Weber conversion

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
GotToyota?
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My tercel:: 1986 Tercel Wagon DLX
Location: Portland, OR

Weber conversion

Post by GotToyota? »

I believe my carb is slowly going, 226k miles and I'm not sure if it's ever been serviced.

And rather than rebuilding my factory one I'm looking into Weber conversions. Are there any kits out there? Here's one I found on eBay but the cutoff seems to be at 87 and up. Will it work on an 86?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Weber-Redli ... 90&vxp=mtr
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dlb
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by dlb »

what makes you think your carb is on it's way out? it's very possible it doesn't need a rebuild, that only one or two emission components needs to be replaced. i recommend figuring out what's wrong first, and then fixing it. you'd hate to go through the expense and effort of putting a weber on to find that your engine needs a rebuild and is actually the cause of your problem, right?

if you do decide to go with a weber, this is the kit you need. it is a K740 and comes with an adapter plate to fit the 3a intake manifold. the one you listed will not fit. i believe it is for the 3e engine.

http://www.nationalcarburetors.com/webe ... itnum=k740
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Petros
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by Petros »

Many on this forum has switched to the weber, but most have not. The factory carb works pretty well when running properly, is reliable and relatively trouble free. Usually poor drivability is from a vacuum leak or mis routed vac lines, or some other component. Sort out the system first and than decided if you really want to spend $300 to replace the carb and all the system associated with it. The carb is not difficult to rebuild, kits are inexpensive ($12 to $30) and drivablity in extremely cold and very hot climates is actually better than the weber. If you live where it stays below freezing for many days at a time, the weber will still work but you will have to wait until the engine warms up before it will run properly.

The weber will give you a little more power and perhaps better throttle response, however it will not pass emissions if your state requires emissions testing.

That weber kit you listed is for the 3rd generation tercel, it uses the same size engine and the carb is almost identical to the carb in the Tercel4wd, so I would think the kit should bolt up (unless that kit was intended to replace the old throttle body fuel injection system). That engine was the 3E, vs our engine the 3AC, it was installed in a transver manner and used a 12 valve head (completely different design than ours). So it would be taking a chance to try that kit over the one that was designed for the 3ac engine.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
GotToyota?
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My tercel:: 1986 Tercel Wagon DLX
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Weber conversion

Post by GotToyota? »

Here is some background info that might help:

- '86 Tercel DLX
- 226k miles
- Recent timing belt/water pump done
- I recently did spark plug/wires
- Fresh oil change
- New fuel filter

The motor purrs and runs well. The issue is that every once in awhile the throttle will seem to "hesitate" a bit or the motor will "buck" slightly when I left off the throttle. Or if I give it throttle it semes to hesitate, like something is getting stuck somewhere. I recently pulled the air filter/top out and gave it a good cleaning. There was a lot of oil and dirt buildup.

This helped the car start a lot easier but the bucking and hesitation issues still happen occasionally.

On another (and maybe unrelated) note, I believe I'm due for a new clutch soon.
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dlb
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by dlb »

check the setting of the throttle positioner, aka TP. use the FSM for this. it's quick and easy to do.

could also be a vacuum leak. check to make sure all the hoses are connected, and that none are cracked or broken. then check the diagram on the underside of the hood and make sure they're going to the right places. then stick a clean hose on each vacuum diaphragm and suck on it. if you can suck air through a diaphragm, that means it's broken and the source of a vacuum leak. disconnect and plug the hose that goes to it until you can replace that component.

it could be other things, like a clogged EGR, but work through those most likely things first and let us know how it goes.
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Petros
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by Petros »

DLB wrote exactly what I was thinking: TP and/or vac leak. could be both.

here is a simple clutch test (do not do this very often): with your parking brake on hard, and your heel firmly on the brake, rev the engine up to about 2k rpm with your toe, and than slowly let out the clutch with it in first gear, giving it more gas as you let it out.

If the engine stalls, the clutch is good. If it just bogs down and you can keep it running by giving it gas, your clutch is shot. Stop now! before you remove any more material from the friction disk. Replace clutch ASAP.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
GotToyota?
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My tercel:: 1986 Tercel Wagon DLX
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by GotToyota? »

Thanks for the tips guys!

I went ahead and replaced two molded rubber lines that were cracked today. Didn't help but at least they're replaced.

I'll take a look at the TP tomorrow. Maybe that's my issue. I'll also do the clutch thing. Thanks fellas!
TURTCEL
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My tercel:: 1985 4WD SR5 Wagon, Brown (TURTCEL)
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by TURTCEL »

The weber kit number is WK741...comes with adapter plate. Weber Carbs Direct has the kit for $250, you will need a fuel pressure regulator too so you can lower the pressure to around 3 psi I believe. Also, you will need to get the shorter air filter and filter housing. ARCHINSTL gets the credit for the filter and housing tip. When he ordered his from Carbs Direct he told them he needed the shorter profile filter so they swapped it for free...otherwise it would have cost another $30. Another reason why person to person phone orders can be so much better than the computer. I have not ordered my kit yet but have done enough research to know what exactly what needs to be purchased for when I order mine in a couple weeks.

I have become fed up with all the components going bad and having to trace them down and hopefully find and fix them. Becoming more scarce all the time.

Peace
1985 Tercel 4wd SR5 Wagon, WEBER Carb, Brown (TURTCEL)
1988 Corolla DLX All-Trac Wagon, 4 speed AT, Silver (Wife's new car)
1993 Ford Escort Wagon LX, 5 Speed, Smurf Blue (Smurfette)...selling
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dlb
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by dlb »

TURTCEL wrote:The weber kit number is WK741
i just double checked this and from what i can find, a k741 will not fit the 3a. it appears it is for the older 2tc and 3tc engines. maybe the sites i'm using are incorrect but that's what it looks like.

also, i still have the receipt from when i bought mine from jtspeed.com and it was the k740. here's the link.

http://www.jtspeed.com/product_info.php ... kafd7u2b33
TURTCEL
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by TURTCEL »

http://www.webercarbsdirect.com/product_p/wk741.htm

This is what I found...looks the same but not sure.

Peace
1985 Tercel 4wd SR5 Wagon, WEBER Carb, Brown (TURTCEL)
1988 Corolla DLX All-Trac Wagon, 4 speed AT, Silver (Wife's new car)
1993 Ford Escort Wagon LX, 5 Speed, Smurf Blue (Smurfette)...selling
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ARCHINSTL
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Actually, I bought mine from Carbs Unlimited - not Carbs Direct. CU was the only vendor at that time - 2008 - which would swap out the short aircleaner for the kit's tall cleaner at no charge. All of the other sources wanted to charge extra for it - and then I'd have a useless tall cleaner.
See this link for K740: http://www.carburetion.com/weber/Datare ... del=TERCEL
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GotToyota?
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by GotToyota? »

Thanks for the info guys.

Filled up the car today and my first tank was an overall overage of 24.5 MPG (ouch). I've been babying this thing around town. A lot of "city" driving but I was expecting better than this.

I did a lot of maintenance around when I had half a tank though so I'm hoping that improves the next tank.
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dlb
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by dlb »

since yours is a 2wd, it should definitely get a bit better than that. take a look at question #6 in the FAQ regarding common causes of poor mileage. most are pretty easy to fix. here's the thread.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7442

however, keep in mind that there are lots of factors that affect mileage—mechanical issues, city vs hwy driving, driving style, ambient temps, quality of gasoline, wind, etc—so a single tank of gas won't tell you much. you must look at trending and averages. new-to-you cars are always a pain in this area since it takes a while before you know what is average for it, but the 4wd tercel wagons usually get better than that, even with city driving, so i wouldn't be surprised if you had one or carb issues to work out. that list in the link is a good place to start.
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Petros
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Re: Weber conversion

Post by Petros »

that would be about typcial fuel economy for the auto trans, but yes, very poor if it was a manual trans wagon. Particularly for the lighter weight 2wd wagon.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
GotToyota?
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Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 1:14 am
My tercel:: 1986 Tercel Wagon DLX
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Weber conversion

Post by GotToyota? »

Sorry, forgot to point out it's a 5 speed manual. That would be helpful.
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