Well?
Just talk to any mechanic who was in MInnesota when E10 was mandated in 1992.
We called it the era of rebuilding/replacing carburetors and fuel pumps on anything that ran on gas.
Tester
And now they keep talking about mandating E20 here, which will cause problems even in E10-capable cars.
The corn lobby really needs to stop being allowed to impact cars.
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Until we tell our elected representatives that we don’t like it, they will continue to increase use. People that have a material interest, like corn farmers and ethanol plant owners, will continue to hammer home their case. We aren’t as organized or as driven as they are. If a large segment of the population registered displeasure with their elected representatives, E20 wouldn’t go far outside the growing area. There’s corn in Maryland, but it’s all for people and animal feed. Maybe that’s true where you are too.
[quote="jtsanders,
Until we tell our elected representatives that we don’t like it,
As they say money talk’s and the corn farmers and ethanol plant owners have more than we do.
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Politicians are bringing ethanol subsidies to famers. Those states that benefit wil re-elect their politicians for that. The same goes for the rest that vote on ethanol because corn state politicians will support other politicians pork projects in kind that their voters like.
We all hate politicians … but love our own so we keep re-electing ours and complain about all the others. And so it goes. Nothing changes.
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Like all of us, they have only one vote though. You can base your vote for the incumbent on their record on matters that mean something to you. The record is public domain. They will usually do what their constituents want, and you have to tell them that.
I agree. That’s why for important matters, we have to make our opinions known. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. If we don’t try, the corn lobby is guaranteed to win.
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No.
There’s no smoke at idle; I had to floor it, possibly when out of gear, to get noticeable smoke.
I bet I did, though it doesn’t mention it. I could find no re-build kit other than this one, sold under a few brand names.
Me too.
It’s a California car, so has had ethanol from the beginning. The owner’s manual warns against fuel with too much methanol.
I put a 3/16-inch ball bearing in the AAP feed line, immediately got much better performance. The idle went way up and the roughness disappeared. There was no visible smoke coming out of the tailpipe; I passed the emissions test easily (on the last day! I’ll have to stop putting it off in the future). I had no problem starting or idling. So big thanks to @Shanonia. On the trip to warm the engine up my eldest tire, a 1992-vintage Firestone, failed completely: severed 360° around the outer edge, 12 radial cracks. Fortunately I was driving 15 mph in a place I could drive onto an empty lot to replace it. It took 600 strokes of the foot pump to get the spare to 30 psi. Fortunately my other 4 tires are only 18 years old.
What brand is that tire? Looks like a Maypop to me!
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Looks more like a Didpop to me…
This is why you should not drive on old tires.
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That was a maypop it became a will pop then as Mustangman said a didpop.
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I see where OP’s truck is equipped with a carburetor. Back in the days when my cars had carburators, here is how I cleared up the sooty exhaust problem. I would buy two cans of Casite Motor Tune-up. I would add one can to a full tank of gas. I would pour the other can slowly through the carburetor. I would then take the car out on the highway and run it at highway speed in a lower gear. I would take my 1954 Buick up to 65 in second gear (it was a manual transmission). I had the same problem with my 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass. I would take it out after the Casite treatment and floor the accelerator to kick the transmission down into a lower gear.
One thing I learned about the Oldsmobile from listening to Cartalk was that the 10W-40 oil I was using could cause the engine to carbon up. The manual called for either 10W-30 or 10W-40. I switched to 10W-30 and the engine didn’t load up with carbon. I was under the impression that the 10W-40 gave better protection, but the Oldsmobile had 240,000 on the odometer and I never had to add oil between changes. Apparently, the polymers in the 10W-40 in certain brands could cause carbon build-up in some engines.
I don’t know if the Casite Motor Tune-up is available anymore, but there is probably something equivalent.
You’re welcome! I miss that old '79 truck. It brings back good memories to conjure up some of my successful fixes. Many were around the carb and its ancillary components.
Now help yourself to a new set of tires, friend!
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It didn’t pop, even hiss. I only noticed that it wasn’t holding up its end. I’m shopping for new tires. I drive only a few hundred miles annually these days, probably won’t in another 20 years. Would some tire last longer just sitting around?
Keep them out of the sun to avoid UV degradation (surface cracks). A family near me has wheel covers for their RV.
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Oil coming through the valve guides. Oil is metered to the valves through holes in the camshaft bearings. Worn bearings allow too much oil to build up at the valvestems at the higher RPMs. The valvestems have a rubber or elastomer cap. The caps deteriorate with age and allow the excess oil to get sucked into the combustion chamber.