Need help with carb

[callfarms]

I am having trouble with the carb on my 1953 3600. It is a 216 motor. The motor idles fine and 1/2 and full throttle are fine. When I push the foot feed just off idle the motor falters or sometimes dies. Can anyone help me out.

[dwcsr]

Sounds like the accelerator pump may need to be replaced or adjusted

[mr48chev]

Dave knows, yep it's time for a rebuild

A good carb kit for that carb runs about 25.00 give or take and you can get a gallon can of carb cleaner with a basket in it at O'Reilly's for under 20 bucks that you can use for a long tiime until it gets so dirty it doesn't clean more.
I'd say if you were real cheap you can get the leather for the accelerator pump and just change that but I have never pulled an old carb apart that had been together for a while that the gaskets didn't tear up on when I pulled the top off.

[callfarms]

Thanks guys

[Highsider]

Soak your carb parts overnight in Ruby Grapefruit juice.
Rinse in water and dry
$3 and throw out in the wife's flowerbed.

[YukonXL04]

Originally Posted by Highsider

Soak your carb parts overnight in Ruby Grapefruit juice.
Rinse in water and dry
$3 and throw out in the wife's flowerbed.

I don't get it? Lol

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by YukonXL04

I don't get it? Lol

The citric acid will dissolve the crud. Then compost.

[OrrieG]

When I ran the old Rochester 1 / 2 BBL on my DD I kept a kit in the parts box, knowing about every 3 years the accelerator pump would need replaced. On a truck that sits a lot, it will happen more often because the "leather" drys out. Murphy's law dictated it usually started acting up in the boonies, but I am pretty good at on the road fixes...

[mr48chev]

I'm gong to try that grapefruit juice thing.

One thing I've done with the carb cleaner out of the gallon pail is to get an aluminum pan from Dollar tree that is big enough to set the carb in and pour the carb cleaner in the pan and let it soak and then lift the carb piece out of the cleaner and pour the cleaner back in the can.

[solidaxel]

"Does it have to be Ruby grapefruit!"

[Highsider]

Originally Posted by solidaxel

"Does it have to be Ruby grapefruit!"

It looks cooler in your plastic pail.

[chevyguyase]

Did this just start with the cold weather? do you still have the manual choke? If you are not use to a manual choke, you have to use a little more choke in the winter until your manifold warms up and I'm not sure if a '53 had a damper/heat riser in the exhaust manifold to speed up heating the underside of the intake manifold. If it does, make sure it works freely.

[callfarms]

It has a manual choke. I tried running the choke on a little but didn't help. We put in a new accelerator pump and still does it.

[Virginian]

Throttle plate should be adjusted for about .020 inch clearance to carb throat, idle mixture screw about 1 and a half turns out from closed, looking down carb with engine off, you should see accel pump shoot fuel as soon as throttle plate starts to move, could be slack in pump linkage, or worn throttle plate shaft, or you might have a vacuum leak. Also is vacuum advance unit working ? is timing correct ?

[callfarms]

I can see the distributor move when you rev it up. I haven't checked timing but will. I will also check for vacuum leaks. Thanks for all the good advise.

[Coupeguy2001]

there is supposed to be a check ball in the bottom of the accelerator pump well.
If it's missing, the gas goes back the way it came into the accelerator well, and the squirt does not go through the accelerator pump jet into your engine....so it's lean and stumbles

[Hakang]

I rebuilt my carburetor with a rebuilt kit and a lot of help from "Mikes carburetor" here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2AINKEauVM

[YukonXL04]

Originally Posted by Hakang

I rebuilt my carburetor with a rebuilt kit and a lot of help from "Mikes carburetor" here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2AINKEauVM

I bought the premium version from them. Came with just about everything. Didn't watch the video but mine seems to be running good, however it hasn't been driven yet...

[1-ton of fun]

have you visually verified the accelerator pump is working? does it squirt fuel when the throttle is opened? i would also verify timing. too little or too much advance can cause off idle issues.

[dsraven]

accelerator squirt should aim right at the edge of the throttle plate as well. take a look down the throat of the carb (when engine is off) to see what exactly is going on. sometimes there can be a bit of crud in a carb passage as well. if you have a nice big rag you can start the engine and rev it up a bit with the air filter off, then stuff the rag over the top of the carb for a second and pull it off before the engine dies. the added vacuum in the carb throat will sometimes draw a small obstruction through the orifice and it will run better.

[1project2many]

It sounds like Virginian has carburetor overhaul experience. With years and years of service behind them, these carbs often suffer from vacuum leaks around the throttle shaft.

How the engine reacts is helpful in determining what's happening. If you step on the gas and the engine only stumbles for a short time then recovers, kind of a Wah....rrrrrRRR as it pauses then accelerates, the problem could be accelerator pump related. But if you open the throttle slightly and hold it and the engine runs poorly the entire time, the problem could be air leaks around the shaft. In this case opening the throttle further often restores proper operation, but allowing the throttle to close to a just off idle position will cause it to run poorly again.

If you can find an older carburetor kit they are usually very complete and give you most of the tools and instructions you need for a regular overhaul. If the carb body is leaking substantially around the shaft it will need to have bushings installed.

Good luck!