problems with my "new" carb

[Chillin014]

I got a used carburetor off ebay its an edelbrock 1406 I believe (600cfm).
In the description it just said "needs to be freshened up" whatever the hell that means.
Anyway, I got the carb, the fuel inlet looked dirty and I unscrewed it and it was caked inside with some kind of grey crap, I cleaned it out with an air tool and some carb cleaner stuff (actually i think it was brake cleaner).
I put the carb on the car and notice the linkage doesnt provide anyway to connect to my TV cable or throttle cable..thats the first problem

I start the car up after connecting the electric choke which seemed to be fine, opened up a little bit. it seemed to run fine but its idling high. I noticed when the carb was off the car I had to mess with the linkage a little bit to get the second set of throttle plates to open up at full throttle (i cant really explain it but it looked like the electronic choke might allow for that linkage to make room and work fine).
SO...I try to rev the car and it seems to be acting weird when I try to go full throttle. when I let go of the linkage (tried this many times) after reving the car stalls immediately.
this morning i went out to mess with it again. I didtn really let the car warm up to be honest, and tried to just rev it high up repeatedly and see what the problem was. i couldnt really tell if it just wasnt feeding fuel fast enough, that was my best guess. well as i was revving for a second I notice alot of white smoke that seemed to be coolant coming from the rear passenger side of the motor. the only thing i could think was that I blew a headgasket or something...why would COOLANT come from that area like that all the sudden? I started the car up again and the coolant burned off and didnt reappear or seem to be leaking anymore. It might have been my paranoia but I started thinking the motor was making an abnormal noise like sort of a low whine.
I started the car a few more times (kept stalling when i was trying to adjust the idle) but the battery started dieing and its not old either (neither was the one I replaced before it). I think I toasted the battery which is really the least of my worries right now, i'm gonna go exchange it at walmart in a minute.

was hoping to get some opinions from yall about what could have happened. I was probably ignorant to think I could just slap this carb on but I figured it couldnt be any worse than my quadrajet was. How hard are edelbrocks to rebuild? i see the kit at Autozone...I'm just not sure what I need to do here. and I'm worried about the coolant surprise too. thanks guys.

 

[Chillin014]

I also wanted to add that the intake manifold it is on is an edelbrock performer I believe. the opening for the intake manifold is larger than any gasket i seem to find for the carb which blocks a good perimeter of the opening, is this normal?

 

[megaladon6]

well since it's ebay i'd consider "freshening up" to mean a full rebuild.
the seconday blades won't open on that style carb unless you need them--it's a vacuum secondary so they only open with the engine under high enough load.
did you try adjusting the idle mixture screws? it sounds to me like it's running lean. remember, even a brand new carb built for your engine needs to be tuned.
the coolant could be the heater core/hoses. did you lose a noticable amount of coolant? did the engine overheat? reving the engine repeatedly will cause temp and presure spikes, stressing the system enough for a leak, especially at hose ends, that won't occur under normal circumstances.

 

[Chillin014]

well since it's ebay i'd consider "freshening up" to mean a full rebuild.
the seconday blades won't open on that style carb unless you need them--it's a vacuum secondary so they only open with the engine under high enough load.
did you try adjusting the idle mixture screws? it sounds to me like it's running lean. remember, even a brand new carb built for your engine needs to be tuned.
the coolant could be the heater core/hoses. did you lose a noticable amount of coolant? did the engine overheat? reving the engine repeatedly will cause temp and presure spikes, stressing the system enough for a leak, especially at hose ends, that won't occur under normal circumstances.

i didnt adjust the idle mixture screws because I thought it had to be at a certain RPM to adjust it and I have no idea what rpm it is since I dont have a tach.
I only lost a couple ounces of coolant near the rear spark plug area. I've replaced the heater core and hoses a couple months ago so i didnt think it was that but maybe at the hose ends something happened there, I will have to look again. I wasnt like holding the engine at full throttle or anything just trying to rev it up a few times to find out the problem.

 

[megaladon6]

reving it actually creates waves of pressure and is the fastest wat to overheat/overpressurize a coolant system.
best way to tune a carb is to have a vacuum gauge hooked to manifold vac, then adjust the mixture (usually you start at 1 1/2 turns out(counter clock) from the stop) a little at a time to the highest vacuum. then lower the idle and try re-tuneing the idle mix screws. this is also the time to check your timing.
when you turn the screws in to the stop do so LIGHTLY. you just need to feel that you're near it for a reference.

it does sound like the heater core hose connection leaking, my car did the same thing. another good possibility is a pinhole leak that only happens under pressure.

 

[Chillin014]

Thanks
I will take a look at it again wehn I get back home with the battery.
What is the likelyhood that I blew the headgasket?
I know my timing is advanced a bit cause that's the only way I could make it run "normal" with the old carb.
Ill go check the idle adjustment as well. I was told thers a way to adjust the choke too, should I worry about this yet (assuming its possible).
And as far as the vacuum source, it needs to come off the carb right?

 

[megaladon6]

i don't think i've seen a head gasket dump coolant outside the cylinders---leak a trickle yes. so i doubt it, unless you overheated it.
adjust the choke to closed/cold, then run throught the mixture/timing/idle speed cycle at least twice. by this time the engine should be fully warmed up-which you need for a fully accurate tune anyway. now you set the choke to full open--it should have opened on it's own, possibly not far enough. next pray. i still haven't found the perfect setting for my electric choke.
to adjust the choke (i'm assuming it's electric) there are usually 3 small screws on the hold down band on the side of the choke coil, loosen them up and you can turn the coil.

vac source has to be unported, untimed manifold level vacuum. if you have a source off the manifold directly, this is best. otherwise one below the throttle blades is good. stock 305 should have about 20 inHg at idle (800rpm). slowly opening the throttle should produce a similar increase in vacuum.

 

[Chillin014]

thanks so much for the information man. sounds like the choke is for the more fine tweaking, im not there yet.
my battery is currently charging so i'll get back out there in a second.
the car didnt overheat, i dont think it was even up to running temperature it was right off a cold start. the headers got pretty hot though the motor warms real fast. I have a 350 motor by the way in case the vacuum reading is different. i thought you were supposed to just have as much vacuum as possible (thats how my friend tuned his holley).
I think I can tap into the intake manifold at the rear port behind the carb, if not its going to be one of the front small carb ports.
i'll report back in a bit about what happens.

any advice on how to hook up the throttle and transmission linkages? I can post pics if my problem sounds unique.

also. how will I know if the carb needs to be rebuilt?

i don't think i've seen a head gasket dump coolant outside the cylinders---leak a trickle yes. so i doubt it, unless you overheated it.
adjust the choke to closed/cold, then run throught the mixture/timing/idle speed cycle at least twice. by this time the engine should be fully warmed up-which you need for a fully accurate tune anyway. now you set the choke to full open--it should have opened on it's own, possibly not far enough. next pray. i still haven't found the perfect setting for my electric choke.
to adjust the choke (i'm assuming it's electric) there are usually 3 small screws on the hold down band on the side of the choke coil, loosen them up and you can turn the coil.

vac source has to be unported, untimed manifold level vacuum. if you have a source off the manifold directly, this is best. otherwise one below the throttle blades is good. stock 305 should have about 20 inHg at idle (800rpm). slowly opening the throttle should produce a similar increase in vacuum.

 

[megaladon6]

you are tuning for the highest vacuum possible, i just wanted to give you the range for a stock engine. depending on the build and especially the cam you may have a much lower amount.
it definately sounds like its leaned out, that causes much higher temps.
the port behind the carb should be perfect for the vac gauge.
for the throttle and trans linkages pics would be good. you may have to get new levers from summit or it may just need the screw-in connector.

what the choke does is on a cold start it limits the amount of air to the carb. this enrichens the mix allowing better cold burn. as the engine warms up it opens, allowing more and more air in for better mixture and power.
i highly recommend buying a repair manual for the car/engine so you have all the procedures and explanations with pics. i refrence my manuals constantly when working on the car. even the 30yr class-a techs i worked with went to all-data and mitchell for the basic procedures.

for when to rebuild the carb: if you can't get it in tune or if the car doesn't drive right (stumbling, hesitation) and the ignition and everything else is good then it needs one. i know there's better ways, but i don't know what they are. 😳
good luck.

 

[Derision]

Re: the coolant leak... nobody has yet mentioned the possibility of a freeze-out plug going. One of mine developed a pinhole leak last summer and it was the same thing... a bit of coolant leaking from the rear of the passenger side of the motor. In my example, it was coming from just above the starter.

If that's what it is, I'd fix that quick. If that thing actually goes while you're driving, you can be in for a world of bad.