Looking through the Micro Van section and noticed my van didnt have a section. Anyone with any info related to these vans and or the 550cc Hijet engines, please post up any tips or fixes that you have come across, Thanks CARB Governor Carburetors on these engines have a fuel shut off solenoid on the bottom of the carb used to govern the speed, wired to a speed sensor box coming from the speedometer, to defeat the governor, just cut the positive wire to the solenoid and wire a constant 12 volts to it. O-RINGS There are 2 o-rings that will make your life miserable if they are worn,torn, missing, or out of place. The aforementioned governor solenoid (at the bottom of the carb coming out towards the front of the engine bay just behind the alternator)has one o-ring, and the idle solenoid (on top of the carb sticking out of the carb at about a 35 degree angle towards the rear of the engine bay) also has an o-ring. To replace them just i recommend cutting the wires (one at a time) and putting on opposite spade connectors as to make it so you dont connect them backwards when installing them. Unscrew the solenoid and remove. Take note of the position/condition that they come out. If you are having carb issues, one or both will usually be the culprit and need a new one. I bought 2 o-ring kits from Harbor Freight (US) one metric and one sae, I was able to find the right ones to replace mine in the kits, both were the same size on mine. Choke The choke on these engine is controlled by engine water temp, check to see if yours has been bypassed (no water lines running in or out of the back of the carb) some people bypass them but mine seems to work and isnt needed to start here in florida (normally). The plastic gear on the back side of the carb can get stuck or be fouled up, so check that yours moves freely when cold by taking the intake boot off and moving the choke plate with your finger, it should be closed to start and when moved by finger should snap back closed when let go. Aftermarket Choke I use an aftermarket choke cable from Advance Auto Parts (US) they sell a kit with mounting brackets and pull cable for $10.00 The problem I have here in Florida is that the choke being closed (cold) tends to flood my engine while starting. * I use the choke cable to open my choke when starting, for some reason these engines flood very easily and fortunately this trick works every time.* the cable still allows for warm up but you have to feather it for the engines liking for the first 5 minutes or so while driving. Fuel Pumps The fuel pumps on these engines go bad if they sit to long and usually need replacing, they are expensive! $150 is the cheapest I can find one. I use a $35 electric fuel pump and an inline regulator. The fuel pump is tied in near the side of the tank, it is a 5-6 psi pump. The original pumps have a sort of regulator system built in and once the pressure gets to 4-5 psi the fuel is bypassed back to the tank. The electric fuel pump will only keep pumping when the demand is met at the carb, the pump will usually start hammering and be very loud. I used an inline adjustable fuel pressure regulator to cure this problem. I placed a T fitting inline above the valve cover and ran the regulator to the fuel return line. The fuel pressure builds behind the regulator and when the pressure that has been selected is met in the pressured side (carb side) then the regulator bleeds the excess pressure to the tank. Previous to the regulator, my clear filter was always full of air and my pump hammered, the engine always seemed to starve at idle, now the filter stays full of fuel , the pump is quiet and the engine idles better than it ever has. Coil All I can say about the coils on these engines is that mine shocked me once while messing with the coil wire, and I was not impressed. I used to mess with muscle cars back in the day and they would introduce you to a new form of pain if you messed up. So I replaced mine with an aftermarket one from Advance Auto, its an chrome one in a yellow box, universal, and NO i did not test out its effectiveness on my human pain receptor system. I believe it to be working just fine now. Wheels and Tires I can only tell you what I have on my van as to what wheels and tires fit. I have 155/60/15 (Smart Car for 2) front tires all the way around on the van. The wheels are MB aftermarket 4x100x7in , the fronts have a 1/4 inch spacer to keep them from rubbing the spring. So far these are the things that I can share about my experience with this particular van and engine, I hope that anyone with any knowledge on these vans or 550eb engines will post up their experiences.
Have you searched the Daihatsu section for Atrai vans? There are a few threads there. There is another member here, whose user name is Three Pot, that posted a site in the UK that is Hijets but when I try to access it now I get a warning that it's infected,whatever that means.
Good call Jim, thanks. I looked through the posts there but didnt see any that were pertaining to a, s80 550 eb engine (US model). I will search the member Three Pot and see what that turns up. Thanks again.
