Carter BBD Carb rebuild gone wrong.

[Trevor B]

1973 Duster 318 (California)
Because I was experiencing some balking when giving full gas, I pulled off the carburetor and used the rebuild kit. All parts cleaned, dried with pressurized air, put back together with new gaskets, etc.

Now it's running worse than before!

1) NOT getting good squirt from accelerator pump (squirt was okay before I messed around with it).
2) Can't keep a low idle without stalling
3) A pump the gas pedal and it will stall
4) Dieseling after cut off - puff of white smoke.

My gut tells me it has something to do with the accelerator pump. I noticed that it did not feel particularly smooth with the new plunger (seemed pretty stiff so I put the old one back in... didn't help)

 

[sireland67]

How well did you clean the carburetor?
Did you soak it overnight?
Blow all the passages out with compressed air?
How well did you follow the assembly instructions, they have different settings for different carb numbers.

 

[killnine]

1973 Duster 318 (California)
Because I was experiencing some balking when giving full gas, I pulled off the carburetor and used the rebuild kit. All parts cleaned, dried with pressurized air, put back together with new gaskets, etc.

Now it's running worse than before!

1) NOT getting good squirt from accelerator pump (squirt was okay before I messed around with it).
2) Can't keep a low idle without stalling
3) A pump the gas pedal and it will stall
4) Dieseling after cut off - puff of white smoke.

My gut tells me it has something to do with the accelerator pump. I noticed that it did not feel particularly smooth with the new plunger (seemed pretty stiff so I put the old one back in... didn't help)

Did you set the float level with the inlet line tightened down?

 

[Trevor B]

We did not soak it over night, but used a brush and got it pretty clean, especially the insides. We blew out the passages with compressed air (I might add that when I took it back off this morning to put the old plunger back in the accelerator pump, I could work the pump and get it to squirt by hand).

How stiff/snug should the accelerator pump plunger feel when the carb is on the bench (dry).

We followed the instructions as closely as possible, using the parts that were provided.

Regarding the float level - I can't remember. I think so. It's possible that we didn't. Would that cause the problems I've described?

 

[killnine]

We did not soak it over night, but used a brush and got it pretty clean, especially the insides. We blew out the passages with compressed air (I might add that when I took it back off this morning to put the old plunger back in the accelerator pump, I could work the pump and get it to squirt by hand).

How stiff/snug should the accelerator pump plunger feel when the carb is on the bench (dry).

We followed the instructions as closely as possible, using the parts that were provided.

Regarding the float level - I can't remember. I think so. It's possible that we didn't. Would that cause the problems I've described?

Float level should be set of course. I think it's normally 1/4" but don't trust my memory. Anyhow, it needs to be set with the inlet fitting already tightened down, and then when you connect the inlet line to the fitting, you have to make sure the fitting doesn't move (tighten or loosen), or it will change the float level by pushing the needle in or out. I don't imagine float level would stop it from squirting unless it was way off and you didn't have any gas in the bowls. When you took it back off, how much gas was in the bowls?

 

[4spdragtop]

Im not familiar with BBD, but does the accel pump have different holes for the linkage? maybe that got changed??

 

[Trevor B]

Don't know about the holes for the accelerator pump.

There was no shortage of gas in the bowl.

I'm going to have to tear this thing apart again and try from scratch... gonna be a few days before I have the time, though. I wish I knew a carburetor expert in the area!

 

[Trevor B]

I finally got around to re-cleaning the BBD. Took it all apart again, soaked everything in carb cleaner for over 24 hours, blew compressed air through every single hole I could find, replaced the accel. pump cover and put back together. Mostly same problems as before (except that now I do get a good squirt when I depress the accelerator pump down manually):

- Accelerator pump does not go down on its own when I give gas
- Engine cannot sustain idle in normal idle RPM

1973 Duster 318 Carter BBD: does anyone have any experience with these!?!

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why the pump isn't depressing when allowed to. The new plunger is a little snug but seems to go up and down. I put a little oil on it.

Attached are two pictures of the linkage: one in idle position and one with the throttle up (you can see that the little pin on the top of the accelerator pump is not moving). Sorry about the crappy picture.

Is it possible that the plunger's spring is worn out?

Thanks for any help.

 

[RustyRatRod]

You have something put together wrong. You just need to go back over it real carefully.

 

[ArizonaKid]

This is going to make you feel real stupid if i'm right, but the same thing happened to me. Is the accelerator pump working the right direction? When I rebuilt my carb the first time, it just had no power, and it turns out the accelerator pump was hooked up in a way to make it work backwards.

Just something to check.

 

[Trevor B]

Well, I opened it all up again and felt how tight the new plunger was (from the rebuild kit was) and then put in the old plunger and felt how smooth it was. So I went with the old plunger. Works just fine now.

It would seem that the replacement plunger was just a touch too big! Anyway, now she revs like she should and now I'm on to adjusting the idle mixture and timing.