KSullender

I have an all original 71 convertible with the base 350/270 4speed. I had the carb rebuilt a year ago and am having trouble again with it. Several local specialist have told me this will be a common problem with Rochester carbs where the car is not driven often.

Q - Is this true or BS? Should I invest in a replacement? I'm not looking to spend $500 for an Edelbrock or Holley replacement but I also don't want to spend $165 every 12 months for a carb rebuild. Any help would be appreciated in figuring out what to do.

Thanks

R. Bruno

What is the problem exactly?

72GACRZR

Welcome to the forum. The Rochester expert here is Lars. see his papers at corvettefaq starting with this one
http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/QJetTroubleshoot.mht

You need to describe the problem as well as you can for Lars or others to help solve it.

Hope it helps :seeya

lars

The Q-Jet is a good, reliable carb that will provide years of trouble-free service when properly set up. If the carb is undamaged, unmodified, and is set up with a good fuel system that is supplying clean fuel, the carb will run perfectly for years. What problems are you having..?

KSullender

The carb is spitting fuel out the top and to keep the car running I have to keep pumping the accelerator. After some time it will idle and then soon go back to spitting fuel and having to pump the accelerator to keep it running.

I don't want to have to rebuild this every 6-12 months but have heard many different opinions on replacement. I would like to keep it stock with this original carb but I want a low maintenance solution. Any advice on rebuilding or replacing the carb?? This gets frustrating when you pay to have it rebuilt and then still have problems ya know?!

Thanks

BeaterShark

It sounds to me that your power piston is getting stuck up. This can happen when the carb sits for a while. This gives the carb the same amount of gas at idle as when your primaries are open (ie under considerable throttle).

Another possibility is your fuel pressure could be too high.

lars

There is a fuel control problem of some type with your carb. This can be a bad float, a piece of crud in the needle/seat, or something that has come loose inside the carb. Once the carb has been correctly rebuilt, it should not develop random problems, provided the engine is started occasionally and the carb is not allowed to completely dry out during winter storage. The type of problem you describe requires the carb to be removed, torn down, cleaned up, blown out, and given a precision setup. Once set up, the Q-Jet is very good at holding an adjustment and running reliably and maintenance-free for years. If you're not cmfortable with doing this yourself, I can do it for you. E-mail me for info. You can also use one of the Forum Loaner Carbs to have your car running during the rebuild process if you'd like. I can give you info on this, too, if you'd like.

By the way - did I rebuild the carb for you last year? If I rebuilt it and it's giving you trouble, I fix it at no charge - just send it back to me, and I'll even refund your postage costs.


[Modified by lars, 9:14 AM 3/27/2003]

1971corvette

mine has been sitting for ten years,been started about four times in that span
only problem is the choke was rusted so that it didn't work.

lars

1971 -
The problems you develop or don't develop during extended storage depend a little on the type of fuel available in your area. I have found that areas using 15% alcohol in the fuel tend to dry up and shrivel up the accelerator pump when the carb has dried out excessively. Areas using little or no alcohol see fewer problems during storage.