i am half way through the 1st tank of fuel i put in it after getting it 5 days ago- i put 87 octane in it- i was wondering if anyone had a suggestion of what they did when they 1st got theirs after recent being imported from Japan? I was wondering if I should run 93 octane, or seafoam, or some other fuel additive?? I have taken the air filter out as it was a little dirty and i am replacing it; im thinking about getting a tuneup kit (wires, plugs, cap, and rotor)- i will be changing the oil as well. this truck has 21,000 true miles (has the 0 showing on the odometer- as well as the truck is in wonderful shape) any suggestions would be great
Mine did the same after I put 5 gallons of 87 into. I called the dealer they said they used 87 as well. They did say a higher octane would make it run better. Then I did some digging. I noticed a couple of things; one the preheat hose from the exhaust shroud to the air box was missing, so cold starts are a challenge until it fully warms up. I also noticed that the gas tank is building pressure and I'm sure this is not helping or maybe hiding a fuel pump issue. So I think in my case it's a coincidence that I put in 5 gallons of 87 and then saw issues on a cold start and thought it was something serious. So I have the replacement material on order to fix the preheat hose and I may bypass the charcoal filter until I can fix it somehow (looked up a new one and its expensive, even for a Geo Metro (on rockauto). I did dump 1/2 can of seafaom in there and ran it around the other day, seemed to be working fine, idled smooth, AC was cold, ran great. So checkout the little things first before spending all the dough on things that may be working fine.
Thank you so much! When I put the gas in, the tank was pressurized… the next tank I’ll probably put in some sea foam and running higher octane and will check the heat hose things too… unfortunately I’m sure the air won’t be cool.., lol it does not have air
Terry H , it might have low miles but still a old truck. I have a 1988 you might think about replacing all the vaccum lines & when you do do them one at a time If your like me I can turn around & forget what I was doing. Changing the vaccum lines will help Regards Brian
I've found that my 92 Mitsubishi MiniCab runs way better on 91 octane Shell. Better cold start, more power, and better fuel mileage than using 87 octane ethanol. - -A bit subjective, but still - - -.
Turns out in Japan the lowest octane they use is 90/91, so using mid grade 91 here in the states would make sense.
I run 87 it’s got ethanol, and I have no problems running smooth. Seafoam has never fixed any of my problems not in any vehicle, I hope you have better luck. It’s not your fuel, unless you got some “bad gas”… whatever that means. Like installater said, get your vacuum system straight. Check that your actuators are functioning properly when they are supposed to. What’s your choke doing… before you crank it, right after you crank it… and after it warms up? Take the air filter to carb hose flex connector off and have a look at what’s going on. Let us know.
Thanks all who have posted- update. I put 93 octane in it with a half can of seafoam, did the idle adjustment (put screw all the way in and then come 3 full turns out, then adjust from there while running) I came out another 3.5 turns out and it purrs.... but it did do a little spit and sputter when a pushed gas pedal down a few times... sooooooo.... I got my can of starter fluid and sprayed some over the carburetor and some vacuum lines and the idle picked up because it sucked it in. Therefore I went and bought 2o feet of vacuum line and will replace them all when I do the tune up. Yes, I plan to take 1 hose of at a time and replace it... not looking for a nightmare by taking them all off at once! I'll update once I get it all done.
There are some good threads on here with vacuum diagrams that’ll help you make sure everything is routed correctly. As far as what I did when I first got my truck… flush radiator, clear out every single coolant line there is (including coolant lines that run to carburetor), then flush radiator a couple more times.
Update! I replaced the oil/filter, air filter, plugs, wires, cap, rotor and you cannot believe the difference! I have the fuel filter and will be replacing that tomorrow. I also installed a 2" lift, put on new rims and knobby tires, sprayed the bed liner in, painted the headache rack gloss black, put 2 led lights on it pointing back, and a 32" light bar up top pointing forward, removed the radio and installed a 6 gang rocket switch panel with volt meter and power supply and 2 USB plug ins. Whewww..... today I built a custom 2.5 square tube rear bumper with 1.5 square receiver hole in the center of it. I'll bolt that on tomorrow.
