Flooded Carb

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Jim
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Flooded Carb

Post by Jim »

Wanted to do a few minor things on the car today and instead of doing that, I've come across more problems. Tried starting the car and just wouldnt start this morning. I have been pumping the accelerator and have had the choke in and out and it wouldnt start. Checked under the bonnet and there is fuel coming out the gap in between where the float bowl is. Does this mean I need to get a new gasket for that part? Also, it is possible it wont start just because it is cold and there isn't another problem with the carb right if it floods like this? Hasnt been driven for about a week, carb was brand new and has been installed for about 3 months.


It wouldnt start the other night in a similar fashion but it finally started.
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sheff
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by sheff »

Hi Jim,
Sounds like the float is stuck down or not set to the correct level. Either way you'll need to remove the top of the carb and check whats going on in there.

Keep us posted with what you find
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by stevemarl »

sheff wrote:Sounds like the float is stuck down
Seconded.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Mc Tool »

make sure the float , if its a black plastic one , hasn't soaked up fuel and is no longer floating . The float can look perfect but be fuel soaked ...... I only twigged when I (absent minded ) picked up a spare float I had and noticed the difference in weight. The float is like a plastic coated foam block and if that coating is damaged ( cracked around where the lever attaches ) or punctured it can soak up fuel . BUT ,with the damaged float mine was a brilliant starter when cold , very bad when hot and wouldn't start and run at all well when parked facing up hill . I bought a brass float off some outfit in the states ( landed on my door step for less than the local guy could supply a plastic one ). another thing to watch for is that weber spec different float heights for different models of the 32/36 DGAV carb ( depending on the series # of the carb they can have different, non adjustable, air corrector jets on the Idle circuit and the progression holes are timed differently). They can be different between a ( for instance ) Cortina , capri , manual or auto box . If you have ever noticed that supposedly identical motors in a mk4 Cortina and a capri have different idle jets ( and main jets and air correctors ) this is why :)
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Jim »

Thanks for the replies guys. It's a weber 34ich carb.

Yesterday, tried to work on it again. Tried starting the engine yesterday without any choke...fire for about half a second and died. Kept trying to make it fire without choke and wouldnt happen. This is just tapping accelerator turning key...straight away smell of fuel. Check under the hood and there was fuel coming out of the float bowl again. I tapped the float bowl a little before hand to try loosen the float but made no difference. So i proceeded to take the the carb apart to look in the float bowl. Like an idiot I've taken the choke linkage apart and now cant re-tension one of the springs to get it back on ....just made the problem worse now...damn.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by pbar »

Jim wrote:Tried starting the engine yesterday without any choke...fire for about half a second and died.
Surely though on a cold start you need the choke? When you took the top off the carb, was the float bowl over flowing?
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Jim »

Never got further enough to take the top of the carb off as I want to try and fix this spring first.

I think as long as it fires and you keep your foot on the accelerator you don't need a choke. I know people have taken them out before and done that left foot braking technique.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by pbar »

Jim wrote:
I think as long as it fires and you keep your foot on the accelerator you don't need a choke. I know people have taken them out before...
Why go through all the grief though? A couple fo stabs of the accelerator beforehand and choke out, then car should simply start.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Jim »

Yeah, i personally would never take the choke out.

Fixed the spring and got the top of the carb off and was able to see inside the bowl

float moves fine and is not stuck. Some weird black flakey things in the bottom of the bowl though??
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by stevemarl »

As already said, make sure the actual float is not leaking and full of fuel. Check also that the needle valve moves freely.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Peter-S »

There shouldn't be anything in the bottom of the bowl!
Really you need to check the needle is moving up and down on the float. The float can still move against a stuck needle as it has a sprung loaded ball bearing at the bottom. You also need to check that the float is set so that it is at the correct level as if the metal tab is bent it will rise too high and let too much fuel in before it shuts the flow off.
Of course a new carb shouldn't have any issues like that but it shouldn't have black bits in the bowl either :?
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Jim
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Jim »

looks like the top of the carb is coming back off then.

i reckon it could be some grease or sludgy stuff that might have fell off the carb as i lifted it off. Was quite a pull to get it off. I believe the needle went up and down.

Really didnt think i would have to be pissing around with the carb like this after it being only 3 months old.

in regards to the height of the float, would this suddenly become wrong then??
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Mc Tool »

I aint never seen a 34 ich before , but the black stuff in the bowl could be a clue . If your not using a fuel filter , crap that has accumulated in the tank can find its way into the carb and from there it can block jets and fuel passages , and this could easily be the reason the carb was replaced in the 1st place , and why it playing up now. I just googled weber 34 ich , and there is a shitload of stuff there about tuning/ dismantling ..... there is even one titled " Tuning the ich for dummies".... probly the 1st place Id look myself :D . Some of this black stuff could easily be jamming the float valve open causing the bowl to overflow and to massively flood the engine.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Jim »

A fuel filter is being run in between the tank and carb. The black float did feel heavy compared to the brass float from my old carb. I was thinking of swapping the two over and seeing if that made a difference?
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by pbar »

If you do swap the plastic float for brass, be aware that you need to set them at different measurements.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Jim »

pbar wrote:If you do swap the plastic float for brass, be aware that you need to set them at different measurements.
The brass float will be swapped straight from my old carb which had no problems.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by pbar »

Jim wrote:
pbar wrote:If you do swap the plastic float for brass, be aware that you need to set them at different measurements.
The brass float will be swapped straight from my old carb which had no problems.
The measurements for the brass float are different than the plastic ones, you need to make your adjustment accordingly, otherwise you will have too much fuel in the bowl, or not enough.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by Mc Tool »

I thought the two different floats would require different settings but couldn't find any info so I just set it the same as the plastic one and it works fine .... but mine was a 32/36 dgav :)
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pbar
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by pbar »

It definitely does require a different setting. There is info on here I think, as regards to whether you have a brass float or plastic. I have the same carb as yours and I found the info out when I last checked mine. Might be on the Weber sites/sellers also.
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Re: Flooded Carb

Post by stevemarl »

According to haynes (supplement) plastic = 35.3mm, brass = 41.0mm
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