Ok.. i rebuilt my carb.. Got it back on the car and fired it up. It took some cranking to get started but it finally did start. But after that I couldn't manage to get the idle below about 1500 and the car sounded like crap. I checked the throttle cables and they were both pretty loose so that wasn't doin it. I played with the adjustment screws but didn't seem to help, i had the a/f screw all the way in at some point and the idle was up at 2K. What are good starting points for the two screws?

Could this be caused by a vaccume leak? The carb base / gasket thinggy isn't in very good condition....

 

Fuel bowls are a tad above half and spark plugs are dry and a toasty brown..

 

vac leak

 

totally

 

What year carb? If it has the single mixture screw, turn it all the way in BY HAND. Tehn 3 turns out is the starting point for the mixture. Idle speed is adjust as required. If "wont idle below 1500" means it gets rough and dies below 1500 then yes vacuum leak.

 

hmm.. not quite by not idle below 1500 i mean i turn the screws and the thing just keeps doin what its doin... Its an 85 carb and a non cali car i believe. Its acting like the throttle cables are too tight but i loosened them all quite a bit and checked all of that stuff.. All i can think is vac leak from that base plate, it had a crack in it when i took it off and the gasket was swolen and in bad shape. I epoxied the cracks and took a file and sand paper and sanded the old gasket off and stuck new ones on but I think i just need to get a whole new unit. Do you guys know if they are the same across all years or do i have to find an 85?

 

If everything's capped off, it doesn't matter what year.

 

Im in CA, i need all that stupid emissions crap.....

oh sorry by non cali car i meant that it was originally purchased outside of cali so it doesn't have all of the emissions stuff the cali cars did if there is any difference there.

 

I have the same problem with my carb I have yet to try that gasket.

 

Now we got some good info. So you loosened the cable, thats good thinking. Did you also back out the idle speed screw? The one thats hidden under the linkage? NOT the mixture screw.

 

Yup yup.. I think it was pretty far out to begin with, adjusting it either in or out didn't make much of a difference.. maybe 100 - 200 RPM's...

 

Can you look down the carb throat and see if the butterflies are all the way closed? And/or when its running, block the carb inlet with your hand and see if it dies.

 

butterflies all the way closed... I think i need to work on the getting it started thing... I have to crank it for like a whole minute before it starts I think that stupid base gasket is fukt and i need to get a new one..

 

good luck..... most definitely im just geting out of the carb. drama

 

yay i think i got it figured out, I got some gasket sealant and sealed up the base gasket and there were a buncha little things on the carb that needed tweaking...
Now i just need to figure out the AP.. Anyone have any tricks for that? Oh and how should I test it? What i've been doing is letting the carb idle and then mashing the pedal to the floor and listening to how the car bogs and such...

 

www.pbandjracing.com in teh tech section. The pics arent up yet sorry, but you should be able to get the idea from the text.

 

... I dont get this stupid thing wth is wrong??

I thought I had it starting but i guess not.. I got it started after fixing the vac leak and it ran i drove it around turned it off and it would always restart immediately warm.. SO i left it a few hours to cool down went out and it fired back up, I let it warm up and shut it down... Now 24 hours later the ******* thing won't start again!!!!

 

oh yeah.. heres the real ******* funny part..

If i pop the hood and turn the throttle shaft two or three times and go back the car will fire up right away.. One would think pressing the gas pedal 2 or 3 times would do the same thing? ha not it doesnt!

 

Sounds like your fuel is boiling off while its sitting. Maybe a heatsheild between the manifold and the header is needed.

 

hmm.. i think all stock heatshields are in place...

 

just went out this morning, the fuel bowls are half full and the thing wont start... Carl help! Can i just send you this piece of junk and have you re-rebuild it? heh

 

nate -

You sure it's not flooded now? You said when you turn the throttle shaft by hand it will start. Does that work today? If so, it sounds like you're not getting a squirt of fuel when you pump the accel pedal before you start it. Will it start if you shoot some carb cleaner into the carb then try to start it?

When you say it won't start, do you mean you get nothing or does it fire but not catch?

 

I'll try some of that.. When i go out to the car and turn the key usually on the first try it will sound like its gonna start and then it dies, after that it just cranks and cranks. So far manually turning the throttle shaft has worked everytime.. Pretty sure its not flooding, i've pulled the plugs a few times and they are dry..

 

Sounds a lot like what I had. Have you checked spark quality? Does the starter spin real fast? Mine got a lot better after I cleaned all the starter connections. Have you tried to jump the car?

 

No... the car ran perfectly before i rebuilt the carb.. All ignition parts are fairly new anyways.