Join Our Ford Truck Forum Today

Document your Ford truck project here and inspire others! Login/Register to view the site with fewer ads.

auto to manual choke.

bought a manual choke for the truck yesterday, its universal so i expect to run into a couple little snags while installing.
i opened it up and the one that uses the peices from the old auto choke don't seem to fit without modifying the old choke "tang".

do you suggest i do that, or keep the choke housing removed. then i will have to make a custom piece to hold the cable in place.
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
Most of the cables i have used Tyler have a loop wound on the end of them...I remove the black cap and simply put the loop in between the choke tangs...then using two pair of needle nose pliers...one for a backup...the other to carefully bend the choke tang to hold the cable in place...for a cleaner look carefully remove the thermal spring from the cap..drill a hole in the side of it...reinstall once its adjusted..you may have to fab a bracket to hold the cable in the rear....Remember to set the choke depress the throttle while setting the choke to bring the high idle cam up...otherwise the cable will tend to bind up...Hope this helps you out..
 
the kit i got you replace the choke housing cap and it has a piece that goes over the tang but the tang was too wide. i ended up taking the old tang off my other carb and breaking a tooth of, i didn't mean to it just snapped. i switched a couple other little parts then put it on.

it works fine, but i still need to figure out the cable. it came with l brackets but the only place i really have on the manifold to mount it is the nut on the carb or the one where the old egr vavlve was.

so i might make a bracket and put it over the egr block off plate. then i can mount the cable. i'm debating on either drilling through the front of the dash by the steering wheel or under the dash for the lever.

it won't start with the choke all the way on you have to leave an 1/8 inch gap but then it fires right up instantly and idles nice. it was steaming out of the exhausts for a minute and i also noticed that the passenger exhaust gasket is out and its ticking so i'll have to replace that.
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
I hear ya Tyler...mine was just something i used with just a spare cable laying around in the garage so i made it work... i went from the rear carb stud for my bracket as i had a small chrome air cleaner so clearance wasnt an issue...and i did go through the dash for a stronger mounting point...it worked..Yes you need that 1/8" gap to pull in air..I forgot to mention that...
 
i'll go through the dash then. i'll make a bracket for the carb stud tomorrow i guess. then need to get the cable shortened and mount the lever.

i get a lot of blow bakc through the carb, is there a reason for that? and is it bad that my truck is steaming out of the exhaust?
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
Do you mean Blow by Tyler? if so check the pvc system for vaccum and clogs first...

steam is an indication of condensation in the motor...in cold climates its pretty normal but should clear up once operating temps are reached...short running periods will cause condensation (stop and go type running or driving)
 
alright then thats why it was steaming. when i started it the other day it started making a clicking noise when i was making sure the choke worked so i shut it off because i didn't know what was wrong. prettty sure it was just the passenger exhaust gasket failing finally. the steam did go away after about a minute or two if it hadn't have been steaming i wouldn't have noticed the bad gasket.

i believe i meant blow by, its almost like it fills up with air then blows it out and shoots a mist of gas out of the carb. i'll check the pcv tomorrow when i get home.

it does seem to be running much better with a working choke. it warms up faster and that seems to do a lot.
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
Ok i understand a bit better now...That is not blow by.Im assuming you have electronic distributor...check the cap/rotor for corrosion or wear,vaccum advance for operation set timing to specs...then we will go from there...
 
I recently just did all that because my spark was horrible and had to reset timing because I accidentally bumped it too far and had to reset it..

The dizzy is fine I went trough and cleaned all the contact points on everything and I'm pretty sure the vacuum advance is working. I had blow by a couple time in the summer but now its just the ga and air blowing out the top of the carb once in awhile
 
if the engine needfs rebuilt i might as well just run it until it totally gives up, i might try and get a 390 from my dad that needs rings done in it. i'm not sure that i want to try replacing the carb unless i know thats what it is. what other signs are there that indicate engine is bad? or the carb is?

doesn't burn oil or anything the compression is all about 120-130 is that too low?

still getting the manual choke together. its like 15 degrees out plus a couple feet of snow. its pretty miserable.
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
If those are your readings across the board and no oil consumption as you say..no knocks or noises...then the engine is still in decent shape...as far as the carb goes..im assuming its the 2 brl motorcraft....if it is,could be a stuck needle valve,float going south,gasket blown ect ect..try turning in the air fuel mixture screws at the base of the carb 1 at a time while running the engine at warm idle all the way in...if the motor dies or wants to then back them out approx 2 1/2- 2 3/4 turns or the engine idle speed recovers in a smooth manor.this will give an indication of the condition of the carb...If there is no change when turning in the screws.. the carb needs overhauled PERIOD...AND TYLER..BY ALL MEANS DO THIS IN A SAFE MANOR!! and have someone around while your doing this PLEASE!....... 15 *.....its 6* here.lol and alot of ice on the Mountain where we live...cant wait till spring..
 
I did an oil change back in August when I got the truck and did 5.5 in motor oil with a half quart of marvel.
I haven't noticed any change in the oil level and my gaskets are a little leaky. It doesn't smoke at all, it steams once in awhile and makes me panic at first. The plus last I checked were really clean as well just a red color, but now that I think about it doesn't autolite make a red plug? All lines and filters were replaced, all the ignition parts were replaced other than the dizzy. I went through all wires found two breaks and fixed them.

The passenger gasket is out and ticking but that's all I've noticed, the only other knocking or anything is if I start it without the choke or if it's topping out. That could have been the bad spark though.

I did rebuild the carb in September, could the spring that goes on te float cause it to do this?

Ill do the mixture screws maybe tomorrow if its not too cold out. Last week it was in the negatives with a wind chill factor of -20 to -30 that sucked. It been about 30 lately and I am usually standing in the snow when I work on te truck so I get cold fast.
 
Oh last night it rained for about 10 minutes went out to move the truck to the field so the driveways could be plowed ad there was a lair of ice over the entire truck, ha to move it with the door open and dangling halfway out of it..

Oh and another thing, when I was doing the choke earlier I just happened to mess with the power steering bracket to see I it was loose or anything because the belt looked odd and it was loose. Could that be why the power steering kind of skips once in awhile? The belt slips maybe?
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
For a 30+ yr old rig..ide say it in good running shape Tyler...gaskets leak its par for the course..keep an eye on the oil...Ive explained the steam,dont sweat it..ticking form the exhaust leak is normal and is pretty labor intensive to repair as bolts tend to break off in those motors..live with it for now till better weather comes about..If the needle valve came off the float..yes..may have to pop the top back off the carb....yes its been pretty cold here as well about the same temps at times...jus wait till you get older..lol it really sucks then...heheheh...tighten the belt...oversize tires play a role in this as well...puts more strain on the system..Just take it as it comes Tyler and relax buddy...warmer weather is around the corner. ;)
 
The last gasket took forever but I did realize there was an insert but took about 5 minute after I realized. That ill wait for way to cold out to be laying on th ground.

The manual choke is pretty much temporary. I will eventually switch over to a Holley or even possibly fuel injection. I'm going to rebuild the engine and make a 390 out of it.
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
I put a manual choke on one of my trucks years ago. Ended up not liking it and made the necessary repairs.


Pretty much the same here Mark...done this was along time ago..It will also Teach him how to use one
 
Last edited:
well the power steering pump is lose because it has a broken bolt. somebody sheared the bolt off. the top one that connects to water pump?
 
Last edited:
this one..

this one is sheared off, the others are fine. the bottom one was a little lose but i tightened it.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0782.JPG

Ford Truck Articles

Top