FJ60 Idle Speed Adjustments

[sitesbyjoe]

I've read quite a few posts on idle speed adjustments (great info of course) and I'm preparing to perform my first idle speed adjustment...

Mine's idling at about 500 - a little low and I'm about to attempt the idle screw adjustment. I've been nervous about removing the air cleaner because of all the darn vacuum lines everywhere - do I need to remove all those to get the air cleaner off?

That might be a really stupid question, I know. It does appear I have to remove them.

I just started to replace the lines one by one with new silicone hosing so maybe it's time to redo those lines anyway.

I started on the passenger side with the 5mm line coming off the air cleaner and running to the distributor and the couple 3mm lines in that area.

I've read:

* 650rpm normal idle
* 690rpm with the choke engaged (is that it?)
* and around 1000rpm with the A/C on

Do those numbers sound right to you?

 

[sitesbyjoe]

I assume this line will need to be disconnected:

And on the front, these:

Is that it?

 

[jawjatek]

You do not have to remove air cleaner to adjust idle speed. The idle and high idle screws can be reached with a medium to long phillips screwdriver on the firewall side of the carb. I know 'cause I adjusted mine earlier tonight. idle at 650, high idle at 1800 (USA FSM, but I set mine to 1600), and AC idle up at 1000.

 

[sitesbyjoe]

Good to know - and thanks for the numbers!

 

[Output Shaft]

Also 650 rpm is not written in stone.
Unless you've got a separate tachometer, I wouldn't give too much credence that what the cab tach is showing you is super accurate.

Some guys tweak the idle speed up a little higher to give a smoother idle and better cooling at idle when suddenly stopping from a fast run.

Or better idle when the engine lives in cold places.

I would recommend setting idle speed by feel and engine sound.

Set it as low as you can while still keeping the engine happy.

 

[gregnash]

Also 650 rpm is not written in stone.
Unless you've got a separate tachometer, I wouldn't give too much credence that what the cab tach is showing you is super accurate.

Some guys tweak the idle speed up a little higher to give a smoother idle and better cooling at idle when suddenly stopping from a fast run.

Or better idle when the engine lives in cold places.

I would recommend setting idle speed by feel and engine sound.

Set it as low as you can while still keeping the engine happy.

This^^^^ Dig through the FSMs if you haven't got them already (see my sig line) and get the information from there. 650rpm is where I would start and then add a little as you can feel/hear the engine and the fact that it is happy or not.

 

[Silver City Cruiser]

please call me and i will help you for free , 505-325-4388 Bill

 

[sitesbyjoe]

Thanks Bill, I will!

 

[Silver City Cruiser]

Thanks Bill, I will!

I will walk you through it and then you can post what we did here, Bill

 

[NookShneer]

Bump for results and a description.

 

[sitesbyjoe]

Ok update - I got on the phone with Bill from Bill's Toy Shop (thanks Bill!!) and he walked me through a couple things to check before touching the carb screws since the idle speed being low could be a symptom of a vacuum leak etc.

I followed his instructions which were to pull the one hose off and try to suck air through it to see if there's a vacuum leak. No air coming through.

I'm sure there's more to it but I was on my way to work when I called him and we agreed to get on the phone again to discuss the screws.

Then, things came up and it wasn't until later that night when I had a chance to fiddle with the screws - which I still hadn't even located. Since it was late a night I didn't want to bug Bill and decided to just give the screws a try. This was Thursday night, and the local LC club was doing a club run on Saturday morning so I was really anxious to get that idle speed adjusted. This would be the first time ever taking the FJ60 out on actual trails with "challenges" etc.

I read on here that the screws are pretty tough to find. Indeed you have to really get in there behind the carb to spot them - but once you see them you're like "Oh! they're right there!"

The A/C idle speed was easy to find and out front. Then I found 2 in the back:

After having one foot on the driver side front wheel and another on a little step ladder I finally got in there deep enough to spot the first of the 2 back screws. I'm a knucklehead and can't remember of this one is the choke idle or not. At first when I adjusted it nothing happened and I wondered if it was the mix? All I knew was that the idle wasn't adjusting. (You're probably realizing I have NO mechanical skills at this point)

After a bit of searching with the flash light I found the one I've labeled "idle speed" which was what I was looking for. I tightened it up a little and the engine was humming happily at approx. 650rpm - it's tough to be exact with the gauge on the dashboard. I was at about 500rpm. That little bit of adjustment did the trick!

 

[Random Dan]

That's the fast idle adjustment. It sets throttle position when the choke is out.

The mixture screw is near the base of the carb on the passenger side/back corner. I believe on the US models it has a cover to prevent the plebians from messing with it.

 

[sitesbyjoe]

Thanks for clarifying that - it's been a couple days and I was having trouble remembering!

 

[84FJCruiser]

Ok update - I got on the phone with Bill from Bill's Toy Shop (thanks Bill!!) and he walked me through a couple things to check before touching the carb screws since the idle speed being low could be a symptom of a vacuum leak etc.

I followed his instructions which were to pull the one hose off and try to suck air through it to see if there's a vacuum leak. No air coming through.

View attachment 1139762

I'm sure there's more to it but I was on my way to work when I called him and we agreed to get on the phone again to discuss the screws.

Then, things came up and it wasn't until later that night when I had a chance to fiddle with the screws - which I still hadn't even located. Since it was late a night I didn't want to bug Bill and decided to just give the screws a try. This was Thursday night, and the local LC club was doing a club run on Saturday morning so I was really anxious to get that idle speed adjusted. This would be the first time ever taking the FJ60 out on actual trails with "challenges" etc.

I read on here that the screws are pretty tough to find. Indeed you have to really get in there behind the carb to spot them - but once you see them you're like "Oh! they're right there!"

View attachment 1139767

The A/C idle speed was easy to find and out front. Then I found 2 in the back:

View attachment 1139768

After having one foot on the driver side front wheel and another on a little step ladder I finally got in there deep enough to spot the first of the 2 back screws. I'm a knucklehead and can't remember of this one is the choke idle or not. At first when I adjusted it nothing happened and I wondered if it was the mix? All I knew was that the idle wasn't adjusting. (You're probably realizing I have NO mechanical skills at this point)

After a bit of searching with the flash light I found the one I've labeled "idle speed" which was what I was looking for. I tightened it up a little and the engine was humming happily at approx. 650rpm - it's tough to be exact with the gauge on the dashboard. I was at about 500rpm. That little bit of adjustment did the trick!

VERY helpful info. Thanks for taking the time to post pics etc.

 

[78Mustard]

Super helpful post (and images) - just used this to adjust my idle speed.

Much appreciated.