Anyone with a manual choke on their 2.8L

[wildbill23c]

I have an 84 Bronco 2, with the 2.8L V6. The choke setup has never worked from day one, and not sure if the wiring is connected or what the problem may be. So now with the cold weather of course not having a choke makes trying to warm the B2 up is a pain, it just wants to die for the first few minutes. My plan is to just install a manual choke to do away with the electric choke mess.

So my question is, has anyone done this on one of these carburetors? If so what do I need besides a manual choke kit? Any pictures would be greatly appreciated as well.

 

[martin]

I've done a few on various vehicles over the years. The kits are usually easy to install and the included instructions are adequate for most people who know how to work a screwdriver. Strangely enough, I never had to do it on my 84 b2, all I did was take it apart, clean it, re-install and adjust. It even still worked ok after the duraspark conversion.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

If your still running the computer first you need to see it is getting power with the engine running. The choke relay is located by the start solenoid and is subject to corrosion. It provides a pulsing voltage to the choke thermostat when the engine is running. If it has the stock choke thermostat it has break away screws from the factory. You need a small chizzle to spin them out and replace with regular screws. On a cold start adjust the thermostat to fully close the choke when you press down on the throttle. when the engine start the pull off should open the choke around 3/16 inch. With power to the thermostat the choke should be fully open after about 5 minutes of running. After you start it and tap on the throttle the engine should idle around 1150 rpms the fast idle adjustment is pointed toward the firewall under the choke assy. To free up the moving parts of the choke linkage just put a drop of powersteering fluid on all the pivot points that will dissolve any corrosion causing it to stick as well as lube it up. You want the choke to fully open as soon as possible or you will be able to see the fuel guage move as your driving down the road. Not alot of room under the stock air filter housing for a manual choke but I suppose anything is possible

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Just a side note when messing with the choke leave the air temp senser plugged in on the air filter housing or the computer will need to be reset. To reset the computer just disconnect the neg battery terminal on the battery for 1/2 an hour.

 

[wildbill23c]

I don't think the computer in the B2 works, as when I first got it the choke never worked at all, I had to tie it open manually, so for over a year now it hasn't had a choke at all, until the temps dropped below freezing I never had an issue with it starting and idling.

I think I'll go with a manual choke, I've had 2 different 2.8L engine vehicles and both electric choke setups never worked right, and was more of a waste of fuel than a help.

Hopefully the stock air cleaner has enough clearance to allow for the manual choke setup, I've seen it done on other vehicles without an issue so I'm hoping it will work for this, if not I have an aftermarket air cleaner I can put back on.

I tried messing around with the electric choke on the old carburetor and never got any power to the wire that plugs into it, so I'm guessing that the wire is either not hooked up or other parts would need to be replaced, and I'm not even going to start digging into the jumbled mess of wiring the PO put into this thing, I'm still trying to clean it up as I go, and the electric choke working is the least of my worries, I'll go manual before relying on that electric choke crap again. When it works its good, but when it fails you end up spending a lot of money in gas because it always seems to fail with the choke closed LOL.

Thanks for all the help as usual.

 

[Little_blue_B2]

I have a manual choke on my '85. We just used a generic kit off the shelf of the local parts house. We installed it years ago when she was still my daily driver, it helped during the colder months. We might have messed with the original choke for a bit ( it's been several years so I'm not 100% ) but the manual choke was just simpler. If I remember I'll get a pic or two next time I'm working on it...but don't hold your breath I'll probably forget like usual.

 

[wildbill23c]

I have a manual choke on my '85. We just used a generic kit off the shelf of the local parts house. We installed it years ago when she was still my daily driver, it helped during the colder months. We might have messed with the original choke for a bit ( it's been several years so I'm not 100% ) but the manual choke was just simpler. If I remember I'll get a pic or two next time I'm working on it...but don't hold your breath I'll probably forget like usual.

Haha, no problem about the pics. I think I'll get the universal kit here one of these days when the weather warms up so I can work on things without my fingers freezing in a matter of minutes.

I did drive it today, but I just got in it, started it up and kept my foot about 1/4 of the way into the throttle for a couple minutes and just drove off, about a mile down the road it would idle just fine on its own so not much of a big deal just hate having to drive around in a cold a** truck LOL.

 

[John Smith]

Hi there all..

been a while since I have posted here. I DID use an original "63" Ford manual choke truck carb on my last 2.8L project. It now sits on a Clifford intake bolted 2 a 300-6. I may have a few small venturi 2100 Autolite's available if anyone is interested. (automatic choke only) The absolute best carbs 4 these motors IMHO..

 

[wildbill23c]

Well I haven't done the manual choke yet, been too dang cold, haven't seen temps above freezing for about a month now, and everything is frozen up LOL. Been driving it around a bit as is with absolutely no choke, and it does pretty well, I have to of course sit with it for a few minutes until its warmed up enough to idle on its own, but other than that not having a choke still hasn't been all that bad. When the weather warms up I'll tackle the front crankshaft seal and replace the radiator while I'm at it. Since the radiator will be in the way for that seal replacement I'll tackle it all at once. Local shop wants $150 to do the crankshaft seal and the radiator, but that money could be better spent elsewhere I think.