Carburator problems

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Ivan

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Feb 24, 2008
15
0
1
Ohio
I have a Rochester Quadrajet on my 455 in my Pontiac Grand Prix. When I rev the engine you can hear the carb suck air and hesitate and before it revs and then it's back fires. Do my mixture screws need to be adjusted or is there something else causing this to happen. I never adjusted a carburator before. Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Ivan
 
Did it all of the sudden just start doing this? Was it running fine before? Did you recently do any work on it?
 
dan2286 said:
Did it all of the sudden just start doing this? Was it running fine before? Did you recently do any work on it?

Yes, it was fine before I put it in storage. I put it in storage over the winter and just brought it out to drive a few days ago. No I have'nt done anything to it since I had it put on.
 
Is it on initial tip in, or with aggressive acceleration? One of the things I would check is proper operation of the secondary air valve door. It is spring loaded and acts as a delay in the implementation of the secondaries to cover up a lean spot that will happen should you engage them without proper vacuum to pull in extra fuel. Now if it is every time you hit the throttle, I would also check the accelerator pump operation. This one is easy, as all you have to do it look down the throat of the primaries while rotating the throttle by hand. If it squirts, it works. It may have dried out and cracked while sitting. I would also consider bad gas if it has sat for a long time as it may have gummed things up depending on which of the 90+ fuel mixtures your area receives. If you suspect this, run the car out of gas and put some fresh in from a can. Other things would be a plugged fuel filter from rust that formed in the gas tank, a leaky float, or even corroded distributor terminals. Then again, it could be a bad brake booster too as it would cause a lean condition.

To adjust the mixture screws, try this: Attach a vacuum gauge to a manifold vacuum source. Next, bottom both screws while the engine is off, then back off 1.5 or 3 turns ( can't remember which), but make sure both screws are backed off the same amount. Start the car, and set the mixture screws for maximum vacuum at idle, with the engine at the warm idle speed. It is important to have a warm engine because fuel requirements vary with temperature, and idle speed will vary as well. Also, be sure to balance the screws so that they are set roughly the same. You may need to adjust the idle speed down once you are done. If this happens, verify your initial timing with a timing light once you are done. Be sure the vacuum advance is not hooked up while adjusting it as it could give a false reading.
 
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
Is it on initial tip in, or with aggressive acceleration?
Does it with aggressive acceleration. I'm gonna go out a little later a check some of things on it from the advice I got from everyone so far.
 
Well, it sounds like the air valve is not operating properly, maybe the vacuum break diaphragm is bad, or the vacuum line to it is cracked. Either that, or you need to adjust the opening rate of the secondary air valve.
 
My carburetor promblems are solved. After checking over everything today it was a plugged fuel filter which was the first thing I should've checked. Glad that's all it was, a simple fix. I wanna think everyone who gave me advice on this issue. It's valueable knowledge that I'm sure will come in handy in the future.
 
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