cold weather starting tips for a noob!

[blackbeaSSt]

thanks for the tips guys.

just out of curiosity, stitch has a tbi setup from a 90 burb thats for sale. gimme some pros and cons for switching.

[nbpro]

http://users.sfo.com/~eagle/howell.html

[69subaru360]

Originally Posted by blackbeaSSt

thanks for the tips guys.

just out of curiosity, stitch has a tbi setup from a 90 burb thats for sale. gimme some pros and cons for switching.

As long as you're willing to do the whole job correctly including the tank, fuel pump and adding a vss there really are no cons.

But you could fix what you have now for under $100 and have it run normally.

[blackbeaSSt]

Originally Posted by 69subaru360

As long as you're willing to do the whole job correctly including the tank, fuel pump and adding a vss there really are no cons.

But you could fix what you have now for under $100 and have it run normally.

what kinda tank?

and yeah im gonna have to do something. this morning it got down to about 40 degrees so i figured this would be a good test.

pumped the gas 4 times and cranked it to an immediate kill. pumped again twice and it started up and stayed as long as i gave it constant gas. after a couple minutes of that i let off and it died. that went on 3 more times before i said forget it and threw it in drive and took off!

[tucsonjwt]

$20 and half an hour of time will test the manual choke theory. Cheap experiment IMHO, and you know what the choke is doing when you are inside the truck trying to start it.
FI is the way to go, but if you get the truck to start and run well without it - why spend the $$? TBI is not foolproof either. How many miles do you drive your truck per year? Unless you really drive it a lot the cost of conversion is not worth it, IMHO.
What exactly is your truck? Year, C10 or C20, rear axle ratio, mods, etc.?
Unless you have a C10 shortbed with a V6 and open rear axle ratio, you likely won't benefit much from a TBI as far as fuel mileage goes. The best I got with a 3/4 ton longbed (had 3 squares like this) was 12 city/14 hwy. I have a new GMC 1/2 ton ext. cab with 4.8L and it is EPA rated for 14/19 mpg.

[78 Chevyrado]

As soon as you're truck will run well enough to drive it, drive off. it'll warm up faster driving. just drive it EASY until it warms up. revving and idleing just wastes gas so don't do it more than you have to. My truck sometimes needs to fast idle for 10 seconds, and sometimes for a minute or so depending on how cold it is. you'll get a feel for how much time it needs as you get used to it.

[blackbeaSSt]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

$20 and half an hour of time will test the manual choke theory. Cheap experiment IMHO, and you know what the choke is doing when you are inside the truck trying to start it.
FI is the way to go, but if you get the truck to start and run well without it - why spend the $$? TBI is not foolproof either. How many miles do you drive your truck per year? Unless you really drive it a lot the cost of conversion is not worth it, IMHO.
What exactly is your truck? Year, C10 or C20, rear axle ratio, mods, etc.?
Unless you have a C10 shortbed with a V6 and open rear axle ratio, you likely won't benefit much from a TBI as far as fuel mileage goes. The best I got with a 3/4 ton longbed (had 3 squares like this) was 12 city/14 hwy. I have a new GMC 1/2 ton ext. cab with 4.8L and it is EPA rated for 14/19 mpg.

not a lot of miles at all. maybe 100/week if im lucky.

and its an 82 sierra/1500 (whatever they called it back then), no clue about axle, and just a rebuilt 305 with a mild cam.

[nbpro]

I don't mean to be rude, but it seems to me that you need to stick with what you have until you get to know your truck a little better. This conversion you're talking about is not a simple task. A lot of wiring, swapping of parts. So my suggestion would be to fix what you have until you get to know your truck better. That's just my 2¢
read this http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=421969

[GMC Guy]

the carb on your truck is from an earlier model than your truck. the choke set-up is completely different, and will take some work to adapt it to work. my suggestion is to buy a edelbrock 1406. i'm running one on my truck and it starts on the first crank no matter the time of year.

[blackbeaSSt]

Originally Posted by nbpro

I don't mean to be rude, but it seems to me that you need to stick with what you have until you get to know your truck a little better. This conversion you're talking about is not a simple task. A lot of wiring, swapping of parts. So my suggestion would be to fix what you have until you get to know your truck better. That's just my 2¢
read this http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=421969

believe you me thats why im on here asking questions! i do feel i know the truck pretty well in that something is not right with it not staying cranked. my quick research and call to my mechanic about switching to tbi has lead me to pursue my current situation and fix said carb!

[nbpro]

rear axle ratiois =the gears bro http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_cata...chevrolet.html

[tucsonjwt]

For info, call your mechanic and ask him how much he wants to install a manual choke and ask him exactly how he would do it? I don't see a choke housing on your picture, and it looks like you have an aftermarket intake manifold, so it might be a hack job to make it work, but you should be able to do it easily. See the pics posted here. One angle bracket near the carb, one angle bracket under the dash to hold the knob, replace choke cover with supplied new cover (with a lever, which hooks to the choke valve tab in the choke housing) -done.
You get some extra brackets and clamps to help route the cable, but you can get by without using all of them.

[blackbeaSSt]

Originally Posted by nbpro

rear axle ratiois =the gears bro http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_cata...chevrolet.html

yeah im aware of what rear gears and axle ratios are bro. i was saying no clue of what the ratio is

[nbpro]

There's a couple of ways to determine this. One is the spin the tire method. Not as accurate, but will work. The other is pulling your differential cover, which I would suggest doing anyways, and changing the oil while you're at it. But your gear ratio has a lot to do with your gas mileage, along with tire size, transmission, driving conditions, and so forth. Good luck.

[motornut]

gets -40 up here....bout 3 pumps work.....and a foot hold on low idle,noticed the mods on the carb maybe the PO wanted the 4 barrels to always kick in,as they won't till it warms up.the red spot shows where the lever is most bend to miss the choke hold.Not sure releasing the clips will make the bits meet again maybe get a choke setup and then bend the lever and ajust the 4 barrels to kick in later if nessary

[blackbeaSSt]

back to said hack job. what do you think would happen if i walk outside right now and cut those 2 wire ties off?

[nbpro]

try it and see wire ties cheap lol

[blackbeaSSt]

Originally Posted by nbpro

try it and see wire ties cheap lol

my luck springs would fly all over the place and i'd never get get my truck running again

[nbpro]

here you there bro

[geezer#99]

Interesting post. If you cut off the wire ties nothing will fly apart. All looks normal to me. I been workin' on Quadrajets for 40 years. Ya old phart!!! The hole in the lever beside the red circle in Motornuts pic is what controls your linkage. Up is no choke. Down is full choke. A rod that attaches there from a thermostatic choke stove on your intake controls your choke. That cover with the 2 capscrews is where the choke stove goes. Edelbrock has one. The vacuum pot needs to be hooked up with a vacuum hose to a port below your fuel inlet. If you want to see how it all works together cut the ties. Pull off your air cleaner. Move the lever with the hole in it and your choke plate in the top of the carb should open and close. The linkage is inside the carb.
The lever Motornut has circled is a secondary lock-out. When the choke is working correctly when it's cold a small lever slips onto the end so you can't over rev the motor till it's warmed up. When you're warmed up the lever drops out of the way.
The vacuum pot is there to pull back your lever to open your choke plate about a 1/4 inch so your motor will keep running.
If your lucky with a new choke stove from edelbrock and your vacuum pot hooked up you'll be cured.
Let us know what you find.

[Shawn5488]

If that truck were mine I would find a shop that really knows quadrajets and have them put a new\modified Quadajet on it, you will be glad you did, use the electric choke, I here it works nice.

[Cue-Ball]

If I were going to spend my hard earned money on a new carburetor, I wouldn't buy a Quadrajet. They're not bad carbs, but Edelbrocks operate similarly while being simpler, easier to service, and easier to find parts for. If you're not going for originality or you don't already have a big investment in Quadrajets and their parts, I don't see any advantage to using one.

[redneckchevy]

I live in northern WI and it gets forshmuging cold here, and my '86 c-10 (350 with Edelbrock intake and carb) i have it set up with a manul choke, it starts up in the cold with no prob at all, i never rev or flog on a cold engine, even in the summer i let it idle for a min befor driving it. Just run a good oil and let it idle for a bit befor driving it and you will be good to go.

[flamingbig10]

mine usually cranks cold start the first time with no pumps or two when its Texas cold out with a 1406 edle

[MTCK]

I've had edelbrocks and qjets and soon-to-be TBI in real cold weather and so far (TBI not yet tested) the qjet wins. Ditch the open element air cleaner and get a stock one withe the thermoswitch that pulls warm air from your manifold.

The hot-air style choke works great when it's cold and you can start driving as soon as you build oil pressure. I try to keep it below 2k rpm until the thermostat opens.

I never got an edelbrock to run right below 0F with either an electric or manual choke. Rejetted, idle mixture adjusted etc. I'd try to get the qjet tuned right personally. That is the cheapest option. Will also report back on the TBI. It snowed two days ago here!!!
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