Now it's all about the tuning...

[dangerranger83]

I rebuilt the carb two years ago before I put it on the engine and have alway had a filter in line so all should be clean on the inside. I will try and hook it up tomorrow and see if it doesn any better.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Pull the throttle cable off the carb and have someone push the skinny pedal to the floor and then open the throttle on the carb to WOT. they should match?

 

[dangerranger83]

It goes to WOT when we modded it to work last time I checked. The cable was originally made for a 2.3 setup and we shortened it at the pedal to where there is no slack in any of it. I will also go check that and see if it needs adjusting.

I will also say the truck gets to 6500 rpm in first gear without a problem and will do 35+mph at the same time.

 

[dangerranger83]

Well hooked the accelerator pump up to a vacuum sorce but wont know if it will help at high speed till I do that but the truck still runs rich as hell at idle but no black smoke.

Anyways heres my current throttle linkage setup...what would you guys recommend I set it on? There are 4 slots to choose from, Im on the second one as you can see.

Right now just trying to get better mileage until I do my v8 swap which will be months away from now.

 

[John Smith]

In the rebuild sheet..

Well hooked the accelerator pump up to a vacuum sorce but wont know if it will help at high speed till I do that but the truck still runs rich as hell at idle but no black smoke.

Anyways heres my current throttle linkage setup...what would you guys recommend I set it on? There are 4 slots to choose from, Im on the second one as you can see.

Right now just trying to get better mileage until I do my v8 swap which will be months away from now.

It numbers the slots 1,2,3,4 from the bottom to the top. For summer use it recommends slot 1 or 2. Also the other end of the rod should be in the INNER position (effectivley giving a shorter stoke)..this is the recommendation for a 260, 289 Ford and my carb.

I just changed my 2100 to slot 2, (I was on a road test and didn't have the ability to get the rod in the #1 slot, something I will take care of 2marrow). This will give me the leanest accel shot available for summer use..

 

[dangerranger83]

From what you said, Im on a winter slot ,3, giving a rich shot and maybe using more fuel then needed.

Tell me how your reacts to it.

BTW does it effect how much the throttle opens, etc...or is it just for idle/taking off and whatnot?

What else is everybody else running on theres?

 

[John Smith]

Fom my perspective.

From what you said, Im on a winter slot ,3, giving a rich shot and maybe using more fuel then needed.

Tell me how your reacts to it.

BTW does it effect how much the throttle opens, etc...or is it just for idle/taking off and whatnot?

What else is everybody else running on theres?

The accel pump only reacts as you give throttle intially to enrichen the flow to transition from the idle circuit to the main jet circuit. It could run w/o the accl pump if your mains are correct, but does assist in extra fuel for the transition. it also helps when cold to enrichen for starting.

On another note, how's your power valve situation?..It should be called an "economizer valve" and is called that by some literature because it actually doesn't open till you FLOOR it...if it's working right...

If it's stuck open ..it enlarges your main jet size approx .010?...or so..not cool if ur not sure how it's doin..Just sayin..evidently they are very prone to failure when a backfire occurs...so a check of that may be good?..

You asked how mine has reacted to it?..It has been running rich I feel by reading the plugs and tail pipe..so I am trying to lean a little at a time..

I perhaps should step aside and let others offer some help..I wish you well man

 

[dangerranger83]

The more info the better.

I did hook up the power valve earlier today and is still connected but wont know untill I take it on the highway tonight that also leads up a hill.

But what seems to me is Im just getting to much fuel and thats whats killing me. Remember, this carb was off a 3.8 and has the jets and whatnot for fueling just that. So smaller jets are what I need to get and go from there.

 

[John Smith]

The more info the better.

I did hook up the power valve earlier today and is still connected but wont know untill I take it on the highway tonight that also leads up a hill.

But what seems to me is Im just getting to much fuel and thats whats killing me. Remember, this carb was off a 3.8 and has the jets and whatnot for fueling just that. So smaller jets are what I need to get and go from there.

I understand..well, i took a short 60 miles trip 2day with the 44 jets in my 1.01 venturi...and it ran great..

perhaps if you change them..you can double check that POWER VALVE...and check to see it is actually holding vacuum..

 

[John Smith]

Thanks to all

Who have responded to this thread..

I just filled up again after another short 112 miles and it took 5.5 gallons of fuel. Just over 20 MPG...

So i feel I have reached my intermediate goal for general performance and economy...

To sum up...

2.8L, Autolite 2100 1.01 Venturi, jetted .044, spark plugs Autolite 65's, and E10 Regular...I DO shift into OD by 35 mph

Best wishes for all who fiddle with their own cars and attempt tuning them for better drivability.

 

[dangerranger83]

After driving with the power valve hooked up, it seems to have faster take off when I put my foot down so seems to be working.

After my next check Im going to get some smaller jets and go from there, need better mileage more then anything right now, highway driving is a rare thing for my truck.

 

[John Smith]

to use a quote from..

After driving with the power valve hooked up, it seems to have faster take off when I put my foot down so seems to be working.

After my next check Im going to get some smaller jets and go from there, need better mileage more then anything right now, highway driving is a rare thing for my truck.

a new reality TV show I have come to enjoy...

"helm up and..CHARGE on"

good for you man...best wishes..

 

[dangerranger83]

Well after running the setup with the power valve hooked up it seems like the mileage got better somehow. Usually I can go 40 miles on a quarter tank of fuel (10mpg) and having a 17 gallon tank, I can do 170 miles so if I am now getting 50miles on a quarter tank then Im at 200 miles (yes I have already added in the fact that my tires do throw off what my speedometer says which is 8mph slow). Well I have driven over 50 now and still havent use a quarter tank, all though close to it.

As for power it seems to have a bit more, got her up to 70mph in third, forth wasnt any better, but thats all she has speed wise.

I also will say that since I hooked up of the power valve when I went to start up my truck in weather thats 50 degrees or at least the truck has been sitting over night and go to drive her, it hesitates a bit on take off until it has been running for 5-10 minutes as compaired to before I didnt have this. But to me its no biggy, I just ride it out for a second or so then she catches her breath and goes right along.

Now my only thing is seems to be getting a bit noiser in the cab now, trans is making more noise. Guess after 246,000+ miles on it and its 3rd engine in front of it, I think the syncros and/or bearings are making a bit of rotational noise but it all still shifts smoothly and whatnot so Im not too worried at this time.

 

[John Smith]

good job..

Well after running the setup with the power valve hooked up it seems like the mileage got better somehow. Usually I can go 40 miles on a quarter tank of fuel (10mpg) and having a 17 gallon tank, I can do 170 miles so if I am now getting 50miles on a quarter tank then Im at 200 miles (yes I have already added in the fact that my tires do throw off what my speedometer says which is 8mph slow). Well I have driven over 50 now and still havent use a quarter tank, all though close to it.

As for power it seems to have a bit more, got her up to 70mph in third, forth wasnt any better, but thats all she has speed wise.

I also will say that since I hooked up of the power valve when I went to start up my truck in weather thats 50 degrees or at least the truck has been sitting over night and go to drive her, it hesitates a bit on take off until it has been running for 5-10 minutes as compaired to before I didnt have this. But to me its no biggy, I just ride it out for a second or so then she catches her breath and goes right along.

Now my only thing is seems to be getting a bit noiser in the cab now, trans is making more noise. Guess after 246,000+ miles on it and its 3rd engine in front of it, I think the syncros and/or bearings are making a bit of rotational noise but it all still shifts smoothly and whatnot so Im not too worried at this time.

good to hear about some potential progress..most everybody seems to be getting in the upper teens with these...I'm sure you'd benefit from OD as well...

That slight hesitation when still not up to temp is pretty normal I think..especially since you may be now running with just the main jets, and not the xtra power valve shot constantly..(untill wot)

On another note..have your noticed the variation of spark plug thread depth and seating arrangements in the different years of these cylinder heads on 2.8's?...

I never gave it much thought till I switched a head on mine and noticed the need for the "older" "65" Autolite instead of the "765" used in "84" and later..

if you don't use the older plug (on older heads), it definitely will not seat deep enuf...assumably/possibly affecting proper ignition...or at least may contribute to some pre-ignition issues at temp...

I checked the spark plugs that were in a "spare" 2.8L I was given and found that someone had put the p765's in a head that had "full" threads and a flat seating surface for a gasket. It seems like this also happened to someone else before me..I wonder how well that engine ran..(I'll eventually maybe rebuild it)..

I haven't experiments with "colder" plugs yet...maybe later...the need for "hotter" range plugs for short trips are probably more the need for now..

As far as tranny noise is concerned..I keep thinking about changing the gear lube in mine. I'm sure it would benefit from some fresh lube..I know that conventional 80/90 can "cook" at temp..and really make a mess if it ever gets real hot...(like if it was ever ran "low"..so far I haven't done but it's "on the list"...)

Does ur TK4 have a "mag" drain plug?..I assume so. I'm not sure about my TK5, I think I'll get an extra one and "swap" it to check for "fur"...ever so often...(fur is better than chunks)

 

[dangerranger83]

Ya my TK4 has the magnetic drain plug on it. My last drain and refill was 2 year or so ago and it had very little fur on it and 6 years before that that had very little on it too. As for wanting a thinker oil, you can run it but in the winter months, shifting will be a bit hard until the trans warms up.

As far as over drive goes, Im not going mess with putting anything else into my current engine/trans setup. OD wont help me any when it already has enough of a hard time getting the truck to drive 55-60mph in 4th plus fighting wind resistance too.

As far as heads, I never looked into much for the 2.8. The biggest mod that I did to it awhile back was put a TBI setup on it. I didnt have time to be able to fine tune it or mess around with it on my truck so I took it off and did the Duraspark to it.