1987 Corolla Sr5-Carburetor and other problems..

i have a 1987 corolla sr5, and i’ve experienced acceleration lag,
irratic idle, backfires.. you name it. i bought a carburetor rebuild
kit for my carb, but that hardly scratched the surface on solving my
problems. it runs "better," but it’s far off from running
"correctly." the car should idle around 650 rpms when warm
(according to Chilton’s), but instead, it idles around 1,000 to 1,400.
any lower, and it stalls. i’ve replaced all of the hoses connecting to
the carburetor, and fastened them more securely than the ones before
were. this helped a little bit. the car still runs rich, still
backfires, and the idle is still irratic.
i’m not sure whether or not to tackle the fuel lines or what, but if
anybody has any idea what could help me solve my problem... i’d really
appriciate it!

--
Posted using the [url]http://www.autoforumz.com[/url] interface, at author's request
Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards
Topic URL: [url]http://www.autoforumz.com/Toyota-1987-Corolla-Sr5-Carburetor-problems-ftopict106567.html[/url]
Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse: [url]http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=496670[/url]

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:54:18 -0500, cowboy wrote:
[color=blue]
> i have a 1987 corolla sr5, and i’ve experienced acceleration lag,
> irratic idle, backfires.. you name it. i bought a carburetor rebuild
> kit for my carb, but that hardly scratched the surface on solving my
> problems. it runs "better," but it’s far off from running
> "correctly." the car should idle around 650 rpms when warm
> (according to Chilton’s), but instead, it idles around 1,000 to 1,400.
> any lower, and it stalls. i’ve replaced all of the hoses connecting to
> the carburetor, and fastened them more securely than the ones before
> were. this helped a little bit. the car still runs rich, still
> backfires, and the idle is still irratic.
> i’m not sure whether or not to tackle the fuel lines or what, but if
> anybody has any idea what could help me solve my problem... i’d really
> appriciate it![/color]

I'm trusting you reset the float, cleaned the needles and all the little
jets in the carb when you had it apart?

"hachiroku" wrote:[color=blue]
> On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:54:18 -0500, cowboy wrote:
>[color=green]
> > i have a 1987 corolla sr5, and i’ve experienced acceleration[/color]
> lag,[color=green]
> > irratic idle, backfires.. you name it. i bought a carburetor[/color]
> rebuild[color=green]
> > kit for my carb, but that hardly scratched the surface on[/color]
> solving my[color=green]
> > problems. it runs "better," but it’s far off from running
> > "correctly." the car should idle around 650 rpms when warm
> > (according to Chilton’s), but instead, it idles around 1,000[/color]
> to 1,400.[color=green]
> > any lower, and it stalls. i’ve replaced all of the hoses[/color]
> connecting to[color=green]
> > the carburetor, and fastened them more securely than the[/color]
> ones before[color=green]
> > were. this helped a little bit. the car still runs rich,[/color]
> still[color=green]
> > backfires, and the idle is still irratic.
> > i’m not sure whether or not to tackle the fuel lines or[/color]
> what, but if[color=green]
> > anybody has any idea what could help me solve my problem...[/color]
> i’d really[color=green]
> > appriciate it![/color]
>
> I'm trusting you reset the float, cleaned the needles and all
> the little
> jets in the carb when you had it apart?[/color]

the carb is completely clean. didn’t do much with the float though..
but most of the internals of the carburetor didn’t seem to be in too
bad shape. it was a basic rebuild kit; not TOO extensive, but it did
solve a few problems. earlier today, i checked some fuel lines and
found that one of the previous owners tried to apply silicone to a
crack and wrap duct tape around it in attemps to seal it; a failed
effort. i replaced the line, and noticed an immediate overall
improvement. however, the idle is still irratic and i cannot get the
car to idle below 1,000 rpms..

--
Posted using the [url]http://www.autoforumz.com[/url] interface, at author's request
Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards
Topic URL: [url]http://www.autoforumz.com/Toyota-1987-Corolla-Sr5-Carburetor-problems-ftopict106567.html[/url]
Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse: [url]http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=497600[/url]

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:33:14 -0500, cowboy wrote:
[color=blue]
> "hachiroku" wrote:[color=green]
> > On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:54:18 -0500, cowboy wrote:
> >[color=darkred]
> > > i have a 1987 corolla sr5, and i’ve experienced acceleration[/color]
> > lag,[color=darkred]
> > > irratic idle, backfires.. you name it. i bought a carburetor[/color]
> > rebuild[color=darkred]
> > > kit for my carb, but that hardly scratched the surface on[/color]
> > solving my[color=darkred]
> > > problems. it runs "better," but it’s far off from running
> > > "correctly." the car should idle around 650 rpms when warm
> > > (according to Chilton’s), but instead, it idles around 1,000[/color]
> > to 1,400.[color=darkred]
> > > any lower, and it stalls. i’ve replaced all of the hoses[/color]
> > connecting to[color=darkred]
> > > the carburetor, and fastened them more securely than the[/color]
> > ones before[color=darkred]
> > > were. this helped a little bit. the car still runs rich,[/color]
> > still[color=darkred]
> > > backfires, and the idle is still irratic.
> > > i’m not sure whether or not to tackle the fuel lines or[/color]
> > what, but if[color=darkred]
> > > anybody has any idea what could help me solve my problem...[/color]
> > i’d really[color=darkred]
> > > appriciate it![/color]
> >
> > I'm trusting you reset the float, cleaned the needles and all
> > the little
> > jets in the carb when you had it apart?[/color]
>
> the carb is completely clean. didn’t do much with the float though..
> but most of the internals of the carburetor didn’t seem to be in too
> bad shape. it was a basic rebuild kit; not TOO extensive, but it did
> solve a few problems. earlier today, i checked some fuel lines and
> found that one of the previous owners tried to apply silicone to a
> crack and wrap duct tape around it in attemps to seal it; a failed
> effort. i replaced the line, and noticed an immediate overall
> improvement. however, the idle is still irratic and i cannot get the
> car to idle below 1,000 rpms..[/color]

Yeah, again I'd check the floatr level. You made some changes, miniscule
tough they may be, when you installed the kit. The float needs to be
checked and the needle valve may need clening with carb cleaner.

One other thing, and this bites me in the butt, too; check this before
anything else. It has been mentioned elsewhere here (to you?) about the
vacuum hose thingy (I love getting technical!) that attaches to the bottom
of the air cleaner housing. They come loose when you remove the air
cleanerand cause problems similar to what you're describing. Check that
tube before you do anything.

"hachiroku" wrote:[color=blue]
> On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:33:14 -0500, cowboy wrote:
>[color=green]
> > "hachiroku" wrote:[/color]
>  > > On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:54:18 -0500, cowboy wrote:
>  > >
>   > > > i have a 1987 corolla sr5, and i’ve
> experienced acceleration
>  > > lag,
>   > > > irratic idle, backfires.. you name it. i
> bought a carburetor
>  > > rebuild
>   > > > kit for my carb, but that hardly scratched
> the surface on
>  > > solving my
>   > > > problems. it runs "better," but it’s far
> off from running
>   > > > "correctly." the car should idle around 650
> rpms when warm
>   > > > (according to Chilton’s), but instead, it
> idles around 1,000
>  > > to 1,400.
>   > > > any lower, and it stalls. i’ve replaced all
> of the hoses
>  > > connecting to
>   > > > the carburetor, and fastened them more
> securely than the
>  > > ones before
>   > > > were. this helped a little bit. the car
> still runs rich,
>  > > still
>   > > > backfires, and the idle is still irratic.
>   > > > i’m not sure whether or not to tackle the
> fuel lines or
>  > > what, but if
>   > > > anybody has any idea what could help me
> solve my problem...
>  > > i’d really
>   > > > appriciate it!
>  > >
>  > > I'm trusting you reset the float, cleaned the
> needles and all
>  > > the little
>  > > jets in the carb when you had it apart?[color=green]
> >
> > the carb is completely clean. didn’t do much with the float[/color]
> though..[color=green]
> > but most of the internals of the carburetor didn’t seem to[/color]
> be in too[color=green]
> > bad shape. it was a basic rebuild kit; not TOO extensive,[/color]
> but it did[color=green]
> > solve a few problems. earlier today, i checked some fuel[/color]
> lines and[color=green]
> > found that one of the previous owners tried to apply[/color]
> silicone to a[color=green]
> > crack and wrap duct tape around it in attemps to seal it; a[/color]
> failed[color=green]
> > effort. i replaced the line, and noticed an immediate[/color]
> overall[color=green]
> > improvement. however, the idle is still irratic and i cannot[/color]
> get the[color=green]
> > car to idle below 1,000 rpms..[/color]
>
> Yeah, again I'd check the floatr level. You made some changes,
> miniscule
> tough they may be, when you installed the kit. The float needs
> to be
> checked and the needle valve may need clening with carb
> cleaner.
>
> One other thing, and this bites me in the butt, too; check
> this before
> anything else. It has been mentioned elsewhere here (to you?)
> about the
> vacuum hose thingy (I love getting technical!) that attaches
> to the bottom
> of the air cleaner housing. They come loose when you remove
> the air
> cleanerand cause problems similar to what you're describing.
> Check that
> tube before you do anything.[/color]

i DID in fact check the hose, and it’s in fine condition. the fuel
lines, however, had some cracks.. i cut off as much as i could of the
line to remove the cracks, and re-installed them. much improvement.
the vacuum hose though, does need to be replaced and fitted with
either a smaller hose or one of the same size with a clamp; i’ve run
out of clamps. i want to avoid taking the carburetor out if i can, for
a while. it took several hours to remove because the mounting bolts
are so difficult to reach. but the entire carb was cleaned with carb
cleaner using a small brush and water.

--
Posted using the [url]http://www.autoforumz.com[/url] interface, at author's request
Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards
Topic URL: [url]http://www.autoforumz.com/Toyota-1987-Corolla-Sr5-Carburetor-problems-ftopict106567.html[/url]
Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse: [url]http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=498277[/url]

"cowboy" <UseLinkToEmail@AutoForumz.com> wrote in message
news:42307a35$1_3@alt.athenanews.com...[color=blue]
>
> i DID in fact check the hose, and it's in fine condition. the fuel
> lines, however, had some cracks.. i cut off as much as i could of the
> line to remove the cracks, and re-installed them. much improvement.
> the vacuum hose though, does need to be replaced and fitted with
> either a smaller hose or one of the same size with a clamp; i've run
> out of clamps. i want to avoid taking the carburetor out if i can, for
> a while. it took several hours to remove because the mounting bolts
> are so difficult to reach. but the entire carb was cleaned with carb
> cleaner using a small brush and water.[/color]

Before you waste more time, invest in a vacuum gauge. You can put an end to
the guessing.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 11:47:49 -0500, cowboy wrote:
[color=blue]
> "hachiroku" wrote:[color=green]
> > On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:33:14 -0500, cowboy wrote:
> >[color=darkred]
> > > "hachiroku" wrote:[/color]
> > &nbsp;> > On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:54:18 -0500, cowboy wrote:
> > &nbsp;> >
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > i have a 1987 corolla sr5, and i’ve
> > experienced acceleration
> > &nbsp;> > lag,
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > irratic idle, backfires.. you name it. i
> > bought a carburetor
> > &nbsp;> > rebuild
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > kit for my carb, but that hardly scratched
> > the surface on
> > &nbsp;> > solving my
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > problems. it runs "better," but it’s far
> > off from running
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > "correctly." the car should idle around 650
> > rpms when warm
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > (according to Chilton’s), but instead, it
> > idles around 1,000
> > &nbsp;> > to 1,400.
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > any lower, and it stalls. i’ve replaced all
> > of the hoses
> > &nbsp;> > connecting to
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > the carburetor, and fastened them more
> > securely than the
> > &nbsp;> > ones before
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > were. this helped a little bit. the car
> > still runs rich,
> > &nbsp;> > still
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > backfires, and the idle is still irratic.
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > i’m not sure whether or not to tackle the
> > fuel lines or
> > &nbsp;> > what, but if
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > anybody has any idea what could help me
> > solve my problem...
> > &nbsp;> > i’d really
> > &nbsp;&nbsp;> > > appriciate it!
> > &nbsp;> >
> > &nbsp;> > I'm trusting you reset the float, cleaned the
> > needles and all
> > &nbsp;> > the little
> > &nbsp;> > jets in the carb when you had it apart?[color=darkred]
> > >
> > > the carb is completely clean. didn’t do much with the float[/color]
> > though..[color=darkred]
> > > but most of the internals of the carburetor didn’t seem to[/color]
> > be in too[color=darkred]
> > > bad shape. it was a basic rebuild kit; not TOO extensive,[/color]
> > but it did[color=darkred]
> > > solve a few problems. earlier today, i checked some fuel[/color]
> > lines and[color=darkred]
> > > found that one of the previous owners tried to apply[/color]
> > silicone to a[color=darkred]
> > > crack and wrap duct tape around it in attemps to seal it; a[/color]
> > failed[color=darkred]
> > > effort. i replaced the line, and noticed an immediate[/color]
> > overall[color=darkred]
> > > improvement. however, the idle is still irratic and i cannot[/color]
> > get the[color=darkred]
> > > car to idle below 1,000 rpms..[/color]
> >
> > Yeah, again I'd check the floatr level. You made some changes,
> > miniscule
> > tough they may be, when you installed the kit. The float needs
> > to be
> > checked and the needle valve may need clening with carb
> > cleaner.
> >
> > One other thing, and this bites me in the butt, too; check
> > this before
> > anything else. It has been mentioned elsewhere here (to you?)
> > about the
> > vacuum hose thingy (I love getting technical!) that attaches
> > to the bottom
> > of the air cleaner housing. They come loose when you remove
> > the air
> > cleanerand cause problems similar to what you're describing.
> > Check that
> > tube before you do anything.[/color]
>
> i DID in fact check the hose, and it’s in fine condition. the fuel
> lines, however, had some cracks.. i cut off as much as i could of the
> line to remove the cracks, and re-installed them. much improvement.
> the vacuum hose though, does need to be replaced and fitted with
> either a smaller hose or one of the same size with a clamp; i’ve run
> out of clamps. i want to avoid taking the carburetor out if i can, for
> a while. it took several hours to remove because the mounting bolts
> are so difficult to reach. but the entire carb was cleaned with carb
> cleaner using a small brush and water.[/color]

Hmmm...sounds like you definitely covered all the bases...

This is about where my knowledge of Carb'd fuel systems expires (uh, I
haven't HAD more than these problems!)

cowboy wrote:[color=blue]
> i have a 1987 corolla sr5, and i've experienced acceleration lag,
> irratic idle, backfires.. you name it. i bought a carburetor rebuild
> kit for my carb, but that hardly scratched the surface on solving my
> problems. it runs "better," but it's far off from running
> "correctly." the car should idle around 650 rpms when warm
> (according to Chilton's), but instead, it idles around 1,000 to[/color]
1,400.[color=blue]
> any lower, and it stalls. i've replaced all of the hoses connecting[/color]
to[color=blue]
> the carburetor, and fastened them more securely than the ones before
> were. this helped a little bit. the car still runs rich, still
> backfires, and the idle is still irratic.
> i'm not sure whether or not to tackle the fuel lines or what, but[/color]
if[color=blue]
> anybody has any idea what could help me solve my problem... i'd[/color]
really[color=blue]
> appriciate it![/color]


I tend to doubt it's running "rich" near idle, causing it to die below
1000 rpms. I rather think you have a bad base gasket leak. At least
try retorquing the 4 nuts at the carb base and maybe removing it to
check for tears above or below the spacer plate.

Also, did you notice that one of the two throttle body attaching screws
(going into the bottom of the carb) has a hole drilled completely
through it? That screw needs to be in the right hole to feed vacuum to
the power valve actuator piston. Of course if the solid bolt was used
in its place then that WOULD cause the car to run rich, blowing away my
previous theory.

And as far as the float level goes, realistically they don't need
adjustment if you keep from bending it accidentally. And its really
easy to look through the sight glass in the carb body whilst parked on
a level surface. The metal sight glass retainer is designed with
pointers like a level marker. Fuel level should be in the middle, at
the pointers.

Toyota MDT in MO