FJ60 carb question (1 Viewer)

[jeffroid]

I have an '84 FJ60 pretty much completely stock with all emissions intact. I recently installed a rebuilt engine, and while it was out, I had the carb rebuilt by a shop recommended by the guy that helped me with the engine install.

My truck runs great, but I can't get it to idle smoothly. That suggested a vacuum leak, and with a can of carb cleaner, I was able to determine that there was leakage between the shaft and bushing for the primary butterfly.

I am going to go back to the shop that rebuilt the carb, but I want to get a little smarter first. Does a routine rebuild normally include checking the bushings and replacing if necessary? Do rebuild kits normally include these bushings? In any case, is there any place for me to get new bushings, or do I have to get the micrometer out and get new ones made?

Thanks for any help ! ! !

 

[swank60]

the rebuild kits don't come with the bushings. in fact, the factory manual states that you really shouldn't remove the shaft at all - unless you HAVE to. (sounds like you do)

You can probably take it back to the guy who rebuilt it and show him what you've found and take it from there. If he's good, he'll work something out with you - just be civil about it and you'll be fine.

 

[Poser]

Your carb shop should be able to re-bush this, if that is what it needs. If they do not have anyway to test the carb, ie your engine, then I am not sure of a way that they can check out the condition of the bushings, and from what I have been told by carb shops over the years, be-bushing throttle shafts is not something that is included in the *normal* teardown and rebuild...

Good luck!

-Steve

 

[60wag]

Are you sure the shaft leak is the problem? You might try smearing some grease (silicone high vacuum grease if you have it ) on the supect joint. The grease should plug the leak. If it does improve the idle, it might be tough to convince the carb rebuilder that the bushing is worn out.

How many miles do you have on the rebuilt engine? If its less than 400, I wouldn't be too worried. If over 400, have you checked the head bolt torque and valve clearance recently? On my rebuild, the valve adjustment after the break in period really smoothed out the idle.

 

[jeffroid]

Thanks for the info and suggestions. To summarize my thoughts in regards to all of your replies I'd say:

The rebuild's got almost 5000 miles on it by now, and I did adjust the valves probably around 1000 miles ago. The carb itself is the original and has 150K. I don't know why my 2f went t/u after only 150K, but that's another story.

Again - the truck runs pretty damn good. It didn't when I first got it back, but after more hours that I care to try to estimate with the emissions manual, a vacuum gauge, and hand pump, I found and fixed many leaks and manfunctioning components. While trying to adjust the idle mixture with a remote tach, I noticed that the idle rpm would "float" +/- a few hundred rpm, and didn't generally "feel" real smooth.

I'm pretty damn sure it's leaking vacuum around that shaft after a lot of time with a cans of flammable cleaners or solvents, a flashlight, and even a buddy. The only way I can get the rpm to increase is to use the little spray nozzle/straw thing to direct the spray directly on the shaft. It's kind of subtle, and I found that having my buddy stand behind the truck and holler at me when he saw white smoke from the exhaust to be almost as effective as trying to listen for the rpm, since the idle's not all that smooth anyway.

It sounds reasonable that the carb rebuild guy would not dissassemble those shafts and replace those bushings. At least while it's on the truck, there doesn't seem to be a lot of play there, and as stated, there is no way for him to "test" it for leakage. I'll talk to him next week.

I can't be 100% sure that's the only problem and the sole cause of the rough idle, but I do know that there is some leakage there, and I can't find any anywhere else. I'll try the grease, but I don't know how much luck I'm going to have getting much of it in there while the carb is still mounted. If I have to rip it off the truck, I'm going to try to replace the bushings. Right now, I'm not inclined to do that, since it's not all that bad, and I'm not 100% sure. Same thing with trying to re-adjust my valves again.

I know I'll never get perfection, but after all the time and money I've spend, I'd like it to idle smoothly.

Thanks for all the help - this forum is AWESOME ! ! !