BrooklynGSL

1982 stock GSL - full rats nest, no mods

Hi guys, the 7 started stalling at stoplights out of nowhere, so I took it in. Mechanic said the floats are busted and it's leaking gas everywhere and fouling plugs. Says I "1000% need a new carb". I asked if it needs a rebuild, he insisted on a new carb, said I had to find it.

This seems a bit extreme for a float issue to me, and I'm not finding any rebuilt Nikki's in the classifieds.

What's the best course of action here? Get the car back and order a rebuild kit? Find a rebuilt Nikki and let the dude continue? He's the only mechanic at this garage so he likely doesn't have time or interest in messing around with a rebuild, so I understand that- but I don't have a place in NYC to work on it myself and not many garages wanna mess with the 7.

Thanks.

j_tso

iTrader: (2)

The first option: get the car back and a rebuild kit. You can find floats individually at Mazdatrix.

Any chance you can just take the carb off and rebuild it by itself? You may find most shops won't be too interested in messing with cars this old.

lduley

iTrader: (1)

How old is your "mechanic"? My guess is he is young and replaces parts, doesn'r actually fix them.

You will probably NEVER find a NEW carb, if you do, it will cost a pretty penny

Rebuild it yourself, or if you think that it more than a task you can handle, start asking around for OLD mechanics, theres a good chance you can find a old guy that would rebuild it fairly cheap if you supplied the parts

90% of the time carbs don't need replacing, they need a good cleaning and fresh gaskets, and they are good as new

midnight mechanic

Stalling at stoplights? The same happened to me when the alternator was going bad. The alt 's bearings were shot, thus requiring higher engine rpms to turn. Since the car was running off the battery at low rpms, eventually the battery discharged so the sick alternator was providing all the electrical. Engine would start to die at low rpms when I used the brakes.

Point is all was fixed with a rebuilt alternator, and the symptoms were engine would start to die at low rpms when braking.

TimWilbers

iTrader: (1)

Staling at stop lights.
Accelerator pump diaphragm was leaking gas leaving a visible puddle.
Bought a rebuild kit. Replaced the pump diaphragm and problem went away.

BrooklynGSL

The mechanic is probably in his late 50s, known for working on old cars in the NYC area for 30 years.

Maybe I'll take it somewhere else and get a more specific diagnosis than "new carb".

It's backfiring/ popping like crazy too with rough idle rpms sitting around 500-600. This started out of nowhere, Had been experiencing slight backfires between shifting but other than that it's been great the 4000 miles I put on it. Odo is at 106k now.

Thanks for the input guys

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Mechanic is an idiot and doesn't want to deal with the rebuild. No way to get nikkis new. Sounds
like you just need a simple rebuild to me. I bet theres a rotary mech in NYC that can do this for
you at a reasonable rate. Ask around in the NE section to see if anyone has recommendations.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

It is possible for a carb to get so worn mechanically, through neglect, dirt, abrasive wear on the shafts, or abuse/bad previous work, that it could need replacement... but it is very rare. In all but the most extreme cases, they can be rebuilt for the investment of about $100 (carb kit and two new floats, cleaning solutions, etc) and a couple evenings' time. No special tools required, just basic wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers, etc. It's a "kitchen table" project once the cleaning is done.

But it does take time and care, and to mechanics, time is money and care is not always there.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

With only 106,000 miles on it, it's highly unlikely that the carb is trash, it just needs a rebuild. The floats should be fine and you can get a rebuild kit at autozone, less than $30 last time I checked. An experienced mechanic can do the rebuild in an hour or two.

One option might be to remove the carb yourself (or have the mechanic do it), assuming the car can sit parked someplace for a few days or weeks (might be a challenge in Brooklyn, I realize).

Then you could either:

1) rebuild the carb yourself or send the carb to someone who could rebuild it for you for reasonable charge

or

2) buy another carb that the seller can assure is working well, hopefully a recent rebuild.

Like DD says, the best option is to do the rebuild yourself, to save time, money and you'll be sure you get the job done right. If you have even modest mechanical skills and a workbench (kitchen table will work, if the wife agrees) you can do it yourself. Take lots of pictures, post your progress here on this thread, we will walk you through it.

One other consideration, are you sure it's the carb? It could be something else that could be easily fixed, once diagnosed, like a vacuum leak or ignition problem. I'd make sure your diagnosis is correct before fixing anything, you could go through the time and expense only to still have the problem after.

Random note: My daughter and her husband live in Brooklyn, he's one of the Blue Man Group guys.

cfamilyfix

iTrader: (15)

I'm in Brooklyn too. Let me know if you need a hand

ditmus

How ironic...Ray Green's son-in-law is a Blue Man!
Before you yank the carb, eliminate tank-filter-pump-lines issues by clamping a funnel to the top of your open hood and running a new fuel line from the funnel to the fuel inlet on the carb. This creates a gravity-feed fuel system.
Pour gas into the funnel and see how it runs. Admittedly, it's hard to drive like this, but you could have a friend ride along and hold a funnel (or other vented container) out of the passenger window, and close (but don't latch) the hood. Have him hold the container high. This actually works (ask me how I know).
This is also a handy tip for sudden fuel pump failures