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Can someone help me out identifying and repairing what appears to me to be a plug of some sort. Was wiping my engine down and touched the carb where the screw driver is pointing. A piece fell off but the rest of it remained in place. Started it up and noticed a drip now from there. Thanks for any help.
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
Your forward bowl plug is leaking, and it needs to be extracted and repaired. Coating the plug with "JBWeld" is a complete waste of effort - that simply doesn't work. The plug needs to be machined out of the bowl, and the bowl needs to be properly repaired. This requires a complete disassembly of the carb and a proper repair. Here is a sequence of photos I've shot of how the repair is done:
Typical forward plug leak: Fuel dripping from the forward fuel inlet bowl plug:
Carb disassembled and ready for repair of the forward plug:
Plug retaining swage ground down and removed:
Drilling pilot hole thorugh the front plug
Tap-drill sized drill going into the plug, which pulls the plug right out:
Plug extracted:
Hole being tapped for pipe plug:
New threads cuts:
"AN" aluminum pipe plug coated with industrial marine-grade epoxy ready for installation:
Plug installed:
Plug then covered with the industrial grade epoxy to "disguise" the plug. The epoxy is not sealing the leak: The pipe plug is sealing the leak. The epoxy is only a thread sealant and a filler to make the repair less obvious:
Completed repair. This inlet plug will never leak again:
Contact me if you need assistance for the repair.
Lars
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
Your forward bowl plug is leaking, and it needs to be extracted and repaired. Coating the plug with "JBWeld" is a complete waste of effort - that simply doesn't work. The plug needs to be machined out of the bowl, and the bowl needs to be properly repaired. This requires a complete disassembly of the carb and a proper repair. Here is a sequence of photos I've shot of how the repair is done:
Typical forward plug leak: Fuel dripping from the forward fuel inlet bowl plug:
Carb disassembled and ready for repair of the forward plug:
Plug retaining swage ground down and removed:
Drilling pilot hole thorugh the front plug
Tap-drill sized drill going into the plug, which pulls the plug right out:
Plug extracted:
Hole being tapped for pipe plug:
New threads cuts:
"AN" aluminum pipe plug coated with industrial marine-grade epoxy ready for installation:
Plug installed:
Plug then covered with the industrial grade epoxy to "disguise" the plug. The epoxy is not sealing the leak: The pipe plug is sealing the leak. The epoxy is only a thread sealant and a filler to make the repair less obvious:
Completed repair. This inlet plug will never leak again:
Contact me if you need assistance for the repair.
Lars
Everyone has their own abilities. If this were my carb I wouldn’t try this repair. Send it to Lars. He will check the entire carb as well and the old carb will be as good as new.
Saw a sign in a jewelry store.
Watch Repair $25.00 / Hr
If you watch $35.00 / Hr
If you tell me how to fix it $50.00 / Hr
if you tried to fix it yourself $100.00 / Hr
Just me but watches, carbs, differentials, transmissions and trailing arms are something for professionals.
You might be fully capable and if so just have a laugh.
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
It is not a removable plug. It is a permanent plug never intended to be serviced. The only way to drill the fuel inlet passage into the bowl is to run a drill through the casting from the outside, and that entry hole for the cross passage has to be plugged - no other way to create a 90-degree turn into the float bowl. Buick/Olds/Pontiac carbs have straight-in inlets, so they do not have this plug problem, whereas Chevy has the right-facing fuel inlet due to the location of the Chevy fuel pump and limited space for a forward-facing fuel inlet. Holley has this same problem on their 4160 float bowls.
Lars, I'm not about to make that repair any time soon so what would be your choice in a new carb for my base 72? It's a very nice driver and a little more power is always a plus. Not afraid to spend. Thanks for the 3rd time!
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
Why don't you just have me fix it for you..? You can't buy a new carb that is a direct replacement for the '72 Q-Jet. There is no other carb that is going to give you any more power.
Lars
Lars, I'm not about to make that repair any time soon so what would be your choice in a new carb for my base 72? It's a very nice driver and a little more power is always a plus. Not afraid to spend. Thanks for the 3rd time!
You are not going to find a better 750 CFM carburetor, send it to Lars.
Obviously you haven’t read many posts on the Forum! Many extremely talented Corvette owners have attempted to rebuild/restore/repair their Quadrajet Carburetors. Too most guys the job seems to be easy, buy new parts, take the carb apart, and then put everything back together. After reading hundreds of Forum Posts, I can tell you, the results turn out bad. If your carburetor is original, then it’s over 50 years old, it probably needs more than a rebuild kit. Be smart, save yourself time and a lot of aggravation, send your carb to the expert, LARS. He will make it like new and you will know every was done perfectly.
Quadrajet fuel leak
