Help identifying Hitachi carb EA81

Subydoug · Post by **Subydoug** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 9:08 am

I Have jets, floats all the internals of a 82 MY Hitachi, only thing that's no good on it is the actual body. Did you want me to throw it all in a postage bag for you?

Regards

Doug

David D · Post by **David D** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 7:15 pm

Thanks guys

Lots of good advice, especially the slot in the screwdriver. I did actually have to 'modify' one of mine with a grinder to access the jets in the bowl.
As for the offers of carbs / parts, that will be sooo helpful.
I think I'll take 555Ron's offer up as my Brumby is also an '87 model. I'll send you a PM.

Thanks again

David

tambox · Post by **tambox** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 7:25 pm

Better choice. If you go to a carby repair shop, if you can still find one, they will sell you the correct top gasket and others you need, then use the rest of the kit.
The fuel miser book says, stuff it, I will PM you a copy.
Bit late, but for future reference.

David D · Post by **David D** » Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:02 pm

Okay, update time.

My carb arrived on Tuesday, thanks again Rhys. I bathed the power valve in CRC, waited as patiently as I could, 'modified' an old screwdriver, and started trying to undo it..... couple of blows with a hammer, bit of pressure and...... it came out! Way easier than my original one.
So that was awesome and the bonus is that I also replaced my defunct bowl vent valve courtesy of the donor carb.
Then I started putting the top end of the carby back together and fitted it back on the car. After refilling the coolant I nervously sat in the driver seat and turned the key.... and it started. Phew. I must admit, after seeing all those bits on the bench and in my hands, I did have an element of doubt. Bit fiddling with the mixture and it seemed to be running nice.
Didn't take it out for a proper drive until today and it runs good on the road, seems smoother but I don't know if that's just in my head. Will be interesting to see how the cold starts go - it's been really bad in the mornings so I'm hoping this might change that. I'll find out soon.
I also fitted a new thermoswitch for the fan while I had the coolant dropped and that works too! Unbelievable.

Of course, there had to be something wrong. After a drive I popped the bonnet to check everything looked OK and I am losing coolant from around the base of the carb. I tightened the nuts as much as I dare (I DO NOT wanna snap anything) but it still leaks. Only a tiny amount but still a leak. The old gasket was a major pain to remove from the manifold so I may have inadvertently left a bit of residue. Might have to remove it and clean it again or maybe put a bit of sealant around it? Any ideas?

Bit of a bummer but all in all not too bad.

Thanks for everyone's help

David

David D · Post by **David D** » Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:03 pm

Forgot to say thanks for the FuelMiser info, tambox. I got your email

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:30 pm

could be worse and suck in, blow steam you no see, sucking it dry, no ready hot on gauge, kill engine. Worse case is you drill out and tap the base of manifold so no water gets up from manifold or in from that hose. Done it twice to my LPG conversion manifolds in M10 or M12, gunked up with threebond

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 5:45 pm

steptoe wrote:could be worse and suck in, blow steam you no see, sucking it dry, no ready hot on gauge, kill engine

Ummm, wut?

Good to hear you got it all sorted David, keep an eye out and see if your fuel usage improves too.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:18 am

could be worse if the coolant leaked inside the manifold rather than outside to then get caught up in the combustion process and turn into steam- I shoulda said every word so everyone would get it first time they read instead of a slightly cryptic approach

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 5:44 pm

Hehe don't worry Jonno we all love your cryptic approach

Brumbyowner · Post by **Brumbyowner** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:42 am

David,

Just a hint for you, when you start, use a fishing tackle box when you strip it down, it keeps everything in the one place. Also, be sure to photograh the carby in situ before you take it out, especially all the hoses, etc.

Cheers and good luck

Stuart

David D wrote:Thanks for that, I thought there'd be extra bits and I guess I only have to use what I feel is necessary. I'll try and leave a day free for it as soon as I can. I have a thermo switch for the fan to replace so I may drop the coolant and do that while I'm in the engine bay.

I'll keep you guys updated...

David

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 7:54 am

Good suggestion that is. A non fisherfolk like myself suddenly envisioned the big canitlevered fishing toolbox, but rememebered the boxes I get are actually found in fishing tackle shops as well as hardware. The aussie made Fischer brand have a heap of choices. Another tip is to use masking tape on the top of the clar lid where the bits came from, start at top right corner an work your way along - gives you a rebuild sequence to follow in reverse order and gives you an idea just where you stand in the rebuild process.

David D · Post by **David D** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 1:35 pm

More updates...

the coolant leak appears to be fixed, thanks to a mate for a bit of help. We cleaned up the manifold and throttle plate faces a bit more and replaced the gaskets with some sturdier stuff (using the spacer as a template). So far, so good.
I was still having trouble starting the car cold so I re-checked the float level through the glass and it looked low. I took the top off the carb and re-adjusted it yesterday and it looks better now. Started OK this morning but not running as well as before

. Might have to fiddle with the mixture a bit. nice big learning curve this is....

David

David D · Post by **David D** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 10:52 am

Well, I feel a bit silly now. I took the top off the carby again to re-check what I'd done the other day and it turns out I damaged the leather skirt on the plunger when I put it back in. I was being careful too (honest!) but I guess not careful enough. Luckily, I had the spare 'incorrect' kit handy so I was able to replace the plunger with that one. Now starting and running good but runs on after turning off the ignition so will be investigating that next. Hope it's something simple. The idle speed is a bit high, could that make it run on?

David

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sat Jul 06, 2013 5:35 pm

yep, sorta

David D · Post by **David D** » Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:00 am

Hmmmm, I'm having a bit of trouble which I think may still be carb related.

My main problem is starting the car when it's stood overnight and is cold. Sometimes it will start up first time with full choke like it always used too but not always.
When it's bad, it starts first time like normal but then after a few seconds it starts to really struggle and it's near impossible to keep it going. Yesterday I noticed there was loads of smoke out the back while it was struggling. Once it's cut out after this, it's really tricky to get it started again (maybe flooded?) but does eventually start. After all this, it runs fine once it's going and will usually only trouble me after it's sat for a while again.

The float level looks spot on but drops overnight - is this normal?

Some days the idle speed will go really low when I stop at a junction or something. This doesn't happen often but shouldn't really happen at all and I don't know if it's related?

I have previously cleared some crap from the fuel lines so maybe there's more in there?

It's gonna be hard to solve because it doesn't start badly every day but I do feel like it's getting worse. It was bad before the rebuild but seemed to be okay for a while after.

If anyone can offer any help I'd be grateful, won't get a chance to do much until Wednesday at the earliest.

Thanks

David D

David D · Post by **David D** » Sun Sep 01, 2013 1:14 pm

Still having trouble but I haven't had a chance to look at this properly yet.
I have made a few more observations:

It only starts with full choke (as it always has).
After it starts, it will idle for a few seconds then start struggling. The only way I can keep it going is to push the choke in and use the accelerator. It will struggle like this for a few more seconds, blowing smoke and stinking of petrol, before it eventually comes good.
Without using the pedal it will die with or without choke.
Doesn't appear to be using oil.
Fuel consumption doesn't look as good as normal so far on this tank but still a bit early to tell for sure.
Usually a morning issue but had the problem yesterday afternoon following a day stood in the sun so maybe ambient temperature is not an issue but engine temperature is (or length of time sitting).

Any ideas what might be causing this?

Cheers

David D

Post by **TOONGA** » Sun Sep 01, 2013 1:39 pm

last post you said the float level drops overnight, looks like you have a leak in the bowl somewhere which is filling you manifold with fuel overnight.

TOONGA

David D · Post by **David D** » Sun Sep 01, 2013 8:49 pm

Ahhh, that would make sense. I thought it was weird that the level dropped but I wasn't sure if it was normal. Could be one of the main jets or the power valve leaking? Maybe a crack in the bowl?
Let's hope I can make time to check it out this week.

Thanks

David D

tambox · Post by **tambox** » Sun Sep 01, 2013 10:49 pm

You may find the level only drops when the motor/engine bay is hot, its called evaporation

, the carby is not a sealed container and petrol vapourises pretty easy with heat.
Sounds like you have problems with the choke fast idle, choke travel or choke pulloff setup.
Read your manual and it should tell you how check/setup.

tambox · Post by **tambox** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 7:23 am

Going from your first pic, you may have the following setup.

There is a round rod that goes down from where the choke cable connects to the choke shaft.
That rod then connects to a flat lever.
That lever connects to the primary butterfly shaft.
This setup gives you fast idle when you pull the choke on.

If you are not carefull when you connect this up or put the top back on the carby, you can end up with this operating backwards, so it does nothing.
When you pull the choke on, make sure the rod pushes the lever backwards/anticlockwise.