Thread: i need some help

Tweet

ok so I have a 63 Chevy c10 I put a 350 in it with mild work, the reason I need help is that I was driving my truck and all of a sudden it just lost 80% of its power. It took quite a while to rev up and sounds like a totally different engine. it doesn't sound good it sounds sluggish, or starving for gas or something I don't know. I look at my carb and the air cleaner is one from advance the edelbrock triangle looking ine.it has a foam material for air cleaner. well it was melted. no I took the carb off and cleaned it very well in a parts washer. (don't know if that's good or bad) and put it back on and still doing it if you have any advice id appreciate it. this smarter guy I know says it could be something in the ignition..

Welcome to CHR. Hope you enjoy a long stay here.

You say that you "...cleaned the carb really well in a parts washer..." which makes it sound like you maybe did not disassemble the carb and rebuild it, but rather just cleaned the outside? Is that right?

If your power loss is fuel related I would look to the in line filter being plugged vs ignition, but your comment about the melted filter element points to a question of a back fire. Maybe pull the filter element and see if it improves with unrestricted airflow?

Roger could this be a sudden timing issue, maybe?
Em

and what kind of carb ? my holley did that with some trash floating around in the bowls that would periodically stop up a jet ..

Em, that's another idea that I didn't consider. It could have jumped a tooth on a worn timing chain, or something as simple as someone left the distributor clamp loose? Other ignition problems generally have a noticeable miss, but a timing change could be the issue.

The Edelbrock triangle air cleaner looks neat, but has earned the

AKA
Triangle Of Death

Becauae the foam desintegrates & finds its way into the vent tubes & thus the carb has to be thoroughly cleaned.

As said above, verify timing, and verify carb is not spitting fuel upwards into air cleaner.

thanks guys, ill start from the top to help you guys help me. Ok i didn't disassemble because i though taking the top off the carb would ruin that gasket, but i can take it apart. um i feel like its fuel problem because i can spray carb cleaner into it while its running and it will clear up then once its gone like all used up that i sprayed it starts acting up again. its a edelbrock carb and to clear some things up this is a recent rebuilt engine, maybe have 200 miles on it.. ill look into rebuilding the carb or cleaning thoroughly. what is the gasket called for the top where the floats are or do i just need a whole rebuild kit?

Rebuild kit gets my vote. I used to build them when I had more book smarts than common sense, so you can handle it, just read the directions. Besides, Edelbrock is easy.

Check your fuel filter first, or just change it, they're cheap. Eliminate that before going into more complex issues.

Originally Posted by Jerry c10

. um i feel like its fuel problem because i can spray carb cleaner into it while its running and it will clear up then once its gone like all used up that i sprayed it starts acting up again. its a edelbrock carb and to clear some things up this is a recent rebuilt engine, maybe have 200 miles on it.. ill look into rebuilding the carb or cleaning thoroughly. what is the gasket called for the top where the floats are or do i just need a whole rebuild kit?

Yep, a fuel issue.
Is enough fuel being pumped to the carb - could be a bad pump or blocked fuel-filter.

And if it is getting enough gas can you work the throttle arm on the side of the carb and see gas being squirted down the bore of the carb?

In any event I'd open up the carb and see that all the jets etc are not blocked and the fuel bowl isn't full of water/crap.

See how you go

I had a similar issue and chased it for a month. Finally after talking with the guys on CHR started with the tank and started pulling things and checking them out. Got to the fuel filter (12 months old) and found that it rattled. It had come apart internally and dumped all the trash down the carb ,a Holley, and cloged the idle circuit. Rebuilt it and all was fine. Also make sure you have a good fuel pressure regulator and gage. Its very easy to mess the floats up with high pressure from the fuel pump. Your truck is awesome and I know it is frustrating having it sit there not being able to drive it. Been there done that!

If the fuel filter doesn't clear it up, I went back and read your inititial post and you said the foam was melted. If you mean it might have dripped into the carb, it could have plugged a jet or passage way. So like everyone said, first change the filter(do you have an inline filter before the carb?) if so as you remove it look for debrie like rust in the hose feeding it. Some times the gas tank sitting with rust, or attract h2o over time. This is the easiest place to start. If the line is dripping clean gas, maybe test the fuel pump before reattaching a new filter(or run with clear filter). Also one of those clear glass filters while your working on this problem will tell you a lot of info going forward. Not saying run the car with the clear glass filter once fixed, but you'll be able to see any sediment getting in there when you start the engine back up, and see if gas is flowing without taking things apart. If all that is o.k., but still running bad, then get rebuild kit and thouroughly clean the insides. I had a similar problem with a "NEW" edelbrock carb I bought off Evilbay. Couldn't figure why after pulling engine and re-installing 6 months later why I couldn't time it from a rough idle and why I needed to keep the foot on the gas. Turns out the NEW barely used two week carb needed a rebuild as two of the Jets weren't passing gas. Keep posting as you go, And Welcome to CHR.

thanks guys again this is helping a lot update on new info. (all prior to it messing up) Have a new fuel filter before the carb its a clear one it doesn't have any trash in it or anything. The fuel pump is about 4 months old. Works good and I may need a regulator somewhere its an electric fuel pump maybe it messed up something, I don't know how hard it is to damage anything inside the carb. what could to much pressure cause to fail or malfunction? I my self don't think that would cause my truck to act sluggish would it? I feel like that triangle of death really got me. Feel like it dripped down stuff into my carb. the whole top of the filter is gone, melted. had a few backfires.

fuel pressure from electric pump more than needle and seat can control---severely over flooded carb/eng and possible had a carb fire that melted the foam----


the old rule of thumb about needing air, fuel,spark needs to be rewritten to say fuel at a pressure that the induction system can handle----------

More to the point, unless your electric pump is internally regulated you need a regulator before the carb to limit the pressure to nominal 5 psig. As has been said, more pressure will blow past the needle & seat, flooding the bowls and creating a fire hazard. At this point your air cleaner may be fused to the point that it's choking the engine for air flow.