i need help, PLEASE???

[jims69camaro]

i need someone knowledgable in fuel delivery systems, specifically carburetors, to lend a hand bringing Ginny out of the mothballs.

recap of the end of last season: i was having trouble with the carb, maybe a sticking float or dirty needle/seat, so i bought a carb rebuild kit and went to town, replacing all of the gaskets, floats, power valve, etc that came with the kit. i went to fire it up and it would start but not run. i followed the troubleshooting card and tried adjusting the floats to no avail. since i am beyond my depth at this point, i need someone who knows more than i do to help me bring her back without damaging her.

i do not have tools beyond a basic hand set, ratchets/sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers and a roto-zip. if i need a pressure guage or a vacuum guage is going to be needed (or whatever else), now would be the time to get it. the filter is the clear kind, and fuel is present in the filter. when adjusting the floats, i can get fuel up over the seat of that bolt. the original problem of fuel just dripping into the bowl is still present.

it's hard to admit you don't know how to fix something, especially when you've been around cars for as long as i have. none of the troubleshooting supplied by the manufacturer is any help and i can't find anything online that would help solve this, either... the weather is so nice and i would love to take Ginny out... please help if you can.

[jims69camaro]

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[The Fixer]

Wow Jim, I wish I could help, but I don't know jack about carbs! :(

[jims69camaro]

thanks steve

[jims69camaro]

bump

[Slow_88]

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Do you have the butterflies set correctly with the transfer slot? .020" I believe is what should be uncovered from the bottom...

[Fasterthanyou]

What carb is it? I'm okay with Holley's, not so great with the others (no experience). I've only rebuilt 2 carbs and tuned 1. The floats are suposed to be set so that you get fuel coming up to the "sight" plug. You actually want it set so that the level is barely dribbling out. If you've adjusted the floats and there still isn't fuel coming up then get yourself the $20 carb fuel pressure gauge that splices into the supply line. Check to make certain it isn't your pump that's the problem. Another cheap way to check the pump is to remove the supply line, get a bucket, put your finger of the end like a garden hose and crank the engine over. Does the pump have the balls to pump fuel or not?
First things first, before doing the above, check a spark plug. Is it rich or lean, that's the first step towards understanding your issue. If it's lean (which it sounds like it is) then it could be;
The next step is to check for a vacuum leak. Get a vac gauge, again, $20, and test that you've got good vacuum when the engine starts and is running. If not, check for leaks below the carb. Things like old brake boosters with broken diaphrams or any of your vac accessories can be to blame. I had a 3rd gen that had a vac leak that turned out to be his HVAC inside the cabin!

[SteveR]

I have a Holley 4160 and I know a bit about it but not too many others if that helps at all.

[jims69camaro]

it's a 4160. the carb itself hasn't been touched (outside of my rebuild). i did not adjust the butterflies or anything outside of the floats and the idle. i'll have to put a set of plugs in in order to check lean/rich, but if the engine isn't running will that test prove? i have been leaning toward increasing my tool set, anyway, so i guess i'll get a coupla gauges. if there is gas in the fuel filter, i would guess the pump's got enough balls.

[NJSPEEDER]

jim, hit me up on AIM some time and maybe we can trouble shoot it or maybe we cna try to arrange a time i cna come down and take a look at it.
carbs can be picky. much like the rest of teh engine, no two are ever identical.

later
tim

[jims69camaro]

8)

[Fasterthanyou]

If it starts, dies, but restards and dies again and again then it's a lean condition (if it's fuel related). If it were rich it would quickly flood and foul the plugs. You'd have to wait a while or remove the plugs and crank it over to dry them out before restarting... or with EFI you just go into "clear flood" mode ;) .
You've tried adjusting the idle corner screws?

[jims69camaro]

i went through a complete cycle, first adjusting the floats to their extremes one quarter turn at a time, then the idle screws setting the float at recommended spec, keeping the idle screws within one quarter turn of each other.

[jims69camaro]

since AIM is proving unreliable, how about friday afternoon, tim? after, we could hang out a bit up at 37. i'll even spring for eats.

[JL8Jeff]

I've rebuilt Rochester 1,2 and 4 bbl carbs using the kits. Usually a problem like you're having is from putting a gasket in the wrong way or the wrong gasket for that particular year model. The Holley might be different, but it also might be a universal kit with several gaskets to choose from. Do you have the original gaskets that you took out? If so, take the carb back apart and check to make sure you used the correct gaskets everywhere and that none of them are "flipped" over.

[jims69camaro]

i remember being very meticulous about which gaskets i used and the way things went, since it was the first rebuild i've done in a long time. it was the cheapie, universal kit, made by holley and i think it just fits a group of model numbers, but mine was one of them - i double checked that with the guy i ordered it from.

i do still have the old ones, and i think i'll pop it off and double check to make sure the ones in there are the right ones. thankfully, they are the new 'blue' material that doesn't crumble the first time you take the carb apart.

thanks for the tip, jeff. you might save tim a trip out here.

[jims69camaro]

well, i went through it and as i suspected it's how it should be... i feel like grabbing my ford wrench and going to town.