Carburetor advice

[spiderz]

How much does a new Carb cost?
You have to weight up the price of a new carb, with how much time you can sensibly spend on trying to fix the old one.

 

[chrisc]

Have you checked the petrol pump. Sometimes the diaphgram leaks. There are plenty of worthwhile comments above, but you might start canvassing the scrapyards. Used Toyota parts are plentiful

 

[Electron1]

How much does a new Carb cost?
You have to weight up the price of a new carb, with how much time you can sensibly spend on trying to fix the old one.

I haven't priced a new one, but phoned around this morning.
Carb City (now only in Pta) will charge me R750.00 to service the carb.
Supercarb in Jhb will charge R850.00
Ace Motorsport in Germiston want to quote but I can expect around R1400.00 - however they claim to be the only ones who do a full acid bath on the carb and are AA approved, strip the carb, replace all worn parts, and put it together again. Apparently the others just use a carb cleaner do a quick job and off you go.

All of them will tune the car as well. the first 2 need about a half a day, Supercarb say one to 2 days. All give 3 month guarantee.
My budget tells me to go for the cheaper ones, gut feel is the more expensive option.

Have you checked the petrol pump. Sometimes the diaphgram leaks. There are plenty of worthwhile comments above, but you might start canvassing the scrapyards. Used Toyota parts are plentiful

I thought about the petrol pump, but the car responds instantly on throttle with no hesitation and it starts immediately after cutting out on idle. I changed the fuel filter in case, but same problem remains. I thought about a second hand carb, but if a service is what is quoted above I guess it's simpler and easier to leave it to the experts.

Who do I choose - for me it's between the R850.00 option or R1400.00 (ouch!)

 

[cerebus]

We spent about r1500 on a brand new carburetor. Isn't that something to consider?

 

[Electron1]

We spent about r1500 on a brand new carburetor. Isn't that something to consider?

I phoned my local spares shop and they have in stock at R950.00 !
But I don't have the equipment or knowledge to tune it, so what now?
What's the chances if I buy a new one of it running fine?

 

[Stokstert]

Touch the idle cut-off valve, item 21934 on the carb diagram while someone turns the ignition on and off. Do you feel or hear some clicking? If not, check that 12V is available on the connector while ignition is on. If not, check fuses and/or cabling.

For test purposes unscrew cut-off valve a turn or two and see if engine idles. If not, unscrew cut-off valve and apply 12V to it. The centre piston should retract if it's working. If no movement, cut-off valve might be faulty.

 

[Electron1]

Touch the idle cut-off valve, item 21934 on the carb diagram while someone turns the ignition on and off. Do you feel or hear some clicking? If not, check that 12V is available on the connector while ignition is on. If not, check fuses and/or cabling.

For test purposes unscrew cut-off valve a turn or two and see if engine idles. If not, unscrew cut-off valve and apply 12V to it. The centre piston should retract if it's working. If no movement, cut-off valve might be faulty.

Thanks! - will check it out.

 

[spiderz]

I phoned my local spares shop and they have in stock at R950.00 !
But I don't have the equipment or knowledge to tune it, so what now?
What's the chances if I buy a new one of it running fine?

90%
A new carburetor is still a better bet than a rebuild one. Buy it and fix the other one at a later stage.
At least then you will have one that works, that you can reference too.

My Golf's carburetor was leaking like a crazy (3/4tank on 100km), so I just bought a new one and replaced it.
Is still driving fine.
Will re-tune it, and open the second butterfly when I replace the Cam next weekend.

 

[Electron1]

90%
A new carburetor is still a better bet than a rebuild one. Buy it and fix the other one at a later stage.
At least then you will have one that works, that you can reference too.

My Golf's carburetor was leaking like a crazy (3/4tank on 100km), so I just bought a new one and replaced it.
Is still driving fine.
Will re-tune it, and open the second butterfly when I replace the Cam next weekend.

Thanks for the advice - did you have to make any adjustments after fitting the new one, besides the idle speed?
I don't have the knowledge or equipment to tune it myself.

 

[spiderz]

Thanks for the advice - did you have to make any adjustments after fitting the new one, besides the idle speed?
I don't have the knowledge or equipment to tune it myself.

Nope ... did not even adjust the idling...was just working.

 

[Electron1]

I think I will buy a new carb, especially after reading this - it talks about old carbs and proper cleaning - scary stuff

"One of the main problems with these old carbs, and I suspect many others, it that over the years of use, and lack of service, there are many areas where corrosion an calcium from water in the fuel tend to leave their deposits and clog passages and holes in emulsifying tubes, as well as air bleeds that control the level of fuel that is allowed to be pulled through the fuel jets and passages. Everything in a carburetor is designed to complement and control the next section of the system. If one is out of it designed specs, the next section suffers because of its short-sided ability to do its job adequately. We have all used carburetor sprays and dips to clean them with, and thought we were doing the best that could be done for them! Only to find out when we got it back together that not only didn’t they work right, but also there was something different happening now. Sound familiar? I’m going to show you that there are many small passages that affect the performance of these fuel systems. "

I just hope that I also don't have do much adjustment, thanks again Spiderz

 

[ponder]

I think I will buy a new carb, especially after reading this - it talks about old carbs and proper cleaning - scary stuff

"One of the main problems with these old carbs, and I suspect many others, it that over the years of use, and lack of service, there are many areas where corrosion an calcium from water in the fuel tend to leave their deposits and clog passages and holes in emulsifying tubes, as well as air bleeds that control the level of fuel that is allowed to be pulled through the fuel jets and passages. Everything in a carburetor is designed to complement and control the next section of the system. If one is out of it designed specs, the next section suffers because of its short-sided ability to do its job adequately. We have all used carburetor sprays and dips to clean them with, and thought we were doing the best that could be done for them! Only to find out when we got it back together that not only didn’t they work right, but also there was something different happening now. Sound familiar? I’m going to show you that there are many small passages that affect the performance of these fuel systems. "

I just hope that I also don't have do much adjustment, thanks again Spiderz

That sounds like a Dell'Orto carb on one of my old ktm bikes, tuning that carb was impossible I eventually sold the bike but I still have a second hand spare carb I purchased lying in a box somewhere.

 

[Electron1]

I bought a new carburetor - was misquoted on the phone, when I went to buy it, I was told it is R1350.00. I told them I was quoted R900.00 and they settled for R900.00 plus Vat, which I think was fair.

Fitting it was fairly straightforward. The only problem was that the electrical connector for the idle solenoid was different, so I had to cut off the old one and solder it onto the new cables. Had to crank the engine a bit to get fuel into the new carb and she worked perfectly. The engine started fine. Idle was too fast at 1500rpm, so I turned it down to 700 rpm.

The car runs perfectly, idling nice and smooth. Will now have to monitor fuel consumption.

Thanks all for the advice!

 

[ponder]

Now you can start experimenting with old one, strip it, clean it rebuild it, tune it and become the resident carb expert here

 

[spiderz]

Keep us up to date...Modifying my brand new carb this weekend ...
(Golf Carburetor - Change it so the second butterfly open earlier giving you more power.)

 

[Electron1]

Now you can start experimenting with old one, strip it, clean it rebuild it, tune it and become the resident carb expert here

When I get some time, I would like to see what is 23 years of usage has clogged up. Interesting thing I noticed today, there's no smoke cloud when starting in the morning! My car seems to have kicked the habit and given up smoking immediately after starting in the morning! Used to think that was due to engine wear and tear. I don't expect to become an expert, although I must say it was very rewarding to find that it was fairly easy and it worked out so well. Filled up today so I can see how much (if at all) consumption improves.

Keep us up to date...Modifying my brand new carb this weekend ...
(Golf Carburetor - Change it so the second butterfly open earlier giving you more power.)

Will post after next full tank - about 10 days from now.
Good luck with the mod. You are more adventurous than me. Let us know how it goes.

Thinking about taking it in after a while to get it tuned properly to see how much of a difference it would make, although I am chuffed with the results so far.

Some googling on the smoke issue and I found this explanation:

...too much fuel issues burn black not enough fuel issues burn grey on a cold day you may see what appears to be white smoke from the exhaust that will disappear after the vehicles engine has warmed up to it's normal operating temp.. This is a normal reaction called condensation... condensation is the result of a small amount of water/dew being drawn into the exhaust usually collecting in the muffler and/or the catalytic converter and is caused by our friend mother nature..... like when you see your breath on a cold day...

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_can_cause_white_smoke_from_the_exhaust#ixzz26uyiurb3