Carb leaking?

[1stford]

I think I may be asking for you all to find a needle in a stack of needles but thought I'd ask anyways. It appears to be leaking fuel someone where around the base of the carb. I've looked and not been able to locate the issue. Wonder if anyone as any ideas? The car is running fantastic, couldn't ask for better, so I really don't want to go messing with anything carb related!

[rockfla]

Nothing looks too terribly bad, I’d just take a wrench and a screwdriver and just make sure all the screws, nuts and lines are snugged tight. Not “over tight” but just good and snug!!

[scicala]

If it isn't the two brass screw in plugs on the front of the bowl, then maybe there is some fuel puddling on top of the throttle plates after the engine is shut off, and then running out of the throttle shaft bores in the base. Especially if the shaft fit is sloppy. Can you wiggle either side of the throttle shaft to check for slop ?

Sal

[1stford]

Originally Posted by scicala

If it isn't the two brass screw in plugs on the front of the bowl, then maybe there is some fuel puddling on top of the throttle plates after the engine is shut off, and then running out of the throttle shaft bores in the base. Especially if the shaft fit is sloppy. Can you wiggle either side of the throttle shaft to check for slop ?

Sal

Everything seems to be pretty tight. Not much wiggle room at all.

[satfix]

I had a leak at the throttle base on mine - took forever to find it. Finally replaced the base for one without the throttle rod and problem disappeared.

Good luck

[bob from red oak]

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My carb would got wet around base. Started and ran great. Often had fuel smell. When warmed up acted like it was flooded. I finally pulled carb to rebuild and check needle and seat. . Looked great and possibly rebuilt before I bought the truck. I shook the float and it was full of gas.

[Robert/Texas]

I’m 86 and don’t drive my old cars as much as I used to. I started up my ’34 roadster last summer and it wouldn’t idle or run very well. The carburetor had been showing some yellow stains much like yours and I sometimes smelled gas while driving.

I sent the carburetor, Stromberg 97, to Charlie Schwendler and that fixed the problem. The only thing was that when I installed it, I couldn’t get the glass sediment bulb in the right position so I removed it. After I did this, I noticed just a little yellow staining around the carburetor base.

I didn’t have a fuel pressure regulator, but I did have a newly rebuilt original Ford fuel pump. I replaced the repro fuel pump with the original type and it solved the problem.

The repro fuel pump is a little larger in diameter, so I assume that it produces too much pressure and that the sediment bulb reduced that pressure enough to stop the leaking.

[Charlie ny]

!stford,
What may be occurring is ,when the motor is running, fuel is seeping past the throttle bores
and over time soaking the bowl to base gasket. This can occur when the bottom face of the bowl is not truly flat. It is not uncommon ,even with a NOS bowl, to have a low area
in the center of the bowls' bottom face. I mill this face and usually find from .005 to .015 out of flat and usually where the vac chamber and throttle bores intersect.
My short cut to check for a loose throttle shaft ( about 80 % effective ) is
to adjust the brass mixture screws. If turning them in causes the motor to stumble or quit most likely the shaft fit to the base is OK.....OMHO.
If it's running good aside from the little leak leave it alone....all flatheads leak at least one kind the fluid.

Charlie ny

[1stford]

Originally Posted by Charlie ny

!stford,
What may be occurring is ,when the motor is running, fuel is seeping past the throttle bores
and over time soaking the bowl to base gasket. This can occur when the bottom face of the bowl is not truly flat. It is not uncommon ,even with a NOS bowl, to have a low area
in the center of the bowls' bottom face. I mill this face and usually find from .005 to .015 out of flat and usually where the vac chamber and throttle bores intersect.
My short cut to check for a loose throttle shaft ( about 80 % effective ) is
to adjust the brass mixture screws. If turning them in causes the motor to stumble or quit most likely the shaft fit to the base is OK.....OMHO.
If it's running good aside from the little leak leave it alone....all flatheads leak at least one kind the fluid.
Charlie ny

Charlie,

Thanks for the info. The car runs great, it’s probably the beat running old car I have ever owned so turning screws is a bit scary! The only reason the leak bothers me is because it’s causing some paint to peal on the top
Of the intake. Other then that it would not bother me.

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by 1stford

Charlie,

Thanks for the info. The car runs great, it’s probably the beat running old car I have ever owned so turning screws is a bit scary! The only reason the leak bothers me is because it’s causing some paint to peal on the top
Of the intake. Other then that it would not bother me.

It’s not a difficult or process that will change anything IF you do it right. Take a flat screw driver and mark the handle at one spot with a marker OR a small piece of tape so you can see how many turns you make with the screw driver. One you mark your screwdriver then screw the mixture screw inward counting how many revolutions you turn the screwdriver, turning it inward within about a turn and a half or so you should here the motor idle start to get disrupted and from that point inward it should get worse!! IF it doesn’t then you have an issue again count the turns so you can return the screw back out the same amount of turns!!! Do the same with the other idle mixture screw to get a FULL assessment of the idle mixture picture!!