Tuning the Governor

[chance9888]

Hey all,

I've kind of always had the problem of my governor slowing me down. After looking at the shop guide, I just can't figure it out. I've put up with it for a while, but now i'm through... Whenever I hammer the gas, the engine will max out then slow down, due to the governor. Is there a way to make it so it just maxes out the engine, but doesn't slow down the whole car with engine braking? I have set one of the two screws so the truck will max out at 3200, but is it just a matter of turning the other one?

[Clint Dixon]

Hi Spencer

Hey all,

I've kind of always had the problem of my governor slowing me down. After looking at the shop guide, I just can't figure it out. I've put up with it for a while, but now i'm through... Whenever I hammer the gas, the engine will max out then slow down, due to the governor. Is there a way to make it so it just maxes out the engine, but doesn't slow down the whole car with engine braking? I have set one of the two screws so the truck will max out at 3200, but is it just a matter of turning the other one?

First of all, are you asking about the velocity governor that is found as an integral part of a "square top" model ET1, ET2, ET4, E7F1, or E7F1 carb? Or are you asking about a sandwich type governor that bolts in place between the manifold and the carbureter having the model number E7T1 or E7T2? If you are asking about the former, I have rebuilt many of these for both myself and others. It is common to find the integral governor completely out of adjustment. You should be able to get it back to factory adjustment by going to Phil's t137 site and viewing the Carter CARbureTER information sheets at these two links:

http://www.t137.com/ClintDixon/carburetors.htm
http://www.t137.com/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=37

You should be able to save the images from Phil's site and then zoom in on them for detail.

When you view the literature you must know that the image it shows is an exact mirror of what you see in real life. The image was taken from an industrial application governor but the adjustment steps are the same for the Power-Wagon.

Also, getting a governor back to factory settings is just the beginning of the fun. Doing so really only gets you a base line to start from. That in itself is a good thing, but the internal springs are almost always stretched and/or weakened from age and could be broken or missing altogether. Sometimes this is the fault of over zealous adjustments from previous owners. The condition of your engine and carbureter will also have an effect on governor performance. Sometimes the presence of one, or more, of these problems will make it nearly impossible to achieve smooth governor performance through governor adjustment.

From your description of the problem, it sounds like your throttle plate shaft is loose/worn and is sloppy in the bushings located on either side of the carbureter bore. This can cause outside air to be drawn in around the shaft and contaminate the fuel mixture. The looseness can also cause the throttle plate to stick in the bore and not open and close smoothly.

Also keep in mind that by pushing on the accelerator pedal, and moving the linkages, you are not physically forcing the throttle plate in the carbureter to open. All you are doing is moving an adjustable stop out of the way so that the governor can rotate the throttle plate to an open condition through its internal springs. You know that return spring that connects to the horizontal throttle linkage traveling from near the fire wall to the lever on the manifold? The spring that anchors back at the fire wall? Make sure it is in good condition. If you have a working governor, and this spring ever breaks while driving, you will have a wide open throttle condition (as far as the governor will let it be) until you turn off the ignition.

Junior