First carb rebuild...hard earned success (1 Viewer)

[FJ Noob]

This is an excellent thread:

This is great, thanks. I'm searching and reading, but I don't quite have all the correct terminology yet. Makes it hard to narrow down the search.

One more question and then I'll just keep reading until the kit comes in. Last time I started it, it actually fired up n the first try of a cold start about 3 hours after I got it home. I saw fuel go into the first chamber (a lot bypassing the plunger though), the fuel filter stayed full, and if I kept the RPMs up it would continue running. Given those 3 things, that PROBABLY means the fuel pump and fuel lines from the carb on back are doing their job and I can focus the troubleshooting mainly in the carb?

 

[Spike Strip]

If the fuel level at the site-glass on the side of the carb is constantly half-way, then probably yes, those other items are working correctly.

 

[FJ Noob]

Got the new leather sealed plunger and boot today, soaked in diff oil for a few hours, put them in the carb and she lives!!

HOWEVER....I'm getting some smoke coming from around where the exhaust attaches to the manifold. When I was troubleshooting the carb, I noticed a little sticky oil down in that area. I cleaned it all up but can't see a leak anywhere. Big problem or just a run of the mill 30+ year old 2F problem?

***EDIT*** looks like an exhaust leak at the manifold to pipe joint. Had to really crawl in there to see it. Why can’t these things happen in more easily visible areas!?!

 

[FJACS]

There’s a donut like metal gasket where the exhaust manifold attaches to the exhaust tubing. Order the OEM one either online or from the dealer, or maybe someone knows a good aftermarket one? I know that the aftermarket ones I’ve bought are half the thickness and don’t crush like the originals.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

There’s a donut like metal gasket where the exhaust manifold attaches to the exhaust tubing. Order the OEM one either online or from the dealer, or maybe someone knows a good aftermarket one? I know that the aftermarket ones I’ve bought are half the thickness and don’t crush like the originals.

Just get the oem one. Your not going to save much for the extra headache if the aftermarket sucks.

 

[FJ Noob]

***UPDATE*** Test drove around the neighborhood this morning and she acted fine so I decided to drive her into work. In addition to the exhaust leak, I found a little wetness from a very minor oil leak, and saw some coolant leaking from the lower radiator and heater hoses. Oil was a tiny bit low, but not bad for 2 months of daily driving. I stopped and grabbed a quart of oil and some radiator stop leak on the way in to work. Everything was fine on the drive in so I waited till lunch for the engine to cool to add the radiator stop leak. No leaks... I think she was just crying from not getting any attention for a few days!

 

[4Cruisers]

***EDIT*** looks like an exhaust leak at the manifold to pipe joint. Had to really crawl in there to see it. Why can’t these things happen in more easily visible areas!?!

Just be glad you're not trying to work on a second generation 4-Runner with 3.0L V6!

 

[FJ Noob]

SON OF A B¥£€H.... she started doing it again. Same symptoms but without the obvious leaking. I got about 50 good miles out of her for the last day and a half and all the sudden started dying out again.

 

[FJ Noob]

Ok..got back home and into the garage this time (learned my lesson pushing it the other day).

If I manually rev the engine it will drop in power for a few seconds and then come back up when the RPMs get higher. When it drops, I'm pretty sure I can hear air getting sucked in somewhere...like a vacuum leak that only opens up significantly when I first step on the accelerator. Any pointers where I should begin narrowing my search while I dive back into the FSM?

 

[FJ Noob]

Uuughhh...feel like I'm chasing a ghost here. I squirted some carb cleaner around and didn't get a response like there's a vacuum leak. I pulled the air cleaner off and started it up to see if the accelerator pump was working. It's working and no more drops in power when I would manually rev it. Put the air cleaner back on an ran her up and down the neighborhood...slow gas pedal push, fast pedal push, 1st, 2nd, 3rd gear...no issues. What the hell?

The only thing I found was a good sized crack at the end of the air cleaner to valve cover hose.

I know I should rebuild it, but just don't have time right now. Trying to keep it simple and minimal until I have time.

 

[FJACS]

Dirty fuel filter or evap issues goofing up the tank pressures.

 

[FishTacos]

Does the tank develop pressure (or a vacuum) after you drive?

 

[FJ Noob]

Does the tank develop pressure (or a vacuum) after you drive?

Yes, I get a bit of a vacuum.

 

[FishTacos]

Yes, I get a bit of a vacuum.

Swap the two hoses on top of the charcoal canister.

Or if you want to do a couple of hours of work, do this:

Charcoal canister rebuild

 

[FishTacos]

Might not solve the problem, but it's worth a shot.

 

[FJ Noob]

Swap the two hoses on top of the charcoal canister.

Or if you want to do a couple of hours of work, do this:

Charcoal canister rebuild

Yeah...read through that thread a bit ago. Not sure if I want to go that far today! I'll try swapping the lines...if they haven't been swapped already. She's been doing fine since I put the air assembly back on yesterday. Drove to and from a class, fired right up earlier and idled perfectly for about 20 min after I replaced the manifold to exhaust pipe gasket. I periodically gave it some gas and everything acted fine.

 

[FJ Noob]

I was able to get her running good enough to make it out and back for our camping trip this weekend. Definitely need to go ahead and do the carb re-build though because now I'm not getting a "squirt" from the accelerator pump into the primary chamber to prime the carb for start-up. Once running, she's fine. Even though I'm going to rebuild, it feels good to have isolated the issue.

I really just wanted to post this to throw out another resource for those that are struggling with their carburetor. This page (Carb Write-up) has a decent write-up in layman's terms to help understand what's going on in your carb and has a link to a color-code modified graphic of the carb circuit diagram in the FSM. Hope this helps somebody...good luck out there.

 

[60 toy ota]

I certainly hope you haven't used that radiator stop leak.

 

[FJ Noob]

I certainly hope you haven't used that radiator stop leak.

The carb is my main priority and the radiator isn't making puddles yet, but please expound...why not?

 

[60 toy ota]

The carb is my main priority and the radiator isn't making puddles yet, but please expound...why not?

Whew. Lots of info in this but it's basically like the green stuff in a bike tire...it gels up and blocks small passages to stop leaks. Problem is the whole radiator and heater core are small passages, so it severely limits the flow. It gets everywhere and you can't get it out. Basically ruins your cooling system. If you want to keep it in your truck in case your stranded and alone and have no other options, go for it but plan on replacing your radiator and heater core(s) when you get home, and know it will still probably be lining all thnme water jackets in your engine. Awful band-aid of a fix that has no place for a car of value.

EDIT: if you'd like to see what it does to a core tube, look it up on YouTube. You'll find a number of frustrated mechanics who cut open the junk radiators so people can see