Won't run right

[BillzCruiser]

I have a 85 fj 60 that mostly runs ok. I was driving it on a two hour trip and it did fine all the way there and part of the way back. as soon as i get on the interstate it starts sputtering and dying out. It would go if i barely pressed the gas and didn't accelerate at all, but if i pressed down on the gas at all it just started sputtering and shaking the truck. the further i went the worse it got and eventually it just wouldn't go anymore.

It sat for a week before i could mess with it. i put a new fuel filter on it, cranked it, and it seemed to be running fine. but it seems to be sputtering out a little when i drive longer distances ( 15 - 20 miles ). I am pretty sure that if i get in it again and try to take off down the interstate it will happen again.

should i disconnect the char cannister ( or whatever its called) ? i read something about swapping the vacuum lines running to it.

I am also thinking i might pull the internals out of the smog pump, i've done that before on another cruiser and seemed to work ok.

the truck has had an uneven acceleration since i have owned it, as you accelerate it will kind of quicken and slow. don't know if that might be related.

what should i check and generally what are the tricks with the emission system, i don't have to have it tested in my state so i can do whatever to it.

thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

 

[Joe_E]

If you have the original carb on there, I would suggest sending it to JimC for a rebuild.
Starting there is better than starting to pull all sorts of hoses and lines.

 

[FJ40Jim]

Bill, there can be advantages to fiddling w/ the smog pump and the canister.
But they are not causing the symptoms.
This is a classic case of insufficient fuel flow. Do a fuel pump volume test per the FSM.
If it is insufficient, then there is a problem w/ the fuel pump or a restriction in the feed line.
If it is good from the pump, then there is a problem at the carb inlet screen or the needle & seat.

 

[lehiguy]

Ditto on the fuel starvation. Since you just replaced the filter, you might have a dying fuel pump (look for leaks at the pump) or a clogged "sock" in the tank. I have also seen this very thing happen from a bad gas cap of all things. If it stops venting and won't allow air into the tank, this is what happnes. Next time this occurs, try removing the gas cap. If there is a vacuum there, you have a bad cap. I had this happen on my FJ40. Also, make sure that your fuel pump is hooked up to the correct line, not the return line.

 

[Jason YY]

Try removing the gas cap.If there is a vacuum there, you have a bad cap.

Just to clarify, because I have a vacuum. That means I have a bad cap?

The reason I ask, is I recently seemed to run out of gas. However, the tank was half full. I went to the gas cap and cracked it open. I could hear the tank "creak" as it expanded.

I changed the fuel filter, and the rig now runs how it has in the past.

Hesitates under excelleration. Low power, I have just changed my driving style to accomadated the car.

I have 291,+++ miles on the stock drivetrain. No engine work, no head gasket, just oil changes.

I am just trying to make it to 300K,

I have had a vacuum on the gas cap since I have owned the rig. (3 years)

 

[lehiguy]

Just to clarify, because I have a vacuum. That means I have a bad cap?

The reason I ask, is I recently seemed to run out of gas. However, the tank was half full. I went to the gas cap and cracked it open. I could hear the tank "creak" as it expanded.

I changed the fuel filter, and the rig now runs how it has in the past.

Hesitates under excelleration. Low power, I have just changed my driving style to accomadated the car.

I have 291,+++ miles on the stock drivetrain. No engine work, no head gasket, just oil changes.

I am just trying to make it to 300K,

I have had a vacuum on the gas cap since I have owned the rig. (3 years)

Was the cap hard to pull off, held on by the vacuum in the tank? When it happened to my FJ40, I could hardly remove it. Usually there is a slight pressure in the tank, that's normal, vacuum is not. Try a new cap, it's a cheap investment. It's also cheap and easy to test fuel pressure and volume.

 

[NCCruiser302]

I would definitely go with the carb rebuild. My 60 exactly what yours sounds like, but after I rebuilt the carb (I HIGHLY suggest you fork over the $$$ to Jim C rather than do it yourself-"never again" is my motto) it runs like a dream, no starvation/sputtering

 

[Jason YY]

Was the cap hard to pull off, held on by the vacuum in the tank? When it happened to my FJ40, I could hardly remove it. Usually there is a slight pressure in the tank, that's normal, vacuum is not. Try a new cap, it's a cheap investment. It's also cheap and easy to test fuel pressure and volume.

The time that it seemed to run out. The cap was very hard to remove. (I believe the fuel filter was the problem) I cut the filter in half. It appeared that there was possibly some water. The element seemed to be swollen.

Normally its just slight vacuum. I am going to continue believing that my 291+++ mile criuser is not a race car. And continue to drive it as such.


Sorry about hijacking the other dudes thread


FYI I had similar symptoms, with the bad filter. It would run fine then start sputtering. I presumed that the stuff in the filter would settle while the car sat. Then after, I drove it a while the stuff would reclog the filter. Causeing the sputtering no fuel factor. Filters are cheap.

 

[BillzCruiser]

the previous owner had put a new carburetor on the truck before i got it, maybe 6,000 miles ago, so i am inclined to think it is not the carb. But i may be wrong. what was wrong with your carb that made it do that?

Also( to fj40Jim), how do you do fuel pump volume test? I'm not familiar with that.