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holley fuel level help

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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 05:23 PM
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Default holley fuel level help

i know holleys. i have never had this problem though. the carb is an ebay carb so i could be looking at a bubba mistake somewhere....


i cant seem to adjust my secondary bowl fuel level lower. i have put in new needles/seats. cleaned several times. triple checked float level. but i still get the fuel maxing out at the top of the bowl. i dont have seepage from the boosters (as far as i can see) but no matter what i do it goes back to too high.

its a holley 670 SA carb.

wrong gaskets ? what gives ?
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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 07:05 PM
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boltnut, I don't know if this is the same problem I had along time ago, but it sounds similar. My fuel level was too high, so I screwed the adjuster down. the level didn't drop right away, so I screwed it down some more. (I wasn't thinking that the secondary level wouldn't drop right away like the primary side does). Anyway, I screwed it down so far it bent the float tang down, which let fuel keep running through the needle/seat. I removed the bowl, bent the tang back to level, and adjusted it a couple of times after test drives (to open the secondary's). Hope this makes sense.
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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 07:08 PM
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Makes perfect sense. I pulled the bowl and reset the float to be sure. Same result.


BUT....i just manually worked the secondaries and no gas flowed at all. I got some sort of blockage....
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 11:23 AM
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Pull the bowl and clean the secondary plate and jets with carb cleaner. Hold the bowl and see if the float, needle and seat move freely and where the dry float level is. for a starter you can set the float level in the middle of the bowl and that will be real close.
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 11:43 AM
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i manually worked the seconds and got no gas squirt at all......
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 11:54 AM
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I'm sure you know this already, but the accelerator pump's passages need to be clear for the fuel to flow. I'd take the secondary accelerator pump off, and the squirter, and blow some carb cleaner through the passage. Also make sure the squirter isn't clogged, or diaphram's not damaged.
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 12:23 PM
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yes...but its a holley SA670 with vacuum secondaries so no rear accel pump or squirter....it does have a rear metering block though
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 01:00 PM
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If its got a hollow float than check to see if the float has fuel in it.

It wont take much fuel to submerge the float enough to cause the issues you are seeing.

With a vacuum secondary carb you wont be able to make the secondaries flow fuel with no load on the engine.

Neal
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 01:12 PM
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Neal makes a good point for the avenger series. BTW - is this carb still in warranty?
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 01:14 PM
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so if i hold open the primaries and work the secondaries i wont see any gas flow ?

no not in warranty...
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 01:15 PM
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im wondering if bubba put the wrong gasket on the metering block...
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 04:11 PM
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does anyone have a pic of the secondary metering block gasket..
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 05:34 PM
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You don't really sound like a guy who "knows Holleys". If I were you, I would get my hands on a rebuild kit, and rebuild the carb. You never know, a complete lunatic could have owned that carb before you.


Scott
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 05:47 PM
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Neither do you so maybe you shoudnt reply. This is the first vac secondary SA carb I've owned. It was bought off eBay and I may have a bubba issue. I'm trying to trouble shoot blind. For all I know it has the wrong main body gasket on there. The SA carbs had issues when first introduced and this is one of them. Some of the 4150 4160 gaskets are interchangeable so I can't be sure if what is on there is correct without something to check against. I'll pull out my Holley books and do some research if no one has run into this and found the issue.

What I am getting is perplexing. There is no blockage. All parts are new.( or appear so) yet my fuel level only rises never lowers. No matter what I try. Full throttle blasts, new seats, float level reset. You name it.
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 05:49 PM
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I've pulled it completely apart and cleaned it twice now....
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 06:13 PM
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Originally Posted by tonyv123
(I wasn't thinking that the secondary level wouldn't drop right away like the primary side does).
I'm no Holley expert here by any means (although I dated a Holly once), but couldn't you remove the sight screw and let the excess flow out (into something else) until as you adjust, the spillover stops?
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 06:21 PM
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Originally Posted by RobbSalzmann
I'm no Holley expert here by any means (although I dated a Holly once), but couldn't you remove the sight screw and let the excess flow out (into something else) until as you adjust, the spillover stops?
Actually what I do is use a LARGE syringe to pull fuel out and lower the level. After I run the car the level goes back up and will not go down . I am not sure if the seconds are not opening or if they are and the fuel isn't flowing.
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by boltnut
so if i hold open the primaries and work the secondaries i wont see any gas flow ?

no not in warranty...
Not without airflow through the carb, it does not have an acc pump on the secondaries so it will take airflow to pull the fuel out of the bowl.

Neal
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by chevymans 77
It wont take much fuel to submerge the float enough to cause the issues you are seeing.

With a vacuum secondary carb you wont be able to make the secondaries flow fuel with no load on the engine.

Neal
I can see the float throughout the site window and it is not sinking.


I thought I might get a little squirt, a puff, anything by manually working the seconds.....nothing at all.

Maybe a bad diaphragm...?
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Old Oct 6, 2011 | 06:35 PM
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Originally Posted by chevymans 77
Not without airflow through the carb, it does not have an acc pump on the secondaries so it will take airflow to pull the fuel out of the bowl.

Neal
That would point to the throttle blades not opening.....I had the light yellow spring in the housing last run. Should have started opening early....
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