Help with header install

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Sep 1, 2006
6,687
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Tampa Bay Area
Aaaah... sounds like you have worn throttle shaft bores then. I had a Buick Quadrajet on my 355 with that issue and I could never get it to have a consistent idle because the throttle shaft would hit the set screw in a different place every time. This is a common problem with old carburators and can be fixed. The throttle shaft bores need to be reamed out and fitted with bronze bushings. One of my Quadrajets ( from a Cadillac 472) has had this done at some time in it's life. Mine has not, but I searched for months for one that had tight shafts before pulling it. It can cost $50 or more to have it done by a competent carb shop.
 

Chillin014

Master Mechanic
Nov 9, 2007
422
0
0
houston/richmond tx
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
Aaaah... sounds like you have worn throttle shaft bores then. I had a Buick Quadrajet on my 355 with that issue and I could never get it to have a consistent idle because the throttle shaft would hit the set screw in a different place every time. This is a common problem with old carburators and can be fixed. The throttle shaft bores need to be reamed out and fitted with bronze bushings. One of my Quadrajets ( from a Cadillac 472) has had this done at some time in it's life. Mine has not, but I searched for months for one that had tight shafts before pulling it. It can cost $50 or more to have it done by a competent carb shop.
yeah see I'd rather rebuild it myself or just buy a new carb lol.
 
Sep 1, 2006
6,687
31
0
Tampa Bay Area
Chillin014 said:
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
Aaaah... sounds like you have worn throttle shaft bores then. I had a Buick Quadrajet on my 355 with that issue and I could never get it to have a consistent idle because the throttle shaft would hit the set screw in a different place every time. This is a common problem with old carburators and can be fixed. The throttle shaft bores need to be reamed out and fitted with bronze bushings. One of my Quadrajets ( from a Cadillac 472) has had this done at some time in it's life. Mine has not, but I searched for months for one that had tight shafts before pulling it. It can cost $50 or more to have it done by a competent carb shop.
yeah see I'd rather rebuild it myself or just buy a new carb lol.

Then you need to buy a kit to re-bush the throttle shafts. I think that Summit sells them and so does Jet and a few Quadrajet specialists. For me, it was just simpler and cheaper to get another carb since the Buick Quadrajet I had used the straight in fuel fitting and not the 90 degree one typically used in a Chevy application.
 

Chillin014

Master Mechanic
Nov 9, 2007
422
0
0
houston/richmond tx
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
Chillin014 said:
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
Aaaah... sounds like you have worn throttle shaft bores then. I had a Buick Quadrajet on my 355 with that issue and I could never get it to have a consistent idle because the throttle shaft would hit the set screw in a different place every time. This is a common problem with old carburators and can be fixed. The throttle shaft bores need to be reamed out and fitted with bronze bushings. One of my Quadrajets ( from a Cadillac 472) has had this done at some time in it's life. Mine has not, but I searched for months for one that had tight shafts before pulling it. It can cost $50 or more to have it done by a competent carb shop.
yeah see I'd rather rebuild it myself or just buy a new carb lol.

Then you need to buy a kit to re-bush the throttle shafts. I think that Summit sells them and so does Jet and a few Quadrajet specialists. For me, it was just simpler and cheaper to get another carb since the Buick Quadrajet I had used the straight in fuel fitting and not the 90 degree one typically used in a Chevy application.
i'll have to take care of that later.
I was under the car putting mufflers on...and I noticed that the long bolt originally connected to the oil pressure gauge is too long and the header is hitting against it. I bought a bolt from the hardware store that seemed to be the right thread to plug that hole but for some reason it just would not thread in there. we found a bolt (at the hardware store) taht would thread properly on both bolts though. so i ended up plugging the end of the "oem" bolt with a smaller bolt.

i looked at summits plumbing section and the have plugs but I just dont know if any of them would work. do they not make plugs specifically for this??

btw the mufflers sound good but there is alot of resonance in the cabin, probably because they are bascially right off the header extensions (under the seats). I will run more piping one day...but...yeah one day...
 

easterwabbit

Not-quite-so-new-guy
May 29, 2006
42
1
0
IL
Chillin014 said:
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
Chillin014 said:
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
Aaaah... sounds like you have worn throttle shaft bores then. I had a Buick Quadrajet on my 355 with that issue and I could never get it to have a consistent idle because the throttle shaft would hit the set screw in a different place every time. This is a common problem with old carburators and can be fixed. The throttle shaft bores need to be reamed out and fitted with bronze bushings. One of my Quadrajets ( from a Cadillac 472) has had this done at some time in it's life. Mine has not, but I searched for months for one that had tight shafts before pulling it. It can cost $50 or more to have it done by a competent carb shop.
yeah see I'd rather rebuild it myself or just buy a new carb lol.

Then you need to buy a kit to re-bush the throttle shafts. I think that Summit sells them and so does Jet and a few Quadrajet specialists. For me, it was just simpler and cheaper to get another carb since the Buick Quadrajet I had used the straight in fuel fitting and not the 90 degree one typically used in a Chevy application.
i'll have to take care of that later.
I was under the car putting mufflers on...and I noticed that the long bolt originally connected to the oil pressure gauge is too long and the header is hitting against it. I bought a bolt from the hardware store that seemed to be the right thread to plug that hole but for some reason it just would not thread in there. we found a bolt (at the hardware store) taht would thread properly on both bolts though. so i ended up plugging the end of the "oem" bolt with a smaller bolt.

i looked at summits plumbing section and the have plugs but I just dont know if any of them would work. do they not make plugs specifically for this??

btw the mufflers sound good but there is alot of resonance in the cabin, probably because they are bascially right off the header extensions (under the seats). I will run more piping one day...but...yeah one day...

or you cpould just swap the baseplate from another same model/design Q jet carb under your carb, one that has good bushings

you should check real quick ot see if they are sloppy though

all you have ot do is take the return spring off and wobble wiggle the shafts and see if they are sloppy at all

no big deal :D

and swapping the baseplate is no big deal either

many of us have good ones layingf around, i have crates of Q jets laying around
i never toss a q jet or parts of one either

most ppl do though

its bad

good luck
 

Chillin014

Master Mechanic
Nov 9, 2007
422
0
0
houston/richmond tx
went to bleed my brakes and long story short, i am now in the process of replacing my wheel cylinder. GM uses a fun little clip to hold the wheel cylinder in place that I cant seem to figure out how to pop in place. I'll push on it some more tomorrow when I'm less frusterated.

drum brakes are complicated with all their springs and crap.
 
Sep 1, 2006
6,687
31
0
Tampa Bay Area
The secret to the clip is to get the cylinder held in place solidly with a clamp or some other method. Then, use one of the following methods to put on the clip. First, you can get the clip almost in place or in place on one side, then push on it from the back with a screwdriver ( from under the car). You could also use 2 flat screwdrivers to push evenly on both sides of the clip from under the car. You may need to put one arm on one side of the axle and the other on the other to do this method. But yeah... These things suck to deal with...
 

Chillin014

Master Mechanic
Nov 9, 2007
422
0
0
houston/richmond tx
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
The secret to the clip is to get the cylinder held in place solidly with a clamp or some other method. Then, use one of the following methods to put on the clip. First, you can get the clip almost in place or in place on one side, then push on it from the back with a screwdriver ( from under the car). You could also use 2 flat screwdrivers to push evenly on both sides of the clip from under the car. You may need to put one arm on one side of the axle and the other on the other to do this method. But yeah... These things suck to deal with...
good idea with the clamp, i'll try to see if i can hook up a c-clamp on it.
I know what your saying about doing one side first though, i think i'll be able to get it when i have more patience. I was kind of pissed bleeding my brakes turned into replacing my brakes lol.

the only reason i wanted to bleed them is because i guess at one point somebody used my elky to tow something and there was some kind of funky thing under the dash that would move as i pressed the brakes, well it was tapped into the hydrolic line on the front. I didnt have a use for it so I removed the tapped line and unit.
my brakes work very well though, I just didnt like the ugly extra line in my engine bay and thing under my dash.
 

Chillin014

Master Mechanic
Nov 9, 2007
422
0
0
houston/richmond tx
the bleeding process seemed to go okay, the brakes dont feel incredibly different.
sorry if i'm turning this into the "every random thing wrong with my elky" thread..i just didnt want to create a bunch of little threads for this stuff and i figure yall can ignore me whenever you want.

I am going to try to hit a junkyard friday and see if I can find anything useful although I probably wont know what i'm looking at when it comes down to the cadillac stuff. the carb problem is bugging me more and more, I feel like its causing my car to be sluggish alot of the time.
 
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