Holley carb trouble...and answer. - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Myself · 05-10-2006, 05:07 PM

My wife's truck engine had water in the oil when I started it up, so I had to redo intake gaskets. Anyway it was apart for 1 day only. I fired it again last night and it just wouldn't run right. HUGE amounts of fuel flooding the primary bores!! I checked the float adjustment, O.K.. So I'm like WTF it was just running fine, except for the water in the oil. I even almost shut the fuel off, same thing. Then when my wife quit cranking the engine, it continued to pour the fuel in, again WTF?? Well, something is wrong so I took the carb back off and took off the front bowl and metering plate. Everything looked O.K. Then I looked at the carb body, FRESH MUD plugging the vent tube!! In 1 day the damn dirt dobbers found, and blocked the vent tube!! That caused me a whole evening of grief. Just something I never would have suspected, and thought I would share.

Old Yeller 1970 · 05-10-2006, 06:21 PM

I would have gone completly insane trying to figure out what was going on.
At least you got it fixed. I never would have thought about dirt dobbers getting to it that fast.

Brad · 05-11-2006, 02:45 AM

What the heck are 'dirt dawbers'??? Are they like, paper wasps or something? Pardon my ignorance-I'm from the Pacific NW, LOL.

Old Yeller 1970 · 05-11-2006, 09:36 AM

"Dirt Dawbers" it's a Southern thang.

Yeah, they are a type of wasp. They are almost completely non-aggressive. I suppose they could sting if they wanted to but I've never heard of it in 35 years. The main thing they do is build their nests (about 2"x3" in size) out of mud (dirt mixed with their saliva) on everything that sits still for more than a day. They prefer cool places protected from the elements so barns and shops are a favorite hangout of theirs.

I used to work at an RV dealership and every spring when folks start getting out their campers they'd start bringing them in because of dirt dobber nests. Usually, the complaint would be with the A/C fan slapping around out of balance because of a nest on the blades.

While I was rebuilding the engine in Old Yeller the dirt dobbers built nests all over the inside of my cab. Mainly they are just a nuisance

05-10-2006, 05:07 PM	#1
Myself Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Northern Arkansas Posts: 1,131	Holley carb trouble...and answer. My wife's truck engine had water in the oil when I started it up, so I had to redo intake gaskets. Anyway it was apart for 1 day only. I fired it again last night and it just wouldn't run right. HUGE amounts of fuel flooding the primary bores!! I checked the float adjustment, O.K.. So I'm like WTF it was just running fine, except for the water in the oil. I even almost shut the fuel off, same thing. Then when my wife quit cranking the engine, it continued to pour the fuel in, again WTF?? Well, something is wrong so I took the carb back off and took off the front bowl and metering plate. Everything looked O.K. Then I looked at the carb body, FRESH MUD plugging the vent tube!! In 1 day the damn dirt dobbers found, and blocked the vent tube!! That caused me a whole evening of grief. Just something I never would have suspected, and thought I would share.

05-10-2006, 06:21 PM	#2
Old Yeller 1970 DON'T TREAD ON ME Join Date: May 2005 Location: Crosby County, TX Posts: 989	Re: Holley carb trouble...and answer. I would have gone completly insane trying to figure out what was going on. At least you got it fixed. I never would have thought about dirt dobbers getting to it that fast. __________________ Old Yeller

05-11-2006, 02:45 AM	#3
Brad Out of the carpool lane. Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Clark Co, WA Posts: 5,673	Re: Holley carb trouble...and answer. What the heck are 'dirt dawbers'??? Are they like, paper wasps or something? Pardon my ignorance-I'm from the Pacific NW, LOL. __________________ 1968 C-10 SWB, 5.7 Vortec/700R4/3.73 posi, Torch Red 1968 Camaro, 250/Powerglide, all original (No, I'm not gonna drop a 350 in it!...Jeez!) 2000 Honda VFR in the faster yellow! 2008 Husqvarna TE-610 1967 C-10 SWB 'Six Appeal'-Gone but not forgotten...

05-11-2006, 09:36 AM	#4
Old Yeller 1970 DON'T TREAD ON ME Join Date: May 2005 Location: Crosby County, TX Posts: 989	Re: Holley carb trouble...and answer. "Dirt Dawbers" it's a Southern thang. Yeah, they are a type of wasp. They are almost completely non-aggressive. I suppose they could sting if they wanted to but I've never heard of it in 35 years. The main thing they do is build their nests (about 2"x3" in size) out of mud (dirt mixed with their saliva) on everything that sits still for more than a day. They prefer cool places protected from the elements so barns and shops are a favorite hangout of theirs. I used to work at an RV dealership and every spring when folks start getting out their campers they'd start bringing them in because of dirt dobber nests. Usually, the complaint would be with the A/C fan slapping around out of balance because of a nest on the blades. While I was rebuilding the engine in Old Yeller the dirt dobbers built nests all over the inside of my cab. Mainly they are just a nuisance __________________ Old Yeller

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