hiltz2o Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Hi, I was just given a 1984 Subaru GL wagon with 1.8 Carb. I am having very random hesitation when coming from a stop. The car will go only if I press the gas pedal rapidly. IT has 224+k miles on it and has been very neglected. I have replaced the air filter, dist cap + rotor, done an oil change and refilled the diff (which was empty! ) since getting it yesterday. Any suggestions especially on something that has been so neglected? I am a capable DIY mechanic. I am not very familiar with Subarus however. ECS light is on also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger48 Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 With the engine not running, look down your carburetor with the air cleaner cover off, pump the accelerator and see if it's squirting gas down the carb. If not, either rebuild the carburetor with a carb kit or just replace the accelerator pump in your carb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 That could be any number of things really. Accelerator pump is one of them for sure. Others would be fuel filters (both) and vacuum leaks. To check for vacuum leaks get a can of brake cleaner or carb cleaner and start spraying around the base of the carb, and the intake gaskets. Those are the most likely culprits. Good luck with it. As for the ECS light, you can check that fairly easily. Pull the plastic panel off from under the steering column. Its held on by three screws. That black box is your computer. On the front of it is a red light that will blink a code for you. It will blink a sequence for you that you can decode as a number. An example would be 2 long blinks followed by 4 quick blinks. That would be code 24. Then you look it up and chances are will find out its something stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Accelerator pumps are rarely bad on the Hitachi's. The problem is most likely a combination of several things - vacuum leaks, worn throttle shafts, ignition timeing, distributor vacuum advance, idle speed, idle mixture, ect. At 224k, many if not all of those are probably shot. The carb needs to be rebuilt, the primary shaft will need to be bushed and reemed, all vacuum leaks fixed, and then tuned after installation. You also have a feedback carb - it's got a computer, and several sensors. Read the codes from the computer under the kick panel and make the appropriate repairs. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiltz2o Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 Both? Are there two fuel filters on this vehicle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Fuel filters generally do not cause hessitation issues from idle as that is when the float bowl is likely to be full as fuel demand is low. Plugged filters cause issues when demand is high. But yes - there are two. One under the car, and a vapor seperator/filter under the hood. Not likely to be your problem though. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiltz2o Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 Thanks everybody for the help. The car ran yesterday horiibly missing! I could hardly get to work because it was bogging down and couldn't get to highway speed because of the misses. Strangely enough I went out to look at it on my break hour and messed with it a little bit with no results. It doesn't look like any vacuum lines are bad and I used some carb cleaner to clean the throat and sprayed around the outside to clean near the springs etc. It was still having the same problem THEN I was driving home that night and the problem VANISHED for about 3/4 of the trip home when it started to have the original problem but on a much smaller scale. I am an assistant manager at an auto parts store so I bought the secondary filter under the hood we have in stock just to see what will happen. If anyone has any other thoughts I appreciate the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 The one under the car is always the clogged, forgotten, filter. It's actually the primary filter - the one under the hood is actually a vapor seperator that just also happens to have another filter in it. The first filter always gets 98% of the crap though, so the secondary under the hood is rarely bad. Cut it open and see. Your bad missing is probably feedback related being that it comes and goes like that. Bad coolant temp sensor perhaps. Get the codes. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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