[Andrew]

I got several TAs in a lot of parts recently, and tested them all for function. Here they are hanging out in the hot tub.

Andrew

 

[rogerspeed]

very risky andre

 

[144]

Did they test out to spec? I've got little confidence in the TAs you buy off ebay.

 

[Andrew]

I got a lot of five for practically nothing, so I didn't have much to lose. One goes to 26mm, one to 28mm, two to 24mm, and one does nothing at all. It's a seller I've done a lot of business with, and she basically tossed them in with some other stuff.

Andrew

 

[the_sicilian]

i think my TA is going whacky. i get 800rpm cold and 1500rpm hot. (shorted wire perhaps?)

would my best method of elimination be to remove the unit and , what boil it? what temp do you go up to?

 

[144]

The 28mm one may be useable, but the rest sound like they're shot. They all look like the later models that are suppose to have 24mm extension cold and 29mm at 175F.

 

[jarrington]

Send 'em to IAP for store credit. If they're intact and rebuildable they'll give you $40 each for them. Reminds me, I still need to use up that gift certificate...

-Jason

 

[Andrew]

I'll probably keep the tolerable ones for the sad-case Berlinas I end up with. I had a Berlina with a Sure-Start recently, and if I'd had these TAs then, I'd have put one in.

Andrew

 

[the_sicilian]

i would have bought the 5-pack for that price in a second. nice find.

so then to clarify, i put the TA in heating water to a boil and then measure for a fully extended 29mm? and then back to 24mm when it cools? else replace?

i have a 1750cc that replaced a 2000 in my 74 spider. whats odd is that the SPICA seems to have a TA, climate switch, and all (so 3 different plugs on top) so is that a 'newer' spica or older?
i ask because of your specification of a different extended-length on the TA for two different generations of SPICA. seems feasable that the working SPICA from the 74 was kept and used for the 1750 (which is god-awful fast btw. maybe the PO was wise. this 1750 feels peppier and zippier than any 2000 ive ever driven! maybe the more aggressive cam-timing and lack of catalyst)

so is there a different measurement for a 1750's TA?

thanks --guido

 

[the_sicilian]

also, why is there a blue-ish color where my TA's sensor enters the head? is it ok to just remove it and put it back in? was there some special non-seize used here?

did perhaps someone use a blowtorch to heat up the sensor to see if it changed the TA?

btw - again the car runs great. just idles high once it warms up. as high as 2000k

 

[Andrew]

Yes, get the water to where the water temp in your car is and measure the protrusion. I don't have the specs handy re the extension for a 71 GTV. What you're shooting for on extension is a .019" gap between the gap-setting screw and the pump arm when fully hot. You can adjust some at the screw that the TA plunger bears on. Some TAs will be shorter, needing the screw to be adjusted longer, and some TA will be longer, requiring the screw to be adjusted shorter. In many cases, more recent TAs extend a ton, and you can't get any gap, even with the screw under the TA fully adjusted in. In that case, you can shim the TA up some where it screws into the pump body with a spark plug gasket or other similar distance piece.

The blueish color is probably the remains of RTV sealer. The stock method of sealing thee is a round o-ring the crushes to a triangular cross section after some years.

My wife doesn't care. I clean the pot afterward, and do most of the cooking anyway. She was cooking dinner while I was doing this. She thinks my obsession with TAs is humorous.

Andrew

 

[the_sicilian]

some good info on trip's post at http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/carburetors-fuel-injection/35230-spica-dilemna.html#post298560

 

[Lee Hjelsand]

There is a way to adjust the TA's that are short when hot, which will also adusts the extention when cold. The late Fred DiMatto posted this fix a number of years ago and I have done it a couple of times with good success
Measure the extention at cold and hot. Get some .032 ss wire. Generally available at a marine store for locking turnbuckles . Wrap the wire tightly around the temp bulb, ( the end that goes in the manifold ) Chuck in a vise and gently apply pressure, Rotate the bulb after each tightning. If you are careful you will be able to make the protustion a bit longer and not deform the bulb so much that you can't get it back in the manifold. This has worked for me a number of time, however eventually you will need a new or a rebuilt one. Try it, What do you have to lose