Hey guys,
So today on my way home my car started sputtering and the gas gauge started dropping rapidly. Popped the hood on the side of the road to find some sort of seal or plug missing from the side of my carb. My question is, do you think I can find a replacement part? A friend said I could JB weld it but that seems iffy as well. Any advice would be awesome. Thanks.

Attached is a photo of the carb in the car, and yes I realize it's dirty. I also attached a picture of what the carb should look like with the piece.
Thanks.

 

It looks like someone used JB weld putty originally, and it fell out. The one on the left that you have still intact looks an awful lot like JB Weld putty. I've always had good results with the putty. Perhaps they just did a bad job of applying it? Try re-doing it and see if it will hold. It won't cost you more than $5-6.

Clean the opening with brake cleaner and lightly scuff it up with sand paper. Scuffing it with sandpaper will give the putty something to adhere to. Then clean it with brake cleaner one more time. Get a tube of the "JB Stick" putty. Cut off a piece, knead it in your hand, and cram it in there. Pack it in tight. You'll need to make sure you have some way to access the other side of the hole so you can smooth the putty out on the other side where the hole terminates. If you don't smooth it out, it will ooze out while you are packing the putty into the hole and potentially cause problems.

For holes like this I prefer to fill the hole with as much putty as it can hold. Then I put on finger on each side of the hole and press together. This packs the putty in nice and tight in the opening, without having it ooze out either side of the hole. It is much easier to work with the putty if you wet your fingers with some water too. It keeps the putty from stickign to you fingers.

 

Those holes are supposed to have soft aluminum dowel rods pressed in, right? My knowledge of webers is low.

 

Look like milling passages used during manufacture, and then sealed with a swaged-in soft metal ball. Nikki's have several of the same.

Wonder if the PO opened them up to do some machining, and then didn't reseal them properly?

I'm not a Weber guy either, but unless there are parts that were supposed to be inside those holes, you should be able to clean them well and re-seal with any strong, fuel-proof epoxy or 'liquid metal.' Make sure you use one that's fuel-rated.

 

[QUOTE=Jeff20B;10547186]Those holes are supposed to have soft aluminum dowel rods pressed in, right? My knowledge of webers is low.[/QUOTE Yes I think you will find they are much the same as a tiny frost plug just softer .. when a carb is made they are used to block off ports and so on after the work is done inside that is what is used to block off the hole .. I also am not a Weber guy but that is what pretty much all carb manufactures use to seal the holes .. You should be able to buy them at a speed shop or somewhere that does lots of carb work I would get an extra one but for sure the other one is leaking to . anyone that sells them should be able to give you a few tips for instillation .