So I have rebuilt the carb on my '71 with a 1400 engine but Im having some issues with it now. It can be a hard start at times, it will catch, then die, then catch again. Once running I need to feather the throttle to keep it running until it warms up a little. At which point I need to have the choke slighlty closed. If I open the choke fully, it will sputter and die. I have adjusted the carb as instructed in the workshop manual but am still having issues. I have checked for vac leaks and have found none. The engine also hunts, i will pull to a stop and it will idle at 800-1000 rpm, but the next stop it will be idling at 2000 rpm. Im not sure whats going on, any help??
John
'71 spider
'57 Bel-Air
'83 Toyota Pickup
'04 GTI
'65 Ducati Cadet 100
Hmmmm, carb issues
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majicwrench
Re: Hmmmm, carb issues
I have a 72 and can relate. Does turning out the mix screw at the base of carb help?? If not, the jet is likely plugged.
Wish I had a pic of it handy, but here goes..
On left side of carb (same as mix screw) up near the top front, will be a brass slotted screw, it faces out to the side just like the mix screw. It's about 1/4" around. Remove it. Might be an O ring sealing it and behind it is a jet with a TINY oriface. This thing plugs constantly on mine. The jet MAY NOT come out with the screw. If not, take a tiny pick and pull it out. Any tiny leftover piece of goo will find it's way to this jet, and then carb runs too lean, hard start, won't idle right etc.
If you have a blowup diagram of carb it will show screw and jet. jet is just a small brass tube with, like I said, a TINY hole in end. Carb cleaner, compressed air. Pull idle mix screw and do the same to the passages there, and where the jet fits. Safety glass, right??
Over the years i have cleaned this jet 10 times or so. When using car like a daily driver, like I am now, it seems to stay clear, car runs idles wonderfully. Any time I let it sit for a month or so, pretty good bet jet will plug at least once, then will be fine again.
Wish I had a pic of it handy, but here goes..
On left side of carb (same as mix screw) up near the top front, will be a brass slotted screw, it faces out to the side just like the mix screw. It's about 1/4" around. Remove it. Might be an O ring sealing it and behind it is a jet with a TINY oriface. This thing plugs constantly on mine. The jet MAY NOT come out with the screw. If not, take a tiny pick and pull it out. Any tiny leftover piece of goo will find it's way to this jet, and then carb runs too lean, hard start, won't idle right etc.
If you have a blowup diagram of carb it will show screw and jet. jet is just a small brass tube with, like I said, a TINY hole in end. Carb cleaner, compressed air. Pull idle mix screw and do the same to the passages there, and where the jet fits. Safety glass, right??
Over the years i have cleaned this jet 10 times or so. When using car like a daily driver, like I am now, it seems to stay clear, car runs idles wonderfully. Any time I let it sit for a month or so, pretty good bet jet will plug at least once, then will be fine again.
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JohnnyRaggs
Re: Hmmmm, carb issues
Awesome, I will check that out and let you know the outcome. Thanks a ton
John
John
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boogiedude
- Posts: 410
- Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2009 5:22 am
- Your car is a: 1978 spider 1800
- Location: Honolulu, HI
Re: Hmmmm, carb issues
Something else you might want to check is the distributor. I went through a period of 6 or so months where I had hard starting issues and running issues while the car was cold. After pulling apart the carb 10's of times and cleaning it constantly/tuning it I finally figured out it was the distributor/timing. The gap was way off in the points and my timing was a bit retarded. You might as well just check the gap and timing if you don't know what its at currently
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JohnnyRaggs
Re: Hmmmm, carb issues
So much better. I did what you said majicwrench and removed that plug, cleaned it out (it was plugged) and re-installed it, then I did what boogiedude said and adjusted the points and timing. It started up first crank and runs like a dream. But when I adjusted the idle and went for a drive, I noticed that it had a lack of power. Could this be fuel starvation?
John
John