My 720 Resto

[720inOlyWa]

I could sure use some of your expertise as I get into my 4x4, Lockleaf.

I agree that 521s have a seriously great cool factor, but the one I drove recently felt pretty small inside. And it takes a wayno to turn one of them into a KC. My KC 720 seems to fit me just right. Today, as America votes, I get to mess with the carb and the timing to get it just like I want. I may put in my tricked out, rebuilt driveline today too. Who knows? Small stuff. Geese, I enjoy a small stuff truck day- especially if the sun is out!

[720inOlyWa]

I am still sooting up my spark plugs pretty good. The other day, I drove it up to Tacoma and back to get it good and hot and maybe clean up the sooting I got from getting it sorted out in the first place. But I pulled the plugs this morning and they are uniformly carbon covered. I have been messing with the low speed idle mixture, leaning it out a little, bit by bit, but that isn‘t going to fix this kind of sooting if they are still black after an hour of freeway speeds.

 

So it is running too damn rich. When it is cold, it is lumpy, and it runs like it is sooted a bit. After it is warm, it clears up pretty good. This situations isn‘t right or good.

 

Now one thing I noticed on the engine I pulled out, that I had been running for a year or two: the return tube to the gas tank, the metal tubing bit up in the manifold area, that return tube was blocked on that motor. I wonder if that contributed to its running too rich as well. I cleared it with a piece of wire and made a mental note to check the one on the new engine. I did‘t, but I will now. With no option for the fuel to return to the tank, that could cause a permanently rich situation, I suppose.

 

I have a jet kit, but I haven‘t messed with jets yet. I haven‘t checked the fuel pressure to the carb, nor have I tried out a pressure regulator. But I would if it would help tone down the fuel flow a little. 

 

It is just too damn rich. I‘d show you the plugs, but you already know what they look like.

 

Any ideas? Thanks!

[84720FourWheel]

Choke is opening all the way? Float level set too high? Fuel pressure too high?

[Charlie69]

The fuel return line on the Z24 Has a metered orifice that lets the fuel pressure build up for the carb.  Pull the return line rubber hose off and stick it in a jar, start the truck and see what comes out.  If it is plugged pull the fuel line off at the carb and blow backwards throught the return pipe the air will come out the carb fuel line.  Hopefully this clears the obstruction and it will work proper after this.

 

I have noticed that when I used cheap fuel line that over time the fuel line would detiorate from the inside and I would get little pieces of black fuel line in my fuel filter.

[720inOlyWa]

Thanks, Charlie.

Well, I am not sure that it is plugged, or that is the problem. But I am going to check it. In fact, I have to admit that I haven‘t even looked at the fuel pump to make sure it is correct, and not the FI pump. (I don‘t think it is, but this was originally a TBI truck, so...) I have been told that the more powerful FI pump will just blow the seals out of the carb, but still I never really looked at the fuel pump to confirm its correctness for carb use.

 

My real question is this: Are the two options for leaning it out simply pressure restriction and smaller jets? And secondarily, presuming the over rich situation is carb related, is it better to change the jets, or meter the fuel flow, or both?  

 

All of the fuse are fine, and as far as I can tell. I don‘t think the ECU is making it default to sloppy rich or anything like that. It is just getting too much fuel to the plugs.

[Charlie69]

The Carb stock pump looks like this.

 

[720inOlyWa]

I was thinking about a metering device and googled it and discovered your rec for a FETCH fuel pump instead. Are you still advocating one of those, Charlie?  I wonder if I am pushing too much fuel into the carb with the stock fuel pump. A fuel pressure metering tool is 50 bucks.

 

Do you think I can re-use carboned-up plugs if I scrub them good and soak them in kerosene? Or are they fouled for life if they are fouled at all?

[Charlie69]

Yes the Facet are the best replacement pumps I have found.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FACET-PUROLATOR-PRO-60FEP-60SV-FUEL-PUMP-/172208651828?hash=item28186f7e34:m:mMG-tFrnaCrgJuzHgdr4AIw&vxp=mtr

 

I am looking into these as a more reasonable choice.  I have not actually ordered one of these yet.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322047335774?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[720inOlyWa]

I finally broke down and spent the 35 bucks to buy a multi meter. I have needed one for some time as my circuit testing capability has been rudimentary, at best.

 

So I did‘t even read the operating instructions before I figured out how to test the choke circuit. Back when I installed the Weber, I had followed instructions and ‘hooked the blue wire to the blue wire‘ and left it as good. Well the multi meter demonstrated that the blue wire was dead as a mackerel. It was the red wire that gave me the 12 volts I needed when the key was on. Oh, man. My choke had been sticking shut all along. I guess that Harbor freight multi-meter paid for itself already.

 

So I moved the wire over and re-adjusted the choke itself. I also snugged the bolts on the intake manifold for good measure. Voila: all is well in my driveway. After adjusting the idle and mixture set up one more time and adjusting the power steering belt a bit, I took it for a very pleasant 20 minute drive.  Finally, FINALLY, it is running optimally in most every respect. What a gas to have it all working correctly.

 

So I guess we are finally approaching the end of the road for this blog. I will save my pennies for a set of air shocks for the back, and call the Fudgecicle good.

[720inOlyWa]

Common as peas.

That‘s the old saying. Common as peas. A cinnamon brown 85 King Cab idling in the rain. Aint nothin‘ particularly spectacular or fancy about it.  Heck, I have a half a dozen pictures of this truck, in this very same pose,  in this very same blog. So why another? Because it is happy now. It is ‘done‘, certified for interstate work, and otherwise ‘on the job’.

 

As it sits here in this picture, getting soaking wet in the rain, it is ticking away at 850, even and sweet as you please. Putt, putt, putt, putt, the cloud from the pipe is mostly steam on a cold day. The heater is on and the cab is warm and dry.

 

 

 

 

There are just over 300  miles on the odometer since the rebuild, and I can say now that I have banished the last gremlin, worked out the last kink, chased down the last bit of bad hoodoo and stabbed it in the heart. From here on, it is all maintenance and repair, not rehabilitation.

 

I broke the tranny loose from the Z24 that came out of this truck and placed the engine into a wooden cradle that I made to fit. The next sucker with a decent back who walks through the door is going to help me lift it onto the hydraulic lift table so that I can load it into the Fudgecicle and make that pleasant trip back to the machine shop once again...

[720inOlyWa]

Since my  last post here, I have been messing about with my carburetor, trying to adjust things to perfection as I learn to do a mind meld with the  fuel flow system. I think I have it down, or at least close to down. 

 

Like many posters, I have always had some little issue with my Weber carbs. And before I had the tools to properly diagnose and adjust, I was ‘praying and praying‘ as the farmers say. Shooting in the dark. Sorting things to by ear and intuition. I would get one aspect right, and maybe two, but there was always a flat spot, or it did‘t come off the line cleanly, or it bucked a bit around parking lots. I was always wanting for something. I finally decided enough was enough. The weber 32/36 carb should be a good match for the engine, and it ought to perform absolutely smoothly through all RMS, cold or hot, etc., etc..

 

Well, it wasn‘t so hard, really. I just followed the step by step trouble shooting guide, then made the all important step to go back and re-adjust after checking it again. By this method, I was able to narrow it down until I got into the crosshairs of bingo supremo. Now I have satisfied my curiosity that the Weber 32/36 can be made to run spot on in the Z24 application. I could‘t ask for much more.

 

A few posts ago, I was considering other jets, since I had a jet kit. After everything was sorted nicely, I decided to try different jets and again followed the trouble shooting guide in replacing them. I went one size smaller, then one size bigger, then came back to the ones that came with the carb, which seem to perform the best. So whoever said (a few posts back) that I was over thinking the jet thing- you were right!

[Charlie69]

I am happy to here you figured it out.

[720inOlyWa]

From the important..... to the ridiculous!

The other day, while filling the tank with gas, I gave the filler cover door a little flick shut and the plastic latch ad finger cover fell to the ground, along with the metal keeper that holds it in place. A quick exam showed that the hard plastic piece had cracked many years ago. My flick just finished the job. I began searching for a new replacement, probably out of a sense of vanity more than anything else. Then I took the parts inside, washed them thoroughly, and discovered that the part was absolutely repairable. So I washed it all up again, dried it, and glued it all back together with JB Weld.  This morning, I re-installed it on the filler door and voila- good as new!

 

Rehab takes on many forms, from the crucial and important, to the relatively unimportant and mundane. But nonetheless, it‘s all a part of the process. Have you tried to find a good replacement filler door grip part? During a brief search I could‘t find one. And every 720 truck that I have seen lately is missing theirs. They must have fallen apart in the street, after hitting a big chuck hole.

[wayno]

I have a bunch of them, if you are ever down this way get a hold of me.

I even have a 4X4 black one and a strange one with an offset clip position on the left.

 

From the important..... to the ridiculous!

The other day, while filling the tank with gas, I gave the filler cover door a little flick shut and the plastic latch ad finger cover fell to the ground, along with the metal keeper that holds it in place. A quick exam showed that the hard plastic piece had cracked many years ago. My flick just finished the job. I began searching for a new replacement, probably out of a sense of vanity more than anything else. Then I took the parts inside, washed them thoroughly, and discovered that the part was absolutely repairable. So I washed it all up again, dried it, and glued it all back together with JB Weld.  This morning, I re-installed it on the filler door and voila- good as new!

 

Rehab takes on many forms, from the crucial and important, to the relatively unimportant and mundane. But nonetheless, it‘s all a part of the process. Have you tried to find a good replacement filler door grip part? During a brief search I could‘t find one. And every 720 truck that I have seen lately is missing theirs. They must have fallen apart in the street, after hitting a big chuck hole.

[Lockleaf]

I have collected 4 or 5 over the years as well, and for the same reason. I never could find a new replacement, so I just keep backups.

[720inOlyWa]

Wayno- unbelievable!!!

If you think about it for half a second, it takes all of one second to bust one off of the little door there. Now I know where they all went!

 

I didn’t realize there was an offset version. Strange, but obviously true.  I covet that black one. it would look great on my all black trim 4x4.

 

I am stunned at your collection. That is fantastic!

[wayno]

I don't even have but one 720 now, and it has aftermarket Toyota dually fenders on it, so I have no 720 gas doors to use these on anymore.

How I came to have all these is that I broke mine and could not find one when I needed it, so then I finally found one, then I kept finding them after that but remembered how long it took me to find one so I would grab that one as an extra, well I guess I didn't realize how many times I pocketed that extra one I needed, then one day I cleaned up my parts boxes and realized that I didn't need anymore and to leave them for others that needed them, I look at them now, but I leave them where they are.

Next time you come this way, get in contact with me, I will give you the black one and a couple chrome ones.

Wayno- unbelievable!!!

If you think about it for half a second, it takes all of one second to bust one off of the little door there. Now I know where they all went!

 

I didn’t realize there was an offset version. Strange, but obviously true.  I covet that black one. it would look great on my all black trim 4x4.

 

I am stunned at your collection. That is fantastic!

[LTJ]

Congrats on getting it all sorted!

Great little truck!

[720inOlyWa]

Exactly the way I collect my parts and bits, wayno. That is too funny. One day, you look through your stuff and realize that you have 20 back ups.

 

The dirty little secret of my Fudgecicle is that it was a lemon. I am absolutely convinced of it. And because it was a lemon, it didn’t move all that much over the years, which is why it had 60k on the odo when I got it. Because it was a lemon, it languished in a carport somewhere with little or no attention being paid to it.

 

When I bought it, it had already had a replacement engine installed, and that engine had blown a head gasket. In 60k miles? Lemon. When I replaced the windshield, I removed the cowling to discover that someone had replaced the heater core by accessing it through the firewall, probably with a Sawsall. So it had already suffered a leaking heater core. It was‘t a bad repair job, pre se, and I am guilty of doing a similar thing to a Ford Ranger truck myself. But I went through the glove box instead of the sub cowling. The result is that the plug in for my oil pressure gauge and volt meter is under the replacement heater core, and the repair to the sub cowling leaks a little bit on the passenger side carpet. He patched it with fiberglass cloth and latex caulk and it  might have seemed fine at the time, but it looks like a real mess now. All of this is going to be ripped out and a much better solution will be found.

 

The heater fan sounds like a jet engine, but precious little air is moving through the ductwork, which makes me think this is all bollocksed up as well. The heater controls seem largely ineffective too. So when next summer finally arrives, all of that mess is going to be opened up, repaired correctly, and set to working again. My old 620 had the same type of fan arrangement and it defrosted the windows in no time. This will be repaired to do the same.

 

Sometimes, it pays off to be a lemon. Some darned fool like me might try to prove you were‘t one after all. 

[wayno]

There are 3 levers that control the heat in a 720, actually 4, but the 4th is the fan which is electric, you need to get in there and make sure all 3 cable levers move the arms they are supposed to move, one is the core circulation that allows the coolant to flow thru the core, the second one is heat/defrost/off(blocked), the last is fresh or recirculate, it sounds like your 2nd one may be in the off/blocked position.

I would just move the levers and make sure they are moving the arms.

[720inOlyWa]

Good place to start, wayno. Thanks. And I am betting that you are right, too. It really does feel like the core is getting warm, but the controls are not properly functional. I drove it home from dinner out tonight and it is damn cold outside. After a half a mile, the cab is getting warmer, but it never really gets blasting hot, like it should. The defrost is quite anemic. it should just get it on. It sure seems like he baffles are not being controlled correctly in a major way.

 

I remember feeling the fan moving the leg of my jeans on setting #4, in my old 620. This sure looks to be a similar setup, similar equipment. So I know it has the potential to really get it on. Time for a bit more investigation and retro-rehab repair under the dash, too. I remember you telling me that it isn't that hard to pull the dash out of one of these things, so maybe that will be the bigger picture project for the warmer months. No point waiting on the control cable inspection, however. That could be an easy fix with a pair of needle nose pliers, If I am lucky.

[wayno]

It actually is not that hard to pull a dash, 3 or 4 10mm bolts across the top, 2 on each side, one in the glove box, one by the e-brake, unplug the two connectors(blue/white) by the hood release, and the radio antenna/speedo drive, and it should come out unless you have an aftermarket radio, most everything heat related is not actually connected to the dash itself, it kinda unplugs and when you install the dash it kinda plugs itself back in as most the ducting is screwed to the firewall.

But most the arms that are connected to the dash heat control levers are accessible without removing the dash, one is just under the glove box near the heat resistor, the defrost/cabin heat control is near the passenger left foot, the heater core flow control I believe is above the defrost/cabin heat control, but if you feel any heat then that one is likely open.

I can see the 2 that count without removing anything.

Can you hear all the fan speeds when you turn the fan on?

[720inOlyWa]

Thanks, wayno. I realize that I was talking about two separate tasks; checking out the cables and linkages, and going in to sort out the heater core and locate my plug for the oil pressure and volt meter. Two different jobs, but both are going to happen. So today, I will pretzel my backbone around and peer up at the cable attachments and controls, looking for the easy fix.  When it warms up in a few months, I will pull the dash and look the entire system over again.  Having re-repaired several rather ham fisted earlier repairs by the PO, I am motivated to give that heater core job a thorough inspection.

 

The fans working fine on all settings. Soundalike a 747 taking off. It just isn‘t actually blowing much anywhere. That‘s why I think you may be right about the controls being screwed up somehow.

[MaxChlan]

Thanks, wayno. I realize that I was talking about two separate tasks; checking out the cables and linkages, and going in to sort out the heater core and locate my plug for the oil pressure and volt meter. Two different jobs, but both are going to happen. So today, I will pretzel my backbone around and peer up at the cable attachments and controls, looking for the easy fix.  When it warms up in a few months, I will pull the dash and look the entire system over again.  Having re-repaired several rather ham fisted earlier repairs by the PO, I am motivated to give that heater core job a thorough inspection.

 

The fans working fine on all settings. Soundalike a 747 taking off. It just isn‘t actually blowing much anywhere. That‘s why I think you may be right about the controls being screwed up somehow.

Silly idea, but did you check to make sure the ducts line up? I had a similar problem were the blower was off of the AC by a fair amount because the foam stuff had disappeared over time. It was as simple as taking the little tray off, adjusting the two screws that hold it on, and then duct taping for a seal. 

 

Reason why I mentioned this because my blower sounded like a 747 too 

[wayno]

They all sound like a 747 when on high, that is what the radio is for. :lol: