Hey guys,

I have a 83 LE that is my DD, with 181,000 miles on it. It is currently getting about 9 mpg (That is not what this thread is about, just might be related) and it has a slow coolant leak. I was driving the other day and I took the car to redline for the first time in a while. I haven't been doing my daily redline with winter here, more focused on driving with the rwd. Anyway, I redlined the car the other day and then I was sitting with my friend in the car, it was just idling and we both smelled something burning. I popped the hood and there was smoke coming from right behind the carb. I wasn't too worried because there wasn't that much smoke and my dad told me not to worry about it. I watched it, and with normal driving nothing happened. The other day I was driving hard again, probably redlined it three or four times on the way out to my friend's house. When I got there there I opened the door and there was smoke coming out from under the car right by the left door (Not a TON, but enough that it was the first thing I noticed when I opened the door). I popped the hood and there was the same smoke coming from right behind the carb. I couldn't see where it was originating from, it was just coming from the general "behind the carb" area (again, there was not a lot, just enough to see). This time there was a burning smell again, but not as bad. What could it be? Is it something I should be worried about? I have no idea what is going on. Any input is appreciated.

 

it is somethign to be concerned about. smoking is not normal. my first thoughts would be to a leaking oil metering pump or front cover gasket. those would leak oil onto the exhaust manifold and the smkoe could possibly travel.

since you are getting poor mileage and smoking near the car, i would check for a leaking accelerator pump. the pump is on the left side of the carb near the base towards the firewall. its square with four screws. i can post a picture if you would like. if you move the throttle by hand and notice it dripping then you will need to pull the carb and rebuild it. no sense in removing it and just replacing the accelerator pump diaphram.

 

A picture would be awesome. Would you be able to point out what I would be moving when I move the throttle by hand? I assume I am moving it while the engine is running. Thanks for the reply, I hope this can be resolved soon.

 

Also, the last few days I have been driving with my windows down and I can smell gas (sometimes, not all the time). Also, the smell kinda smells like coolant that is burning. Kinda a sweet burning smell. Another thing--this winter I have been checking my oil regularly, and have been surprised at the small amount of oil that was burning. Then yesterday I checked the oil level (First time in probably a week) and it had gone from almost full to only halfway full. This is confusing me even more. I smell gas and what I think is coolant, but the signs show that I am burning oil (although I am getting bad mileage like I said before) . Could these be three separate problems?

 

not good.

 

Open the hood while the car is running and look for leaks at the carb and also look for coolant leaks. I wouldn't keep driving the car with a gas leak.

 

@ Promark--- Ha, I think I know that this is not good.

@ Chris--- I think the rad is leaking. There is a small spot of coolant on the thing that is under the rad. I did open the car hood while it was running, but I don't see any leaks around the carb. Would you be able to tell me where the throttle cable is so I can rev engine and see if it is the accelerator pump? I think I have located the accelerator pump, but I'm not sure. If someone could tell me or, even better come with the pics that would be great.

 

there is a link to labeled pics of an 84 carb on my main page intertron.com/ron

 

Sent the last post from my phone. Now that I'm home here is the link to the carb photos. http://intertron.com/ron/carb.html

 

Thanks. I will definitely check those out.

 

I looked through those and I didn't see the accelerator pump. Is it labeled? Thanks for the help

 

 

Thanks 74RX4. I think I have found my gas leak. I got home from school today after re-filling the tank and noticed some "water" dripping from behind the wheel. I also noticed a strong gas smell. I normally wouldn't think twice because the warmer weather here in MN might cause some ice meltage or something, but I was a little suspicious today. Put my hand under the water and smelled it. It definitely did NOT smell like water. I will go out and take a closer look this evening to see where it's exactly coming from and what I will need to do to fix it. Hope it's not TOO bad.