Can someone point me in the right direction for a decent website or two for information on this car? I am looking for interior parts/ accessories, and engine parts of all sorts. What I really want for the interior is a cover for the cargo area. When I look in the cargo area, I can see that at one point there was a roll up cargo cover for the back. Anyone know where I can find one? AND... maybe someone can help me out. When it is cold, it starts pretty hard. Then it idles at about 800 RPM, and until i drive a few blocks it wants to die(sputter, cough cough). When I accelerate (5- speed manual) it also wants to die. But then it drives fine. Seems that everything else is pretty much OK. I checked plugs, wires, air filter, pcv, egr, etc. I am going to replace fuel filter next and see if that makes a difference. If that is it, then great. If anyone else has any ideas that is great too.
Interior parts are gonna be tough; unlikely you'll find much at a salvage yard. Some stuff the dealership may have, and you might try the on-line parts places, but don't get your hopes up. Probably your best bet overall will be the good folks over at USMB (Hmmmm, USC, now I guess) .
I have a cargo cover, blue IIRC, that fits an '84 GL wagon, can't say if it'll work on yours or not. One of the neighborhood kids has an '87 or '88 wagon. If you're really interested, I guess I could see if it'll work in his car.
Your '87 is one of the early EFI models I think . . . in which case there's a good chance your cold drivability issues are being caused by a bad coolant temperature sensor. I don't know where is on the EA82, but look for a brass, probably single-wire sensor screwed into the coolant passages, _probably_ somewhere on the intake manifold. There may be two, one of which will run the gauge on the instrument panel. Shouldn't be more'n $10 or $15, and will probably be available at a Checkers or the like.
If you find something that looks like it might be the part, you can check with an ohmmeter; resistance should be high when cold, and low when warm (or vice-versa ?). In any event, the resistance should change significantly; a few hundred ohms to perhaps 10Kohms or so.
I've also seen drivability issues in general (especially on older cars) resolved by replacing the plug wires, distributor cap, and rotor. Unless these components on your car are obviously fairly new, it's probably worth the trouble.
Hope this is helpful, good luck with the GL; cool old cars when they're working right.
ByeBye! S. Steve Jernigan KG0MB Laboratory Manager Microelectronics Research University of Colorado (719) 262-3101
Thanks for the information. If there is any way you can check into the cargo cover, that would be great. I certainly do appreciate it. As for the engine... it is not and EFI model. It is carbureted. I checked the plugs and they *look* fine. I will just go ahead and replace them, the wires, the cap and rotor (relatively inexpensive anyway). I was thinking about the fuel filter. Does that have a potential to cause the issues I have?
Would the carb model have the coolant temperature sensor too?
I run the 87gl carbed as well. complete tune up, with a verified clean carb, timing right on....similar weakness
I guess it's the fuel pump by subaru. Rockauto has a 31dollar replacement, and it is a circle where a Subaru square was.... this is my second go with the carbed sube (a humble genius) and I truly have found some really odd subaru oem problems, the fuel pump for the carbs is lucky to see 1psi, in perfect working order! A new fuel pump will verify the like relay and other wiring near the carb actually works when the pump needs to be shut off. It also helps in the rain for they tend to sputter quite awhile with low idle there.. the pump fixed much of this. At the given sale price, I would grab one, I went a better part of this past year searching and searching, and rockauto finally has one...and it is round, meant for a carbed sube!
after that, there is some tuning by the distributor, but that is another conversation in itself...
I'll check for fit the next opportunity and let you know.
Fuel delivery problems, either clogged filter, or weak pump, typically result in hesitation or missing during acceleration and/or high speed operation, as on the highway.
The carb'd version has an electric choke that controls both enrichment and idle-up during cold start and cold operation. It is a heating coil and a bi-metallic element that gradually opens the choke as the heater warms the bi-metal element. It is powered whenever the ignition is on. You might check this for proper operation, or even try adjusting it a bit. There is also a temperature dependant thing in the air cleaner that pulls warm air from the exhaust manifold when cold. The only problems I recall with this were carb icing during very cold weather if it wasn't working. (this on an EA-81, I _think_ the carb'd EA-82 is similar. Do you even have an EA-82? Plastic covers over the timing belt on the front of the engine? Engine model cast into the cases front top center, usually buried in grease/dirt.)
The carb _also_ has something called a "duty solenoid" (maybe two of 'em) that attempts to control A/F ratio during portions of the engine operation, in response to signal from an Oxygen sensor. I don't think this will have much effect during cold starts, but I certainly wouldn't swear to it. Good luck with that carburetor thing :-P
If you find that you have a Hitachi carb, I may have a top section that will fit it (fits Hitachi's up to '84, anyway). This is one of those "impossible-to-find" parts, and has the accelerator pump, float valve, the electronic choke, and, I think, the duty solenoid(s). If you get this far, (you poor bastard), take a couple fotos, and send them to me, and I'll try and determine if what I have will work for you.
Honestly, if it seems to be OK once warmed up, and passes any required emissions testing, I'd be real hesitant about messing with the carb beyond perhaps checking/adjusting the choke; they truly are a PITA.
Best of luck!
ByeBye! S.
Steve Jernigan KG0MB Laboratory Manager Microelectronics Research University of Colorado (719) 262-3101
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