skinnyhb Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 so i took my 1988 subaru 1.8 5speed from running to not running in an hour when i tried to tune it up a bit. awesome. i will attempt to detail my every move so maybe someone can point out my folly. this morning i pulled in the driveway, put in a new air filter, put on a new gas cap and filled my radiator fluid reservoir. i then started on spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor. after i disconnected the battery, i disconnected all the wires from the top of the distributor. i unscrewed the cap and then looked at the rotor. i believe that i was given the wrong one of both, as my current distributor cap bolts on and the new one just has notches and the current rotor has one screw and the new one has none. so, i put the old cap and rotor back on and reconnected the wires. i then took out the back left (if facing the front of the car) spark plug and put a new one in. however, like a jackass, i had my wrench at a stupid angle and i cracked the ceramic in the new one, so i pulled it out and put the old one back in. giving up on the spark plugs, i went to teh wires, disconnecting one and replacing it one at a time. when that was done, i reconnected the battery and tried to start the car. the engine tries to start, but it wont turn over. if i keep attempting to start it i can smell gasoline. any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 i disconnected all the wires from the top of the distributor. I suspect you didn't put the plug wires back on the disty correctly when you reconnected them. When doing this process it is best to work on one plugwire at a time to avoid error. The firing order is 1-3-4-2 if I remember correctly. Number 1 is at the front of the engine on the passenger side. Number 3 is next to it. 2 and 4 are on the other side with 2 in front. I think the rotor turns counter clockwise but I'm not sure on that. I also seem to think that #1 wire needs to go in the disty position that is towards the front passenger side. Then #3 would be next to it on the front driver's side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I suspect you didn't put the plug wires back on the disty correctly when you reconnected them. When doing this process it is best to work on one plugwire at a time to avoid error. The firing order is 1-3-4-2 if I remember correctly. Number 1 is at the front of the engine on the passenger side. Number 3 is next to it. 2 and 4 are on the other side with 2 in front. I think the rotor turns counter clockwise but I'm not sure on that. I also seem to think that #1 wire needs to go in the disty position that is towards the front passenger side. Then #3 would be next to it on the front driver's side. This is all correct ecxept for the location of the #1 plug on disty. If the disty is installed according to factory, #1 will be the one at the rear/center most postition.(pointing at trans) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 i agree, disty wires are easy to screw up. some caps have the numbers printed on them, so have a look and that might make it really simple. you didn't actually remove or move the distributor in the housing did you? some people mistakenly loosen those two 10mm hold down bolts or move it. cylinders are, from front to back: passengers side = 1,3 and drivers side = 2,4 when doing the air filter you didn't disconnect the MAF or vaccuum hoses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinnyhb Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 wow, i am a moron. i learned two valuable things today. one, waking up before noon to finish a project early only makes me screw things up because i cant think straight. and two, trust the manual. i had written down the corresponding wires, but apparently, my method of code didn't make sense to me later. but i was so sure of myself, that i ignored the manual because it was so different to what i believed to be right. anyways, i made a change or two according to the firing order, and now the wagon is running better than ever. however, now i have another question. what distributor cap and rotor do i need? i told the guy i needed one for my model and year and that it was hitachi, but he gave me the one with the slots instead of the screw holes. did he just screw up, or do i need to specify further? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeshoup Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 He gave you a carb'd model stuff. I'm assuming since its an 88, you have SPFI, nonTurbo? Go to the parts counter and order parts for a 92 Loyale. That usually skips all the confusion. The Loyale will have the same parts, just doesn't have the confusion of another car by the same name made at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 actually it points to the master cylinder/brake booster the rotation is counter clockwise:clap: This is all correct ecxept for the location of the #1 plug on disty. If the disty is installed according to factory, #1 will be the one at the rear/center most postition.(pointing at trans) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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