My carburetor was leaking, I took it into my mechanic, they used a kit and supposedly fixed it. The next day the truck still smelled overpoweringly like gas. I am afraid it is still leaking and I might have to buy a new carburetor. How much should I expect to have to pay? or is it possible to still try and fix the old one? I am also wondering if I should not drive the truck? thanks
Take the truck back to your mechanic and have them look at it again. There is not much to an old Motorcraft carburetor, they should be able to diagnose it without much hassle. Chances are, you’ve got a worn throttle shaft or a leaking fuel bowl. It just happens with age. If you have a 2 barrel carb, Holley’s got you covered with a 500 cfm model, if you have a 4 barrel, I would go with a 600 CFM Edelbrock.
Talk to your mechanic about the problem and see if they might have a lock on a good used carb. New is going to run you 250 - 300, but will probably make a night-and-day difference in the way the truck runs.
With 1967 vehicles, you need to become your own mechanic or be prepared to spend a lot of money to professionally maintain these old vehicles…
Your problem sounds like a bad needle & seat or a bad float. These parts function just like the ones in your toilet…
What size engine are we dealing with and is it the original carb?
thanks for your input. The carburater I have is a Holley and I am pretty sure it is the original. I am not sure if it is a 2 barrel or a 4 barrel. How can you tell the difference? My Mechanic told me that if I need to replace the carb it would cost me $1000 (I assume that includes labor)… my friends tell me that is a bit steep, are they right?
I am pretty sure it is the original carb, the size of the engine? honesly I am not that savvy with cars/engines… I think it is 8 cylinder…
If the mechanic who gave you an estimate of a thousand bucks for a carb replacement on this truck is the same one who allegedly rebuilt the carb then find another mechanic. I think you’re being had.
I wondering if this guy did nothing more than hose the carb down with aerosol carb cleaner, made it look good, and called that an “overhaul”.
Jeez! You can get a rebuilt carb for this truck for about a 100 dollars and 30 minutes to change it out. This guy wearing a ski mask when he said this?
What is a good source for inexpensive ($100-$150) rebuilt carburetors? I have a 1978 Oldsmobile, 260 cu in V-8 that has a carburetor problem. If the car sits more than a day, I have to prime the carburetor to start the engine. I don’t want to put a lot of money into the car, so a reasonably priced rebuilt carburetor seems like a good solution if I knew a good source.
A look around shows that depending on which carb you have a Holley is about 180 and a Rochester is about 200 or a shade over. (Advance Auto)
Your carb is going to be pricier since starting in '73 emissions really started being pounded into them. More parts, more complicated, and more expensive and that’s true of all of them.
If the choke flap is closing when cold and this is not the problem then here is something you could check for.
After the car has been sitting for more than a day remove the air cleaner top and work the throttle linkage by hand. You should see gasoline being squirted out of the accelerator pump discharge nozzles.
If not, then the carb may have an internal leak that is allowing gasoline to drain out of the float bowl. The old Rochester Quadrajets would leak like this by gas seeping past the jet well plugs.
No gas out of the accelerator pump disch. nozzles could also point to a stuck check ball or clogged passage, but if this were the case the car should have a problem even when warmed up and running; usually a bad hesitation on acceleration or just falling on its face.
Take the accelerator pump diaphragn out and look at it. If there is a hole in it, they didn’t change it. Four screws and a lever on the front of the carb.
Thanks for your help. I’ve checked the choke flap and the choke is closed. However, when I work the accelerator linkage, the accelerator pump doesn’t pump any fuel. However, once I get the car started, the accelerator pump works like a champ and the car runs fine. The carbuetor is a 2 barrel and I do suspect the well plugs. My carburetor skills aren’t the greatest. I once rebuilt the 1 barrel carburetor on a 1950 Chevrolet truck I owned. It took me a whole afternoon and two tries to get it right.
I’m debating if the car is worth a big repair. It is the 4-4-2 model Cutlass, but by this time the 4-4-2 was only a trim package. The engine is just a 260 cubic inch V-8 with a 2 barrel carburetor and a single exhaust. I’ve gone 240,000 miles since I bought the car new, but it’s hard to keep up with the tin termites that are eating away at the body.
Again, thank you for taking time to respond to me.
A THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Was that said with a straight face??? That is the most ludicrous estimate I have ever heard and that says a lot. You need a new mechanic immediately if not sooner. That guy is a crook. The fact he took your money and didn’t fix a simple problem shows he’s also incompentent to boot.
It does sound like there may be an internal fuel leak. Something I have seen on a couple of Ford carburetors is a porous casting. The carb body is made of pot metal and the ones I saw had microscopic pin holes in the metal.
In these cases the cars would run rich, belch smoke, and generally act like a bad case of vapor lock at times along with being hard to start cold. I almost never figured these out. Finally I had one of them off the engine, filled the float bowl with gas, and noticed about 5 minutes later than the bottom of the carb would become damp. Another 5 minutes and it would start a very slow drip. The problem in both of these cases was a pinhole (too small to see) that was located in the bottom of the accelerator pump wells.
A couple of hundred bucks is a bit pricy for one of those carburetors I agree. Maybe keep an eye on eBay for one?
It’s hard for me to suggest scrapping a car since I drive mine into oblivion and if memory is correct, it seems those small V-8s like yours did pretty well on fuel mileage.
I agree, like I said above, float bowl leak. Older Qjets and Motorcraft (many of which are rebadged Holley designs) carbs do this (for different reasons), especially now that they’re getting to be 40+ years old.
As every said…find a new mechanic.
About 25 years ago…Holly was making NEW replacement carbs for many many vehicles. If they still do look at possibly getting one of these or a rebuilt. Last time I replaced a carb with one of these new Holly carbs…they were only $100 more then a rebuilt. IMHO it was worth the extra $100.
There is a leak in the float bowl that is allowing the fuel to drain out overnight. It’s usually around a pressed in welch plug inside the float bowl or connected to the float bowl. They make a special epoxy to seal these leaking welsh plugs and stop the overnight draindown.
If you don’t want to mess with the carb, install an inline electric fuel pump that comes on with the ignition. This will fill the carb.
Thanks again to OK4450, mr_josh and Caddyman. I apologize to the original post, amyyolarkin with his 1967 Ford truck carburetor problem for horning in on his post. I hope all the comments have been as helpful to you as they have been to me. I am going to try the special expoxy to seal the welsh plugs before I try anything else. I do have the service manual for the 1978 Oldsmobiles so I do have a guide if I get up the courage to tackle the carburetor.
Thanks again everyone.