ok, the cars an 87 gl wagon, ea82 spfi, dual range4wd, non ac car..

 

its got 287k, original.. runs like a raped ape, will almost bury the speedo, gets 30+mpg down the highway, does not smoke or have any other issues..

 

only thing i can't figure out is when its cold in the morning, any throttle at all and it will flat out die.. will idle just fine.. after it warms up its ok unless you sit at a light for a couple min and go to take off it tries to die unless you feather the trottle till it gets goin. if its just a short 30 sec at a light there is no problem at all..

 

and if you get goin an flat stomp it it acts like a weber and cuts out for just a split second before it takes off..

already done the colant temp sensor.. and its had a few other things done to it, oil pressure switch, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, new t-belts, oil pump seals, cv's, filters and i'm sure some other stuff..

 

i'm almost to the point where i think the throttle plate is just worn out after almost 300k, but i wanted to get some advise or see if anyone else has had this issue before..

What!!!

 

You mean plugs, wires, cap and rotor didn't fix it:confused:

 

Something must be seriously wrong if that didn't cure all your problems.

 

That's the magic fix for these cars.

When was the last time the Ignition timing was set???

 

And just for curiousity, are you SURE it's SPFI?

 

If it is, it must be a California Car. Or, an 88 not an 87. 4wd 49 state cars in 87 where all carbed. And the Hitachi Carb is notorious for this type of dead spot just off idle.

 

Hope you don't take offense to a dumb question.

heh, no offense taken.. it is an 87 and it is SPFI.. i've built more subarus than most thats why its puzzling to me.. i believe 87 was also the last year for the dual range 4wd trans.. early 87's were carbed, late models years were spfi.. i've had a few of them when i was on the east coast that were 87's dual range4wd and originally bought in VA, and SPFI. 88's were pushbutton, carbs were discontinued. i've also had quite a few that were weber'd so thats how i know about that dead spot in a weber when you stomp the gas

 

i just did the timingbelts yesterday.. (the idler locked up and it blew the drivers side cover off with the belt and idler) it was off a tooth beforehand tho because i had to go back and adjust the disty.. it actually as more power now than it did before hand but the problem is the same..

heh, no offense taken.. it is an 87 and it is SPFI.. i've built more subarus than most thats why its puzzling to me.. i believe 87 was also the last year for the dual range 4wd trans.. early 87's were carbed, late models years were spfi.. i've had a few of them when i was on the east coast that were 87's dual range4wd and originally bought in VA, and SPFI. 88's were pushbutton, carbs were discontinued.

 

Carbs were discontinued after 87, but the Dual range trans was available until the end of 89. In fact most non turbo 88-89s I've seen have D/R. I've never seen an 87 SPFI, and there is no listing of such a car existing in any of the FSMs. I think you will find that there is something else going on, either it's a Cali car, or the hood has been swapped, or it was mistakenly titled as an 87. Who knows?

 

Anyhow.

 

Let's see, timings good. Tune up stuff is good. Hmmm...perhaps a Leak in you're intake boot? Or some other problem with the MAF???

Kindof sounds like a clogged catalyst. Id get a VAC gauge and see what the intake manifold vac is at. Higher the better hopefully nearing 15 PSI.

test, adjust, or swap in another TPS.

clean and/or swap in another MAF.

test, adjust, or swap in another TPS.

 

+1 !!!!

 

Of course! A misadjustted idle switch could cause this problem for sure. It's possible it's staying closed too long.

next time i get the car in my driveway i'll check vac, and adjust the tps..

thank for the ideas..

SPFI came out in '86. Only on the 2WD GL-10's. 85 GL-10's were MPFI non-turbo (like an XT, but without the spider and serp belts).

 

'87 was a mixed year. Towards the end of the 87 model year they stopped using the carbs as the phase out of their production began prior to the end of the model year production so there wouldn't be overstock of production carb components - that's my guess.

 

GD

Check to see that the timing belts aren't loose. I had an EA82 SPFI that would bog on takeoff's randomely. Turns out the belts were loose and when they snapped I did a belt/tensioner/water pump job and it's gone.

 

GD