel tank gets corroded and rusty. Chunks of rust and sedement plug the fuel line that draws fuel out of the tank. On my old 86, I tried 2 sets of filters and a diffrent pump, and a carb rebuild, to no avail. But when I swaped tanks, it cured the problem! The only hard part is finding good tanks that arent already rusted! Kurt

 

He's in CA - not likely. I know it's hard to beleive, but we don't have rust on the left coast. No such thing here.

 

GD

on a brat the fuel pump and primary filter is on the drivers side..

 

 

 

On ea81 motors, as far as I know, the one you replaced is also called a fuel separator. Does it have three fittings on it? If so, it separates fuel vapor from the fuel itself. It also acts as a secondary filter.

 

The primary filter is just forward of the rear pass. wheel, towards the center of the vehicle, and is located on top of a triangular plate. The plate is held on by three 10mm bolts.

 

The filter can be replaced with one similar to it if you can't find the exact one. Just take it to the parts counter and ask what they have that will match. Make sure the inlet and outlet sizes are about the same, and that the angle of the fittings is similar.

 

-Aaron

my dad and i replaced both the primary and secondary ones and it seemed to run fine, but the only way we will know for sure is if it does it again tomorrow. thanks guys for all the help

oh yea and i do have a little rust in the passenger side door frame.

ahhhh.... bonding with the Subaru... it warms the cockles:grin:

on a brat the fuel pump and primary filter is on the drivers side..

 

AH HA! Me any my wagon... I thought the wagon was the only way!!! Thanks Moose. Does it have the same setup with the goods mounted on the triangle plate?

nope... you got rubber lines that exit the tank on the passenger side, they enter metal line which goes to the drivers side, then back into rubber and into the fuel pump.. (round and mounted on the frame) then back into metal as they go through the cab, then back to rubber when they hit the engine bay..

 

wish my brat was this easy of a fix, instead i had to dump $365 on a new weber kit.. bleh..

 

good luck with your brat..

 

AH HA! Me any my wagon... I thought the wagon was the only way!!! Thanks Moose. Does it have the same setup with the goods mounted on the triangle plate?

for the most part, we fixed it