74 eldo won't start after sitting. Yes, has gas in tank ;-)

[gumboguy]

I have a 74 eldorado with what looks like a Rochester quadrajet carb. It's been sitting a while. Starts when I prime the carb with gas then dies a second later. I've pulled the gas lines off the pump and air blows through them to the tank which has about 4 gallons of gas in it. I pulled off the fuel pump and stuck it in a cup of some gas and it seems to pull up some fuel when pumped by hand. After putting everything back on and trying to turn the primed motor, I pulled the "out" fuel hose off and gas dripped all over my hand. Seems like it's pumping alright, but who knows? Ive tried removing the fuel line at the carb however that seems impossible without stripping the nut, and even then, there's no room to fit visegrips in there to unscrew it. I'm now in the process of taking the top off the carb to see if the float is stuck. Am I on the right track? How do I get the darn top off the carb? It seems stuck on there pretty tight. What else could be blocking the fuel from getting to the carb? Please advise.

[Cadillac Jim]

The needle and seat for the float are probably stuck closed. You may be able to clear that by rapping on the point on the carb where the fuel comes in. If not you will need to put in a carburetor kit.

[BodybyFisher]

How old is the fuel?

You don't use VISE GRIPS, use an in-line wrench on the small fitting and use an adjustable wrench on the gas filter nut to hold it from turning. If you don't use proper tools the job is much harder and you will round off the nut. An in line wrench won't crush the fitting and will allow you to apply a lot of force

[Ranger]

How do I get the darn top off the carb?

Should be a screw in each corner that gets removed as well as I can remember.

[rockfangd]

i would agree on a float problem. probably stuck closed. when you say it sat. how long did it sit?

with todays gas quality I wouldnt let anything sitt longer than 6 months

[Texas Jim]

Some of the older Quadrajets had a brass or paper filter actually in the carburetor itself.

When you take the fuel line loose from the carb... the filter is behind the big nut where the fuel line attaches to the carb.

[KHE]

Check the fuel pressure while cranking the engine - it should be in the 9-13 psi range. The fact that it starts when you put a little fuel in the carb. inducates that it is not getting fuel - either due to a bad fuel pump, clogged filter or a stuck float.

[coolnesss]

Some of the older Quadrajets had a brass or paper filter actually in the carburetor itself.

When you take the fuel line loose from the carb... the filter is behind the big nut where the fuel line attaches to the carb.

I'm fairly certain that it's a paper cartridge thing that is the fuel filter rather than the brass one - I had a 74 Eldo and they're wonderful cars!

[BodybyFisher]

Yes there is a filter at the carb fuel inlet, not sure what kind, but that is what I was referring to above that he needs to hold when he removes the fuel pipe fitting with an in line wrench.

I attached a nice photo of the quadrajet, the brass fitting contains the filter and must be held in place when the fuel line fitting is removed.

Also see this tech site

http://www.carbkitso...ajet-index.html

[gumboguy]

Thanks for the suggestions guys :-)

As for gas quality, it's all fresh gas. The car bottomed out on a pothole and sprung a tiny hole as well was crushed in the tank a couple inches up. Propbably the main reason why I stopped driving the car. All the gas drained out of this hole over a year. I dont know what sort of sediment was in the tank because I didn't pull off the tank this time. So I went down to the gas station and got several gallons of fresh fuel after patching the hole with plumber epoxy putty. The patch seems to be holding.

As for stripping out the nuts on the fuel line into the carb, I have not done that yet. I just have basic open/closed wrenches in standard and metric on hand and none of them seemed to really fit that either inlet nut. I know better than to use visegrips unless the nut edges were stripped off. So far, they have not been damaged. I'll take a look at an inline wrench.

As for carb top removal, I have removed two bigger bolts on the front facing end that connect to the manifold through the carb itsself as well as several smaller slotted screws that seem to bolt the carb top to the middle section. I have rapped on the sides of the carb with a small hammer and it still seems stuck. I was wondering if there's and hard to see screws holding that carb together.

I have rapped on the carb by the inlet to free the float if that were the problem. I'm going to try harder to get that fuel line of the carb and check the filter situation as well as get the top of the carb off to inspect the float.

Thanks again for the help! If anything else comes to mind, please let me know.

[Texas Jim]

HEY... I just thought of something that might be holding the top of the carb on....

The vertical rod that sticks up from the center of the carb and goes up thru the center of the air cleaner that the wing nut goes on....

I think that needs to be unscrewed and removed before you can get top of the carb off....

[Cadillac Jim]

An old mechanic's trick for sealing a pinhole in a gas tank is to put a self-tapping 1/4" metal screw in it before applying the epoxy or other sealer. If it leaks, try that. This trick is especially effective if the mechanic had to use an ice pick to drain the tank and knows that the metal is solid around the hole.

[airmike]

Its sure been awhile but I think the air cleaner stem has to come out as stated earlier as well as the screws on the top of the carb. I would think about taking the whole carb off though. If the thing is gummed up to the point of not starting its likely gonna need the jets and orifices cleaned too. Personally if its a REAL low budget thing, I would take it off and not worry about a carburetor kit. Just be very careful with the top gasket and reuse it. Same with the bottom gasket. You wont get a new accelerator pump/seal but you can get it running again. Of course if you don't use a kit you may get to take it apart again soon to replace the accelerator pump. Depending on the type of pump you may be able to soak the seal in transmission oil to swell it up and reuse it. If you try to do this work on the car be sure you don't drop a screw inside the carb or you will create a LOT of work.

[Ranger]

I'll take a look at an inline wrench.

A line wrench, not an inline wrench. Basically a box wrench with one segment cut out.

[BodybyFisher]

Thanks Ranger, thats the wrench! I have always called it an in line wrench

[gumboguy]

Thanks again guys.

I got the carb open andthe float is just fine. I filled the bowl with gas and it bobbed up and down. Boy was takingthe lid off and putting it back a challenge! I cleaned the needle valves and put it back together. I bought a line wrench and have yet to get the fuel filter nut off. It started to rain and I put the project on hold. I did buy a new filter just because.

When I spend some more time on it I'll update the status.

Thanks again for all the tips!

[Cadillac Jim]

The needle valves that the float operates are what sticks if gas dries in the carburetor. If you changed those you are good there. There may be two other tapered needles that vary the mixture at low to moderate throttle (I don't think that Rochester uses these), but if your carburetor uses this mechanism these are not valves, and they move with the throttle and don't stick.

[Ranger]

Carbs are finicky. EVERYTHING must be adjusted just right. Make sure your choke is adjusted properly as well as the choke pull off.

[Cadillac Jim]

I often hear nostralgia for the "good old days" when we had 90-degree gears for the distributor and oil pump that can, and did, strip and strand cars, distributor cap/rotor cross-fire-in-waiting apparatus with plug wires running all over the top of the engine, points and condenser that put a 200-Volt pulse on a canister oil-filled ignition coil, mechanical vacuum plus centrifugal spark advance, two or three gas circuit carburetors with multiple jets (idle and acceleration, sometimes with tapered needles in the acceleration jets), and a transmission that operated using a primitive hydraulic computer with its only inputs engine torque and speed, output shaft torque and speed, and a vacuum modulator piston valve. Me, I will take it all in software with COP.

[Ranger]

All true Jim, but I DO miss being able to see the ground from under the hood, being able to access ANY part without an engine removal and if that was needed, it could be done on a weekend.

[BodybyFisher]

Its amazing to think that I did a valve job, lifters and push rods on a 74 Cadillac 500 cu in engine in the driveway, it was a piece of cake, even though the heads weighed a ton each

[Cadillac Jim]

What I *don't* miss is not needing to access parts on an engine. Most of the parts we most often needed to access no longer exist. The ones that do, generator, plugs, and plug wires, are tons more reliable.

[coolnesss]

What I *don't* miss is not needing to access parts on an engine. Most of the parts we most often needed to access no longer exist. The ones that do, generator, plugs, and plug wires, are tons more reliable.

Let's not forget the absolute visceral pleasure of cruising a car like a 74 Eldo convertible down the highway, the engine silent, the ride barely noticeable, sitting in overstuffed leather luxury, lots of space for everything including six people inside the car, comfort no matter how long your legs are, the steering wheel adjusted down low, the shifts barely noticeable, the brakes smooth because those big rotors almost never warp, and the waves and looks you get from people who are envious because you're driving a truly amazing and wonderful automobile.

[rcirobin]

Let's not forget the absolute visceral pleasure of cruising a car like a 74 Eldo convertible down the highway, the engine silent, the ride barely noticeable, sitting in overstuffed leather luxury, lots of space for everything including six people inside the car, comfort no matter how long your legs are, the steering wheel adjusted down low, the shifts barely noticeable, the brakes smooth because those big rotors almost never warp, and the waves and looks you get from people who are envious because you're driving a truly amazing and wonderful automobile.

That's beautiful..... brought a tear to my eye.

[BodybyFisher]

It certainly WAS awesome! I drove it from NY to Florida and back with the top down. You are right about the waves, I thought it was my good looks,