New to me 81- strange issues (1 Viewer)

[Tstx92]

Hey everyone! I'm usually over on the 100 series pages but I've had a few 1st and 2nd gen pickups/4runners as well.

I left a note on an '81 a month or so ago and the guy ended up calling me. Test drove it a week later, bought it the following weekend.

When I test drove it, it felt fine, idled well, got to operating temp, shifted, prrrd... Not perfect, but felt solid.

Fast forward to today. I s*** you not, before I left the seller's house, I asked him "You don't think I'll have a hard time getting home do you?" (about an hour away). He assured me I'd be fine so I was on my way. It was going great until about 15 minutes in. I had been keeping an eye on the gauges, they were all looking good, the temp slowly creeped up, about a mm under red but never going into the scary zone. Next, the "charge" light came on the dash and I soon noticed that it would die if I allowed it to idle. Before long, the temp was really flirting with that red line and definitely entered at one point so I pulled over.

No visible leak of any kind, hoses certainly had pressure on them, belts looked good, and the fan clutch felt fine. I was worried I wouldn't be able to start it due to the charge light but it cranked up every time, however, the symptoms never went away. I limped it home stopping every ten minutes or so at the temp would creep up.

For what it is worth, the truck has a Weber carb and an electric fuel pump.

Does anyone have any thoughts of what may be going on or where I should start?

Thanks!

 

[Mudder]

Check alternator voltage at the battery and your battery terminals. As for the weber, you need to put an external fuel pressure regulator on there and make sure it's set for 2.5-3 psi per LCE website.

 

[Travis 76]

Check the radiator and water pump also.

 

[Tstx92]

Check alternator voltage at the battery and your battery terminals. As for the weber, you need to put an external fuel pressure regulator on there and make sure it's set for 2.5-3 psi per LCE website.

Thank you, I've just ordered one, as well as a mechanical fuel pump to replace the noisy electric one.

 

[Tstx92]

Check the radiator and water pump also.

Thanks. What is the easiest way to check those. Of course I visible inspected the radiator but didn't notice anything. For the water pump, what are my options? Do I need a compression test?

 

[Travis 76]

I think the water pump is just squeeze the hose and feel for water flowing. I replaced the radiator on our ‘80 truck with a 22R engine and Webber carb also. It was still overheating. Then pulled the water pump. It had no vanes on it. Didn’t help that it was a junkyard motor and it was ok for a couple years before this.

 

[Travis 76]

I think the best check for the radiator is to check the temps at the top and bottom and see if there is a good drop in temperature.

 

[Tstx92]

I think the best check for the radiator is to check the temps at the top and bottom and see if there is a good drop in temperature.

Great, thanks. I will begin digging into it this week!

 

[toyotaboy80]

Were you on the highway when over heating?
Could be stuck open thermostat if overheating on highway. Or failed rad.
Failed fan if overheating in town/at idle.
Failed waterpump should overheat at any given time or operation.

 

[Tstx92]

I wasn't on the highway when it overheated but, after it cooled down the overheating persisted.

I did find a leak in the radiator so I have a 3-row on the way from Dave's. While it's out, I'm also going to do the water pump, t-stat, fan clutch, and hoses.

For the no-idle issue, I have a mechanical fuel pump on the way to replace the obnoxious electrical one, as well as a fuel pressure regulator.

Also going to do some basic tune up stuff while I'm in there.

It's amazing how cheap it is to work on these, compared to my 100 series!

 

[Travis 76]

Check the butterfly valve in the carb make sure they open all the way. I had to move my throttle cable back about 3/4” to take up the slack in the cable to get full opening.

 

[Tstx92]

Check the butterfly valve in the carb make sure they open all the way. I had to move my throttle cable back about 3/4” to take up the slack in the cable to get full opening.

I’ll do it, thanks!

 

[Dedtruk]

Use an OEM Toy thermostat. Pressure check your radiator cap too. Use red Toy (or equivalent) coolant or whatever Toy recommends for your year rig. All make a significant difference. Ask me how I know ... GL!