Gas coming out of top of carb

[irowiki]

When we brought the engine for our 87 FWD that came out of an 82, I decided to swap that first gen carb into my first gen, since the wiring was funky with a second gen carb (fuel cut stuff refused to work right). This carb has sat for a while, and there was some orange gunk in the secondary flap valve.

Got it all hooked up, went to start the car, and as I cranked for a bit, fuel started shooting out of the top of the carb, in the areas marked in green on the attachment.

It looks like the sight glass is empty. Is it possible the sight glass is actually full, and maybe the float is stuck?

[dlb]

not positive but i think those are vents for the float bowl which would indicate it's overfilled. try my trick to determine if the bowl is empty or overfull: leave the engine off and keep opening and closing the throttle until gas either stops squirting into the primary barrel or the level comes down into the sight glass.

[xirdneh]

the needle valve could be stuck open
its just under the carb top plate on front driver side
might be open because float is stuck somehow

[Petros]

those are the vents that go into the float chamber, if fuel comes out it means the float or needle valve is not working properly. carefully take the top of the carb off and either clean and verify the float works and the needle valve functions (sometimes they can be cleaned out to get any crud stuck on the seat out). Easy fix. If the needle valve seat is badly pitted it may have to be replaced. if the needle end of the valve is in good condition it might be possible to recut the seat to make a good sealing surface. but replacing it is inexpensive if you can buy just the needle valve by itself, which you used to be able to do.

Also check the float is not saturated. Usually they are okay but it is a standard test to float it in a container of gasoline to verify it actually floats.

[irowiki]

I assume I can get to those without taking the carb out of the car?

[xirdneh]

yes you can

[dlb]

yeah, taking the carb top off is easy. no need to remove the carb. just remove the air filter housing, the fuel inlet pipe, and about 8-10 screws from the top of carb and it should come off pretty easily.

[Petros]

you can pull off the carb top with it in the car. but in addition to the screws, there are a few tiny clips you have to take off the linkage too, use needle nose pliers and do it carefully not to loose any of these tiny clips. Drop one of those down into the engine not likely you will find it again. one good reason to pull the carb and remove the tiny parts on a work bench covered in old news papers so it will be easier to find if you drop a small part.

Also be careful once the top is loose, there are several tiny internal small parts that must go back into the same place before you put the top back in or it will not run properly.

Not hard to do, just watch out for those tiny clips and parts, or you will be very frustrated trying to get it to run properly again. Might be a good time to just do a complete carb overhaul anyway.

[ARCHINSTL]

and remove the tiny parts on a work bench covered in old news papers so it will be easier to find if you drop a small part.

This is a bit OT, but having learned from experience...when dealing with small bits and pieces, far better to use white paper than newsprint; the bits tend to disappear in the ink. Do this even if you don't want to buy large white sheets - just Scotch-tape some typing paper sheets together.
Tom M.

[larry mcgrath]

These little clips are known by their MECKANIC name JESUS clips (your about to find out why) you can use the fine wire thats commonly used on parts tags to slip through the little loop in the clip -twist the wire and remove the (real name grasshopper clip) Snap-on sells alittle tool to remove these without any problems, sells for about 10 bucks. saves a lot of cuss words, you wont regret buying one. Larry

[dlb]

i didn't have any problems with the clips. just looked close to see where the opening of the clip was and then used needle nose pliers to carefully it off. do be really careful not to lose them in the engine bay though, you will never find them. so small.

[irowiki]

I think I'll practice on a junk carb first!

[marlinh]

If you have a spare carb, you don't have to worry about losing a clip. I like to keep the small parts together in a magnetic tray. There's always the possibility that the paper holding all your parts gets disturbed. Murphy's law. He is always at my place helping...

[irowiki]

You mean the toddler wrecking things? Around here that is baby's law

I have a junk carb without any linkages anymore, and a seized up (Secondary throttle) carb with everything still on it.

I hope to fix this soon, been dealing with plumbing emergencies instead.

[Highlander]

Re: Jesus clips-
I always use a pair of needle nose pliers for them, and before I pull them the first time (or install them the first time) I always bend the loop porti0n out-of-plane a bit to allow gripping with the needle nose. It also gives you a better look-see when reinstalling them