1984 corolla runs unevenly, dies at times

[Per]

I have a problem with my 1987 corolla that I had for maybe 6 months, it is convenient to have an old car to punish at work but it has been giving me problems lately. First it would idle at 3000 rpms when you started it, and after driving away it would go back to normal. Then it started running unevenly at times, needing lots of gas to get moving, like there was no torque even at normal RPMs. As of now I need to give it gas continually when stopping at an intersection because the engine will die once I press the clutch and release the gas pedal.


Since this all comes and goes and it sometimes runs very well I suspect it may be the carburetor. I took off the air filter and all that and cleaned it with carburettor cleaner, lubing it up with 5-56 but the problem is still there. I am not good with carburetors but I noticed the choke valve does open up completely after it runs for a minute or so and as it opens up, the engine runs worse and worse and needs gas not to die. If I block the choke part of the carburetor with my hand and only let a little air through then the engine runs perfectly fine, and dies when I take my hand away.

So my layman's conclusion is that the choke does not work properly. I now ask those who know more if I am on the right track, and if so, how do I fix it......?

The engine is labeled 4A-K47.


Thankful for any help, shout if I should post any info, photos etc.

[Per]

Today I tried finding a repair manual but was unable to so I just lubed her up a bit more, replaced the air filter and fuel filter, plus I made sure the vacuum hoses were all good, I noticed two of them were cracked at the ends so made sure that was all tight and good.

I started it up and it ran nicely, no surging idle or sudden stops. I left it on for a bit, took it for a test drive and it ran nice and smooth. Buut after only 2 kms it started coughing and stopped.... =( Now it won't even ignite, worse than before.....

Here are a couple of pics if that helps.



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[Per]

OK, I took off the dis and concluded the contact points were dirty so I cleaned them off, and then it ran! Just as poorly as before though... It will sometimes go up and down in idle and even when it runs well it will demand lots aof gas to get moving, like there is no torque at all. And it will also stall when stopping at a red light and I press the clutch. I noticed this web page and thought it may be the EGR valve? http://autorepair.about.com/od/gloss..._egr-valve.htm

However, I would like to get a repair manual online but am completely unable to find one for the 1983-87 front-wheel-drive corollas, free or paid. Does anybody know where to find one?

Edit: I also fixed a vacuum hose that was worn but no improvement, vacuum lines look OK.