andyh13
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2018
- Messages
- 15
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 3
- Location
- Warren, MI
- Vehicle Year
- 1985
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Type
- 2.8 V6
- Transmission
- Manual
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
Hello,
Let me preface this all by saying I am not a smart man, and I know even less about trucks. I got a durasparked (by the previous owner) 5-speed 4x4 '85 Ranger with little rust and low miles off craigslist, and have been reading this forum for a while now.
The truck never ran that great, but the engine seems fine it has always just seemed to need a tune. I had it running a lot better once after replacing some vacuum plugs, but there always seemed to be something incredibly messed up with the idle speed and the choke. As I said I am certainly not an expert. I've blown cigar smoke up the vacuum hoses (not recently) and even when I didn't see an obvious leak these issues continued. The soon-to-be-retired guy who sits next to me at work is something of an expert in old Porsches, I brought it by one day and he said the engine is fine but he had no idea what's going on with the carb and suggested replacing it.
I spent 6 months hiking the Appalachian Trail, got back a couple months ago, and was playing with the choke trying to set it as described in https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/764150-will-not-idle-2.html#post6422219 before moving on to the idle adjustments. I think I finally just straight up broke whatever causes the choke plate to return, because the choke plate doesn't return any more. I think I did this subconsciously to force myself into buying a new carb, so that's what I plan on doing.
Can someone help verify that I have good parts selected for an attempt to finally sort this mess out? I am thinking I'll get a new-to-me 2150 from a '79 Pinto. This should have a choke on it, correct? Should I upgrade to the 350 cfm Holly listed on the duraspark conversion page?
I am also suspicious about the choke's vacuum pull off and would like to replace that. Should I order the part for a '79 pinto as well? Is there a good brand to order from? I'm not opposed to spending a bit more for quality parts if I can be confident they'll help me get this truck running better (or if they have a return policy where I'm not SOL if the problem isn't solved).
Is there anything else you guys think I should look into replacing to get this thing running much better (assuming the issue isn't much deeper, but please tell me if you think it is)?
On a similar note, does anyone have detailed procedures on how to set the choke and vacuum pull off? As well as the idle settings and fuel mixtures? Or can anyone provide feedback whether the link above seems to be any good? I know this is a lot to ask for, I wish I knew more about this stuff! I live in Michigan, so the winter weather can be pretty unforgiving to carb-newbies like me.
I apologize if these questions get asked often. I've tried to look through the forums for information but I'm too dumb to know what I can generalize to my situation and I'd rather not spend money on stuff that's unlikely to work. Please let me know if any pictures would be helpful.
Thanks,
Andy
Let me preface this all by saying I am not a smart man, and I know even less about trucks. I got a durasparked (by the previous owner) 5-speed 4x4 '85 Ranger with little rust and low miles off craigslist, and have been reading this forum for a while now.
The truck never ran that great, but the engine seems fine it has always just seemed to need a tune. I had it running a lot better once after replacing some vacuum plugs, but there always seemed to be something incredibly messed up with the idle speed and the choke. As I said I am certainly not an expert. I've blown cigar smoke up the vacuum hoses (not recently) and even when I didn't see an obvious leak these issues continued. The soon-to-be-retired guy who sits next to me at work is something of an expert in old Porsches, I brought it by one day and he said the engine is fine but he had no idea what's going on with the carb and suggested replacing it.
I spent 6 months hiking the Appalachian Trail, got back a couple months ago, and was playing with the choke trying to set it as described in https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/764150-will-not-idle-2.html#post6422219 before moving on to the idle adjustments. I think I finally just straight up broke whatever causes the choke plate to return, because the choke plate doesn't return any more. I think I did this subconsciously to force myself into buying a new carb, so that's what I plan on doing.
Can someone help verify that I have good parts selected for an attempt to finally sort this mess out? I am thinking I'll get a new-to-me 2150 from a '79 Pinto. This should have a choke on it, correct? Should I upgrade to the 350 cfm Holly listed on the duraspark conversion page?
I am also suspicious about the choke's vacuum pull off and would like to replace that. Should I order the part for a '79 pinto as well? Is there a good brand to order from? I'm not opposed to spending a bit more for quality parts if I can be confident they'll help me get this truck running better (or if they have a return policy where I'm not SOL if the problem isn't solved).
Is there anything else you guys think I should look into replacing to get this thing running much better (assuming the issue isn't much deeper, but please tell me if you think it is)?
On a similar note, does anyone have detailed procedures on how to set the choke and vacuum pull off? As well as the idle settings and fuel mixtures? Or can anyone provide feedback whether the link above seems to be any good? I know this is a lot to ask for, I wish I knew more about this stuff! I live in Michigan, so the winter weather can be pretty unforgiving to carb-newbies like me.
I apologize if these questions get asked often. I've tried to look through the forums for information but I'm too dumb to know what I can generalize to my situation and I'd rather not spend money on stuff that's unlikely to work. Please let me know if any pictures would be helpful.
Thanks,
Andy