LUVTruck.com

I reassembled the engine and got it running today. (Also don't have to go to the doctor to have that suture removed! ) It runs very noisy and will adjust the valves as TJWhite told Figarus to do in a previous post. One glitch that I do have for anyone to chime in on, is that the timing mark jumps around pretty good. It didn't do that before and am thinking it could be the valves being out of adjustment. Yes I did adjust them as per the book, but as I said before, they are very noisy now. The timing still jumps around even with the vacumm line removed from the dizzy. Is it possible the timing chain tensioner is too tight? Feel free to throw some hints out there. Thanks.

Oh yea. Anyone know what kit is needed to rebuild the Hitachi carb on a 1980 LUV?

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I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

my valves ran loud and i adjusted them and still was loud too than my motor quit.... didnt do something right...

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77-luv-stock (Selling or Parting out motor blew up)

75-luv mikado-V8 350 soon

Timing jumping sounds like worn distributor drive, or sticking advance weights or a sticking points plate.

X2

I had the same problem. My mech advance was stuck closed. Springs were replace by previous owner due to rust and he used SBC springs, causing it to not open unless really high rpm. My vacuum adv plate stuck open and stuck closed. So when the timing was set it would run fine then if it it was set when it was stuck open then would run poor when it stuck closed. If timing was set when stuck closed it would run fine then detonated when it stuck open. There was no pattern to when it would stick or unstick. I took the dist apart and clean the plate with carb cleaner and WD40 then repacked the little bearings with high temp synthetic grease. Ran much better. Timing stopped moving all over the place, holds steady timing now.

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Yesterday I re-adjusted the valves and it started first crank and ran smooth. Set the timing and let it run a bit. Engine sounded good and responded really well. Jumped in and hit the street. I got a good 100' from the house and it started to run like crap and finally died! Walked home and grabbed the four-wheeler to tow it. Got the truck turned around and just as I started to tow it, it ran out of gas! So I walked home again and grabbed the gas can. This time as I took off, my glasses fell out of my pocket and I rolled over them! Yes I finally got it home and opened the hood to see gas all over the carb and dripping on the ground. It looks like I will be rebuilding it this weekend. I thought this LUV stuff was supposed to be FUN?

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I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

Tried rebuilding the carb today and found a lot of problems. The inside was full of crud and corrosion forcing me to completely dismantle the entire carb, and I mean everything. Before the tear down, I checked the linkages and found them messed up. I only had the primary barrel opening about 75% and the secondary wouldn't even move. The 'plungers' or inards of the two solenoids are missing, but since so much is disconnected in the way of vacuum lines, I don't think they will be needed anyway. Now on to asking for help again. Does anyone have some clear pictures of the linkages so I can see how they are in relation to each other? Different angles/views along with the linkages in different positions showing how they interact would be great. Also, I thought I had all of the springs and check balls removed from the main body, but as I turned it over a small fat spring and a check ball fell out and the books do not show where it goes. Last, the two low speed jets were so full of crap, I wasn't aware one had holes in the side and one had only a small hole in the bottom. Anyone know which one goes where? This is a 1980 without air. Thanks.

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I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

At some point it's worth spending a little extra for the added piece of mind of going with a newer carb. There are several guys on here still running the Hitachis but they're a little more hardcore than I am.

I've got a stock one for a core for sale in the classifieds if you need some extra parts or something.

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1976 2x4 LUV: 4-speed, 32/36 Weber, desmogged, 3.42 gears

My '76 LUV and Impulse 5-speed for sale:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24576

i went to california and back with the stock hitachi.

in reality, it has a bad rep, but like ANY machine, if it's maintained properly, they will give you lots of service

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To the Oquirr hills for awesome thrills! Go-go 4wd, Activate!

I do believe it to have been a good carb. But you are right, it must be maintained! Unfortunatelly today, trying to find detailed drawings showing where EVERYTHING goes is difficult at best. Now that I have said this, watch someone have the drawing! Since I rebuilt it and installed it, the truck won't start. Bought Ctmandu's Weber and put it on the engine and still won't start. She tries to run, but won't. I will triple check the valve lash and timing, then try again.

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I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

Hope this helps. I have a feeling your ignition took a dump. I had more than one of these things go wrong with my ignition along with thel fuel pump and carb.

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Good old MOSS Motors! I used them and LBC (Little British Car Co) in 2000 when I rebuilt my 1973 MG Midget.
Thanks for the guidance and might as well give each of these a try when the rain slacks up. Good check on everything and helps to eliminate possible problems.

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I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

Checked everything:
Gas = Yes
Power = Yes
Spark = Yes
New = Points, Rotor, and Cap
Tries to start = yes
Runs = NO
Aggravated = Oh hell yes!!!!!

The spark seems weak to me though. I have read about several ignition upgrades here, so I would like to know what I can do to get a better and more reliable spark. Something that can be used on a V6 (V8 if it comes down to it) later on. I'm thinking MSD 6A and an MSD coil to compliment it. Unless I can find a good used and very cheap electronic dizzy, that will part won't happen. The others my wife agreed to since they can be used for the engine swap later.

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I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

Do you know what your fuel psi is?
Where is the initial timing at?
Have you done a compression check?
Have check you spark plugs and what do they look like?
Try different fuel incase you got a bad batch or some with water in it.

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Yup, still working on it. I installed a new coil and even ran a wire right from the battery to the poisitive side of it, but still only tries to start every so often. Have the distributor torn down right now and have a question about the governor weights. Just what do they do? They arent attached to anything that affects anything above the breaker plate. They just move a little plate under the breaker plate and the shaft top isn't affected either. As fas as I see, they could be left out. Any ideas on troubleshooting would help too. Thanks..

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I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

That's your mech advance. Some race cars don't run them, they run full advance all the time, making them hard to start.

link>
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22327

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Ok. But how does it affect the timing when all it does is spin? I see no mechanical linkage to the breaker plate at all. While I had the dizzy out, I spun the shaft and watched the plate and saw no movement. I tried twisting the rotor shaft while holding the drive shaft steady and there was no movement there. I guess I am not understanding the interaction in there!
Anyway, with the new coil it still wants to run, but won't. I think I have now spent 50 hours or so troubleshooting this problem. Sold one of my R/C planes, a Super Skybolt, to pay for the Weber carb and coil. Have over $250 in making this thing NOT run! Checked fuel pressure and it's at 7 psi. Checked compression and the highest is 200 with the lowest being 175 to 180. Valve clearances still check out for the fourth time. Timing chain, crank pully mark and camshaft sprocket are lined up as per the book. Have the rotor pointing to the #1 plug wire on the dizzy cap. Firing order set for 1, 3,4,2. Did I overlook anything?

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I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

The mech adv has springs in it to open according to rpm.

7 psi is way to much fuel preasure for a weber, 2-3 psi is what is recomended. See if you have fuel spill over into the motor from too much preasure.

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From what I can tell, my dizzy is missing a part or two. Does anyone have pics of their distributor torn down? Last, for tonight, if you try to twist your rotor, does it turn a little or is it solid? Trying to see if the dizzy shaft is a one piece or tow pieces. If it's two pieces, mine may be frozen not allowing the weights to do anything.

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I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

After researching distributors on the internet I have learned a lot. Took mine out again and found the top half of the shaft was frozen in place. A bit of whacking and cleaning freed it up and now I understand how the mechanical advance works. Tried getting the truck to run and still only 'tries' to run, but even with working the gas like a mad man, it stops. I believe I have spent far too much time and money on it, so I drained the gas and have pushed it to the back of the property!

_________________
I've never been wrong! Once I thought I was, but I was mistaken.
Rick
Loranger, La
1980 Stepside LUV (Again)

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