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View Full Version : need help with a carb prollem


scotty
11-25-2001, 12:20 PM
my friend with the xj is having some trouble with his carb,so i need to enlist the advice of all the carb experts on this forum.

the engine is a 258,.040 over,mild towing cam,stock intake/exhaust with a flowmaster muffler,no convertor. the carb is a Q jet 4bbl,adapted to the stock intake with a custom plate,and mr gasket adapter.

ok last weekend we went wheelin,and he started having all kinds of trouble with it. coughing,sputtering when climbing hills. it would eventually stall,and not want to restart. closer inspection revealed no fuel squirting from the accel pump nozzels,so the first attempted fix was to put on an electric fuel pump,thinking the original had gone kaput. turned it on,bowl filled,fuel started squishing out the nozzels. back up the hill,same thing.again,no fuel.engine off,pump on,bowl filled and was fine for a few minutes.back up the hill,same thing.again no squishey. this time we take the top off the carb and fiddle with the float,and clean out some funk.was fine again for awhile.same deal. he was able to drive it home,and over the week rebuilt the carb.ran great right after,and on the way down,but started acting up again in the woods. again,running out of fuel in the bowl. we blew thru the lines,thru the sending unit,and blew out the air filter.was ok again for awhile. now we notice that it isnt acting up going up the hil backwards,so we pull the sending unit out of the tank,and the level is very low in front of the tank,high in the rear(were on a hill) so we attach a sm piece of hose to the sending unit to reach the bottom of the tank,and leave the screen off. seemed to be perfectly happy,but then started actig funky again,tho not quite as bad.

about that time it was getting dark,so we were forced to head out.on the highway home,he said he could hold his foot on the floor as long as he wanted,keeping the secondaries open,and no starvation prollems.

some other info: this is a cmputer controlled carb,but he has been running it for several months with no computer with no real adverse affects.its basically in an open loop mode,the clicky thing(mixture solenoid) keeps the metering rods in a full rich position.so we dont really think the comp controls have anything to do with it.

he has always run a return line. we did pinch it off,and this made abosolutely no difference.

the tank was just out,and is clean.

there are no visible leaks anywhere,so we dont think its suckig in air somewhere.

again,the apparent cause is fuel starvation. we dont really think the float is sticking,since you can turn the pump on and the bowl fills back up.

we dont think the pump is bad,since he can put his foot on the floor on the highway without the symptoms occuring.

we dont think its the way the carb is adapted to the intake,since mine is the smae way and still runs fine,and since he has been running this carb for several months now-prolly pretty close to a year.

sorry this post is so long,wanted to give as much info as possible. we are pretty confused at this point.

ur thots? :confused:

Michael
11-26-2001, 08:41 AM
Hey Scotty,

I have the same problem with my Edelbrock on my wag. I am fine with the normal hills. but with the very steep grades it sputters and if I do not hold the gas to the floor it will eventually die. I know for a fact that Edelbrock makes a kit for the float which I belive it keeps the float at a certain angle allowing the carb to always get fuel. At certain angles the float will tilt accordingly and closing the needle off. Not allowing fuel to the bowl. I say that but have not done it. All I know is it is a PIA to stall on a steeeeeep grade of rock and have to roll down that sucker backwards... :eek: I am almost positive that is you problem also. Good luck. I am not a carb guy and just experienced this myself this past weekend.

Veepster
11-26-2001, 10:50 AM
I am with M......everything is pointing towards float....if they make a float kit for that carb it means they know they have a problem....talk to Edelbrock and let us know!

scotty
11-26-2001, 02:42 PM
the only prollem with that theory is the fact that this carb has been fine at any angle for months.and my q jet still runs just fine on the same hills.so i dont think its a design prollem with the carb itself,or it would have been acting up since day one.he slid sideways into a mudhole over at haspin,and darn close flipped it over backwards-had it pointing almost straight up in the air,and it still ran just fine.

it may be possible that the float is sticking,but,the pump will fill the bowl back up on the hill,which i wouldnt think it would do if the float was stuck.

also,once back on flat ground,it doesnt run just fine.it will still cough,and not want to rev up.after we let it sit a few minutes with the pump on to fill the bow,it will run peachy,and may or may not continues to do so,wether hes on a hill,or on flat ground.

further thots? :confused:

Stuka
11-26-2001, 04:08 PM
well....this sounds like a prob I had with my 4350 before i finally ditched it. I have now found out what the probs that I had where. It would run fine on hills....but I had massive problems with the accel pump.

1: the cylinder that the accel pump is in can get wornm causing it to not seal correctly, which means fuel may not be squirted when gas is applied.

2: the little rod that connects to the accel pump can "fall off" and magically get hooked back up....and i wouldent believe it if i didnt sit there and mess with it until i found out.

3: the throttle shaft gets worn so there that is slop..which gets anoying. this didnt happen to mine, but figured i would mention it. Since it can cause probs.

64Trvlr
11-26-2001, 04:13 PM
Have you weighed the float to see if it has gas in it?
:cool:

scotty
11-26-2001, 11:48 PM
64,the float is new,but ill have him check it out...

Michael
11-27-2001, 12:14 AM
Scotty-

You description of what it does is exactly what mine does after being at an agressive angle and then on solid ground. Cough sounds like it is running on 6 cylinders then wham.... It clears out and runs fine. Back to another hill to climb and wham does it again. I would for sure check the float operation. And the Accelerator pump. I took my Edelbrock apart when I got home this weekend. I could not find anything but I cleaned the needles and the Acc. Pump. Seems to run a bit better but I do not think I solved the prob. Good luck let us know.