Carb cooling fan, do I need it?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Wherlwind

Wherlwind

10 Year 15 Year 20 Year
Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Threads
75
Messages
261
Location
Williams Lake B.C.
I recently imported an FJ60 and being mainly a diesel person I'm in new territory as the FJ is a California truck so has all emission stuff. On the way back from Cruiser days in Vancouver I noticed the carb fan has quit working and I've also developed an exhaust manifold leak. Could they be related? What exactly is that fan cooling and do I really need it?
This wagon hasn't run great since I bought it but now it is running very rough.It seemed like carb/choke problems.Hard to start and a real dead spot while running which you could accelerate through and it would smooth out . Now it is bucking and surging with no power while starting off and the dead spot is much larger. The PO said he replaced the intake manifold because it had cracked. I don't know if my description is too vague for anyone to help me but I'm lost here. We're taking off for a week of wheeling in the middle of nowhere but I can't go with it running like it is. If it makes any difference it is 1985 Help, pete
 
The carb cooling fan cools the carb. (wierd huh?)

This keeps the fuel in there from evaporating- which will make starting it easier.

It is not related to your manifold leak, I can't imagine how it could be. It is probobly in need of a serious carb re-build to help with your starting/dead spot/ other issues.
 
The carb cooling fan was an attempt by Toyota to solve vapor lock on a hot motor senerio. Its nice to have, but not always necessary. I like to tell others that it is my super charger winding down!

The other problems are more serious. First take on this is fuel filter. Most FJ40/60's have an inline filter. Usually located down near the battery, right side of cruiser (PS), toward the firewall. U could have vacuum leaks as well.

The year and miles of the FJ60 would help and how much have u done to it as well as the PO stuff if known.

It sounds like it needs a lot of TLC.
 
"super charger winding down!" That's great.
 
sound like a carb rebuild is needed.
i'd look closer at that intake manifold. i it was replaced, maybe its loose. or the PO
lied to you.
its a PITA. but if you did into it, its rather easy.
just time
hammer
 
dfmorse said:
The carb cooling fan was an attempt by Toyota to solve vapor lock on a hot motor senerio. .
Click to expand...

And I thought this vapor lock was most common with US Cruisers, hence the lack of cooling fan on non-USA F engined Cruisers. Something about the actual emmission stuff adding to the problem. I swear I saw a non-USA FJ60 with no carb fan and no vents on the fenders even though it was in Central America.

In Canada you might not really notice the lack of the cooling fan... May be cool enough all the time to get by without it.
 
in researching the carb cooling fan, i saw some people mention that it also helps the manifold from warping along with keeping the gaskets around the carb from vaporizing. that alone was reason enough for me to get it working it again. the easier starts was a happy byproduct.
 
well, if theres no emission crap, then changing the intake gasket should be easier. you HAVE to have a good gasket in there. also, get the carb fan running!! i PROMISE you it wont run right if you dont! i JUST went thru all of this less than a week ago. -other sean
 
loeky said:
in researching the carb cooling fan, i saw some people mention that it also helps the manifold from warping along with keeping the gaskets around the carb from vaporizing. that alone was reason enough for me to get it working it again. the easier starts was a happy byproduct.
Click to expand...
This is what I was wondering about . If overheating could cause a leak at the manifold. It does look like a brand new intake manifold. I think my problem is carb related though. I did get the carb fan running again, just a broken wire.
If the fan helps with vapor lock why does it only come on after the engine is turned off ?Isn't it hotter when running? I've noticed my old 45 suffers from what I think is vapor lock when I'm pulling hard uphill on a hot day.
The exhaust leak seems to be at the back of the manifold and I guess that means pulling an awful lot of emissions junk off to get at the bolts to tighten it up. I really don't want to put the emissions stuff back on so I'm exploring other options like desmogging and running a Chevy TBI on the 2F. I know there are a few of you that have done that. Any advice you could give? I have access to one that has been running on an older ( mid 70s) 40 but am not sure whether I would have to adapt it for a newer(85) 2F.
With the TBI they are getting about 22mpg,of course that's without any smog, about double what I seem to be getting right now so this option seems pretty good to me as it would also save me from having to get the carb rebuilt.
Sorry for rambling on so much, just trying to figure out the best way to go with this, pete
 
Wherlwind said:
If the fan helps with vapor lock why does it only come on after the engine is turned off ?Isn't it hotter when running? , pete
Click to expand...

I think it is there to address a hard start problem causes by heat in the engine bay due to all the emission controls.
 
The problem amy be as simple as carburater or manifold gasket leaks. Vacuum is important on these trucks, so start looking for leaks before you freak out and start rebuilding and replacing components. These are pretty good carbs... the one on my FJ60 had NEVER been adjusted when I got the truck at 150K miles, and it was running pretty well.

Fix the carb cooling fan, check for vacuum leaks.

M
 
My old man actualy worked at Toyota back in the 60s-70s and told me they actually came out with the fan to cool down the brake master cylinder, that it was getting too hot at cooking off all of the brake fluid. And a side effect was the helping to cool of the carb also . Anyone else ever heard of this ?
 
Carb Cooling fan is part of emissions control.

Otherwise, "raw gasoline vapor" would be emitted to the environment after engine shutdown.
It attempts to continue cooling such that a restart doesn't "flash" incomming gasoline to vapor before the carb vapor recovery system is effective (right after engine startup).
 
soggy60 said:
Carb Cooling fan is part of emissions control.

Otherwise, "raw gasoline vapor" would be emitted to the environment after engine shutdown.
It attempts to continue cooling such that a restart doesn't "flash" incomming gasoline to vapor before the carb vapor recovery system is effective (right after engine startup).
Click to expand...

WOW! Interesting

So essentially, its not needed? I have been thinking of removing mine to clear up that side of the fender well to maybe place and air tank there when I do the OBA?
 
Mine hasn't worked all summer (90s-plus in the south) and I've had no problems. But I'm desmogged, have a freshly rebuilt carb, and have a good working cooling system. Now, I can't speak to whether, over time, I might end up with a warped manifold. That's an unknown, and I'm not sure if anybody can prove one way or another that the carb fan keeps the manifold from warping. But it might. I'd say try to fix it (I'm going to when I have time). Better safe than sorry I guess.

Chris
 
cwb said:
. Now, I can't speak to whether, over time, I might end up with a warped manifold. That's an unknown, and I'm not sure if anybody can prove one way or another that the carb fan keeps the manifold from warping. Chris
Click to expand...

I dont think I would worry about that, if the carb fan helped with that it seems like it would be standard on all Cruisers no matter what market they were headed too. But because they seem to be only on USA vehicles....
 
Here's what I know[or THINK I know]: One of the local repair guys near me has been servicing FJ60's occasionally for many years, and his line about the manifold is that they all warp and create [hopefully]small exhaust leaks. He said he's taken them out, had the intake and exhaust manifolds machined flat together, put 'em back on, and a year later they're warped enough to have a small exhaust leak again. Another source of exhaust leak is not the manifold but the EGR pipe, runs from exh. pipe to the EGR cooler. The flanged fitting with 2 studs and nuts warps. Various fixes are out there, SOR has a stainless steel EGR pipe, my old repair guy had a flat steel(or S.Steel?) sub flange he put in between the pipe's flange and the mount on the exhaust. Did it work? maybe, I dunno.
The manifold bolts/nuts are only a minor hassle to get to if you remove the carb and it's insulator thingy. If you do remove the carb, get a new insulator thingy if the old one is old. Well worth checking the nuts/bolts A)to see if they're all thereB)to make sure they're tight.
The bucking and surging is what my 60 did after some loser mechanics I went to installed a defective rebuilt carb, which caused the EGR system to always be "ON", cured by replacing the lame carb w/ a new OEM one. There are other potential causes for poor drivability though. Very impotant: Obtain the OEM Emission Control Manual...check that all those many devices are connected correctly...often on used truck they're not. Good luck.
 
my smogged motor barely starts without it and will die within 100 feet and be hard to start again if driven within 40 minutes of stopping. wire it to a toggle switch if you have to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom