Despite having only 120K miles, my 1989 22R pickup runs like crap. After two years it's time to finally address the carburetion situation. Throttle response at speed is decent, but it idles very poorly, gets terrible fuel economy, and "diesels" for a few seconds every time I cut the ignition.

I've never rebuilt an automotive carburetor, but that seems to be the cheapest way to go. NAPA and Autozone used to offer rebuild kits that I can no longer find. There are still a few AirTex 2G1344 kits floating around and there is this:

http://www.lceperformance.com/Carburetor-Rebuild-Kit-22R-Aisin-Carburetor-p/1031001.htm

Other than these two, I don't know what else is available. I also don't know anything about properly tuning a carb once it's been rebuilt and reinstalled.

Secondly, there are remanufactured carbs available from places like Carburetor Exchange, Guaranteed Carburetors, Carb Spec, etc. They will exchange your core for a rebuilt unit or rebuild your actual carb, which usually takes longer but costs less.

http://www.carb-x.com/
http://www.guaranteedcarburetors.com/
http://www.carbspec.com/

Going this route seems reasonably priced (usually under $200) and they claim to perform certain tests that would be difficult/impossible to do in a home garage. On the other hand, if the work is done incorrectly and you aren't local to the shop, you're out a lot of time while the carb is shipped back and forth between you and the tech. Also, there isn't a mechanic on Earth I expect not to half-ass a job performed on someone else's vehicle. I trust no one.

Then, there are these supposedly NEW carbs coming from places like China, Korea, Thailand, etc:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321049250384?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

"New" sounds great, especially for the price, but the quality/fitment is a huge question mark.

Lastly, there is the Weber swap. I see conversion kits in the $2-300 range every day. Some have the option of a manual choke; as a motorcyclist, I appreciate this level of simplicity. How does the Weber compare in terms of performance, maintenance, and fuel economy?

Decisions. Wish I had just waited for an EFI truck.

 

I got a weber 38 and i daily drive my yota. No complaints here.

 

Is your truck a 4- or 5-speed? Have you checked your fuel economy versus the original, factory carb?

 

There is this fuel diaphragm thing on the side of the carb that tears and leaks fuel into the motor. It's like a 12 dollar fix.

Research it, bet a dollar it's all that's wrong with it.

 

Well, hopefully this $12 diaphragm is included in the $40 rebuild kit I just bought.

 

So where did you get the kit?

 

I picked up an AirTex kit on eBay for $36. Figured I would give it a try on my own and if I can't get it right, I'm only out a few bucks and maybe a Saturday's worth of tinkering. I can still swap it for a remanufactured carb if necessary.

I don't really know what I'm doing, but I don't trust other people to work on my stuff, either. Almost every mechanic I've ever met has been a professional half-asser.