basic Holley 4 barrel cleaning?

-
diymirage

diymirage

HP@idle > hondaHP@redline
Joined
Oct 12, 2012
Messages
34,244
Reaction score
43,535
Location
michigan
ok, a proform 750, but pretty much a holley

about a month ago i fouled a fuel filter and in order to make it back home i ran the car without a filter

of course, all the crap that clogged the filter now got into my carb
it wil run fine one moment, then idle really high...i caught her doing that once and i pulled the air cleaner lid just in time to see fuel dribbling down the carb and when i pulled the needle, sure enough it had a bunch of crud in the seat

at times it will stall out when your cruising at idle (i havent figured that one out yet, but i presume it is crud in the idle circuits?) luckily a little tap of the throttle will wake her right back up

at any rate, ive rebuild plenty of 2 stroke carbs but this is my first 4 barrel
my main concern is breaking seals that may need replacing and missing hidden circuits...so what advice can you professionals give me?
 
Take the bowls & metering blocks off and squirt carb cleaner with the extension through every hole in the metering blocks & carb body. Can't hurt to remove the metering adj. screws as well. Spraying into the needle & seats to flush them out might be enough without having to remove them. (Watch your eyes.) Flush the line between the filter & carb too.
 
Just buy a kit with all the gaskets, don't buy parts store ones, factory holley ones are not much more $$.
Also blow the carb passages out with air, or you are wasting your time.
Holley has an excellent video tutorials on their web site.
 
sireland67 said:
Just buy a kit with all the gaskets, don't buy parts store ones, factory holley ones are not much more $$.
Also blow the carb passages out with air, or you are wasting your time.
Holley has an excellent video tutorials on their web site.
Click to expand...

thanks, if i can ever figure out what exact carb i have, i should be able to figure out what kit i need

so, the chances of pulling the bowls and blocks of without breaking the gaskets are pretty slim?
 
Locomotion said:
Take the bowls & metering blocks off and squirt carb cleaner with the extension through every hole in the metering blocks & carb body. Can't hurt to remove the metering adj. screws as well. Spraying into the needle & seats to flush them out might be enough without having to remove them. (Watch your eyes.) Flush the line between the filter & carb too.
Click to expand...

This^^^^^

Unfortunately, Myron is right. Every single carburetor dip that used to work is now fodder for play school kids to play around with thanks to the EPA. In fact, I have gotten to the point to where I replace carburetors for my small engine customers. Piss on trying to make them right after ethanol. It's not worth the work.
 
A cheap cleaning fix is a old crock pot and a mixture of 50/50 simple green and water, do not leave it for more than 24 hrs, it will strip the finish clear off a carb.
 
diymirage said:
thanks, if i can ever figure out what exact carb i have, i should be able to figure out what kit i need

so, the chances of pulling the bowls and blocks of without breaking the gaskets are pretty slim?
Click to expand...
On the front of the air horn of most Holley carbs is a "List" number. That's the number you need for a kit.

holley9.jpg
 
Have you tried some Barryman's 12 carb cleaner to blow out the passages??? Available at Auto Zone...

Only use it in the garage or outside, the fumes are strong...

Barrymans A03.jpg


Barrymans A02.png


Barrymans A01.png
 
Last edited:
diymirage said:
Yes sir, i took out the air idle screws and blew the through with it, hit the jets with it, and removed the pumpshot nozzles and cleaned it...it just seems there is more crud then I can get at without disassembling it
Click to expand...

Disassemble it and blow out all of the passages and bleeds....

If you don't take it apart, you will just be blowing the chips/dirt into another section.... :BangHead:
 
Got her all cleaned up and running again
Well, I had her running, about 5 miles into the shakedown run she died on me
I got other stuff to do now, so I'll check into it later
(Showing 0 psi on the fuel pressure gauge and nothing in the sight glasses)

This is what the bowls looked like

20170912_090030.jpg


20170912_115908.jpg
 
diymirage said:
Got her all cleaned up and running again
Well, I had her running, about 5 miles into the shakedown run she died on me
I got other stuff to do now, so I'll check into it later
(Showing 0 psi on the fuel pressure gauge and nothing in the sight glasses)

This is what the bowls looked like

View attachment 1715090873

View attachment 1715090874
Click to expand...


You need to clean or replace the fuel tank. That's nasty.
 
it looks like what is holding me back now is the little section of rubber fuel line that connects the sending unit to the hardline running up to the front of the car
i had 0 fuel pressure, car was barely idling

on a hunch i crawled under there and squeezed that little line into round again and the idle got better
i looked under the hood, and 8 pounds of pressure (i had messed with the regulator some, its adjusted back down to 6 now)

so, any suggestions on how to keep that line from collapsing?

(and i most likely will replace the tank over the winter, i allready have a new 3/8th sending unit and fuel line ready)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top