Quote:
Originally Posted by TrikeKid
I drive an 85 Toyota Pickup with the carbureted 22R. I was googling around looking at vacuum gauges, and came across this article.
a "honeycomb spacer that fit under the carburetor" as something to atomize fuel and help with economy. Has anyone seen anything like this? I could make something pretty easily on the cheap,
The old squirrel motor is tired, but I still don't think it's impossible to improve on this.
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Hey,
Even with 5th out, 18mpg is lousy. Something's wrong. I bought the last carbureted truck the dealer had, way back when, and it's never given me a moment's trouble. Even when the thermostat stuck wide open, it never went below 22mpg, so you getting only 18 even when you still had 5th tells me you've got something seriously askew in the works.
Check your brakes and be sure you're not dragging a caliper or a shoe.
Get your wheel bearings greased. It's easy to do yourself but I choose to get it done and have somebody else do my brakes, too. About every third brake job I farm out so I can get drums and discs turned, otherwise that's nothing for a driveway mechanic.
Check your cylinder compression. While you're at it, see how well the cylinders are doing at holding compression. I think you've got some stuck rings or something, 18mpg is just awful. I think you can do rings on the 22R with the engine still in the truck. Drop the pan and pull the head, drop the crank. Might as well do the bearings too if you're going to go that far. I've never tried it but one of these days...I'm never selling this old hoopy. Not while it's still working.
Replace your PCV valve. $5, five minutes.
How's it run at really light loads? I don't know why but about every three years or so it's time for a new set of plug wires, and it manifests as bad mileage and engine misses at light loading. Weird, but there it is.
Tire pressure. My mileage jumped about 10% the minute I pumped tires up to sidewall maximum. New tires, time to do that again.
Rear end lube. Tranny lube, too. I guess that last one can wait until you're done inside the tranny. I used Amsoil, didn't make an appreciable difference but the rear is noticeably quieter.
While you're at it, rear end entirely. I've got the 3.73 rear and wish I had the 3.35. That one's hard to find but it's out there. Lord knows the engine makes enough torque to pull the taller gear, that's not a problem unless you do a lot of towing or heavy hauling. And frankly, if you did you wouldn't be driving a Toy. One of these days, I'll switch mine...and then my speedo will read correctly.
Engine fan - switch to electric. I haven't done that yet.
I haven't done any carb mods at all. But I read in Hot VWs about a little doolie they found to put under their carb and it's just like you described, a little spacer with some mesh. And it did make a big difference in the fuel mileage they were getting on their "mileage motor" project. So it's worth looking into.
Vacuum gauge. I plumbed mine into the carb booster line, just upstream of the check valve. Works a treat.