2.3L Carburetor Help

[brute29]

Hello everyone. I recently rebuilt the engine in my 83 ranger 2wd with 2.3L. I had the carb off and a new kit was put in it by my local mechanic. After getting the ranger running it ran good for a couple months but now it seems ot spit and sputter from time to time. I mostly notice it when braking and slowing down. It has at times started sputtering some when just driving at constant speeds. I talked to a guy who has worked on these before and he said it sounded like a vac line issue. I was wondering if any of you guys had any words of wisdom? I was wondering if there was any way to put a different carb on that doesnt need vac lines maybe? Thanks in advance for your help. I did some searching about a similar problem on this forum but couldn't find anything, so If I'm blind and missed the thread please point me in the right direction!

 

[Mark_88]

There are a few threads on here by other members who swapped out their old carb and upgraded.

Your issue doesn't actually sound like vacuum to me because it would idle rough from the start, maybe backfire through the carb a few times and otherwise die...but it depends on what vacuum lines you have now. My 2.0 was a huge PITA to try to figure out with the stock "Asian" carb and a thousand different lines for the emissions.

I ended up swapping it out for the Motorcraft 5200 from a 78 Mustang II...intake and all...had only one vacuum line for the EGR...ran like a dream after that for about a year and then started giving me headaches again...but mostly because I cooked the head.


Anyway, there are a few carb options that you can find in older threads...they don't post much any more so either they've worked out their problems or they lit them on fire...you can search this site for "32/36 Weber", "holley 350", "2150" or just "carb upgrade" or similar...

As for the current problem, you could try starting the engine and then spraying something like brake cleaner around the carb and vac lines...if the engine idle goes up when you do that then you have probably found a leak...could be the base of the carb so pay attention to that...

Post pics of your current setup if possible...maybe someone can identify it and suggest other tuning that may be available...the 5200 has a few adjustments that can be made but others don't necessarily have those features.

 

[brute29]

Sorry guys I've been out farming, now that its raining I hopefully will get some time to look into this carb. I called weber carbs direct about a new carb and they said since my original carb is a motorcraft and not a holley they couldn't help.

I will try the carb cleaner spray to see if its leaking. Would it be possible to swap intake manifolds to open up some different carb options?

 

[Mark_88]

Definitely! I swapped on an intake from a 78 Mustang II complete with the carb I now have. There are new and used carbs available but, unfortunately, we can't just plop one on...may need an adapter plate to work with your current intake or even if you swap intakes.

There is quite a bit of information on this site in various posts...at one time I was going to try to tie them all together as completely as possible but never did get to doing it...just too much happening to spare the time...but, anyway, I guess it really depends on how deep your wallet is and how much you want to spend on opening up your engine...or if you just want to scrape together something that will work for now and pray for a lottery win...

And that also depends on what you currently have...how many miles on the engine...and when it last operated (mine sat for five years before I started driving it...started right up but ran crappy till I fixed the vac leaks).

Edit: Just reread your original post...the engine was recently rebuilt (check) and it ran fine until recently (checka checka)...and you noticed it more when slowing down or braking....(checkaroonie)...

So...does it have a brake booster...and...if so, have you inspected the line from the brake booster to the vacuum tree? Could be that the vac line has a hairline split in it and seeping when it is pressurized by the activation of the booster...

If you don't have a brake booster...maybe check the PCV...under "slow down" conditions the engine is under high vacuum...any leaks whatsoever in the line or a wonky PCV system can allow excessive air into the intake and cause your engine to sputter...maybe a backfire or two usually...especially when you hit the gas again.

 

[brute29]

Yes, it does have a brake booster. I will inspect those lines. I guess as far as money goes I'm kind of committed to spending what I have to, within reason, to justify spending the money to get it rebuilt...