Choke adjustment?

[digimurda]

hi all,

i have a 85' 442 with the quadrajet carb.
does anyone know how to adjust these things?
the car wont start at times, and ive noticed tha on cold start when i pump the gas the choke closes like
its supposed to but thing is it closes completelly shut, shouldnt it be just a crack opened?

 

[tobyp]

hi all,

i have a 85' 442 with the quadrajet carb.
does anyone know how to adjust these things?
the car wont start at times, and ive noticed tha on cold start when i pump the gas the choke closes like
its supposed to but thing is it closes completelly shut, shouldnt it be just a crack opened?

It's funny. I just went through the same things with my QJet and learned through countless emails from Ken at Everyday to get it set straight. Here are some things to do

1. Obviously only adjust when engine is cold, in the am...is what I prefer
2. If you unscrew the choke housing and "LEAN" forward the mark on the choke it will be lean. I have mine set 2 marks rich
3. There is a screw on the choke pull off. if you use a vacuum pump or press it in manually you will see just how far the primary butterfly opens during initial start up. I'd adjust this to about 1/4" opening. My car runs pretty cold so I have it at 1/8" butterfly opening. You will see by turning the screw in or out while holding vacuum on the pull off.
4. Fast idle screw is under the choke pull off. Set this at about 1200 rpm.
5. I also learned having a screw down stud for the air cleaner screwed in too far will make the choke cam not work corrrectly, fyi. This woud give you no automatic choke operation when pumping gas 2x

If you do these things you should be pretty set. I learned mostly by trial and error. See the pics as reference.

 

[digimurda]

Thanks!
But my Qjet does not have the electric choke, it has that
Thermo coil spring thing, do I still follow these steps?
Also can u define the parts a Lil better? I'm new at this carb thing,
I will really appreciate it..
Thanks.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Yes, they work the same. Basically you want it to snap completely shut when cold, then open to your car's spec as soon as the motor starts, then open fully when it reaches operating temp. There is also a spec for your car with regard to what "notch" on the housing to set it to. On an old car, I just turn the housing until it is totally closed when cold. If you still have the factory rivets, then you can't adjust the housing. If you need to, you must drill out the rivets, then replace with screws and then adjust.

 

[digimurda]

Yes, they work the same. Basically you want it to snap completely shut when cold, then open to your car's spec as soon as the motor starts, then open fully when it reaches operating temp. There is also a spec for your car with regard to what "notch" on the housing to set it to. On an old car, I just turn the housing until it is totally closed when cold. If you still have the factory rivets, then you can't adjust the housing. If you need to, you must drill out the rivets, then replace with screws and then adjust.

ok, so you're saying its ok for the choke to be completely shut when cold, even when giving it the first pump? mine shuts completely.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Yes, it is supposed to. If you are in Florida, in August, with the sun beating down on the hood, you may find it open a bit. But for the rest of the country it closes all the way, especially in winter. In fact, in winter, you can even pre-load it a bit by turning it too much. That makes it take longer to open fully and gives the motor time to warm up. The factory set it so it would open fast, reducing emissions. An 85' should be electric, or did Olds stick with "old" technology?

 

[digimurda]

Yes, it is supposed to. If you are in Florida, in August, with the sun beating down on the hood, you may find it open a bit. But for the rest of the country it closes all the way, especially in winter. In fact, in winter, you can even pre-load it a bit by turning it too much. That makes it take longer to open fully and gives the motor time to warm up. The factory set it so it would open fast, reducing emissions. An 85' should be electric, or did Olds stick with "old" technology?

not sure, but you see the last picture from above, that small round black housing, it does not have that wire, i have to turn it to adjust it i guess.
and why is his butterfly (second pict) cracked open?

 

[tobyp]

Yes, it is supposed to. If you are in Florida, in August, with the sun beating down on the hood, you may find it open a bit. But for the rest of the country it closes all the way, especially in winter. In fact, in winter, you can even pre-load it a bit by turning it too much. That makes it take longer to open fully and gives the motor time to warm up. The factory set it so it would open fast, reducing emissions. An 85' should be electric, or did Olds stick with "old" technology?

not sure, but you see the last picture from above, that small round black housing, it does not have that wire, i have to turn it to adjust it i guess.
and why is his butterfly (second pict) cracked open?

When I push on the gas once, the butterfly closes completely. What I showed you is where approx the butterfly should be at when the engine is running. If the butterfly is completely closed it would choke and die. Having it open a little keeps the car running, how much that butterfly is open is determined by turning the choke pull off screw. You can adjust it as the car is running in the morning. Screw Out makes it open larger, in closes it.

 

[DoubleV]

If you have a stock 442 carb, then the choke is NOT made to be adjustable. The black plastic choke cover can only go on one way because there's a notch cut into it and that notch lines up with the nub cast into the aluminum choke housing.

The only thing that is meant to be adjusted on the stock carb choke-wise is how far the 'flap' on top of the carb will crack open once the engine starts. This is adjusted by the screw on the choke pull-off.

 

[digimurda]

If you have a stock 442 carb, then the choke is NOT made to be adjustable. The black plastic choke cover can only go on one way because there's a notch cut into it and that notch lines up with the nub cast into the aluminum choke housing.

The only thing that is meant to be adjusted on the stock carb choke-wise is how far the 'flap' on top of the carb will crack open once the engine starts. This is adjusted by the screw on the choke pull-off.

So what would you recommend I do to solve my issue?