Dodge Dart carb tuning issues.

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swingerboy

swingerboy

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Hey guys!

Today a friend and I tried to tune my Dart. The car always idles pretty high and we decided to tackle that today. Yesterday, I took the car out for a spin, but when it was stopped at a light, it would shake rather violently and i would have to give it gas for it not to stall. One problem with it, the idle speed screw doesn't really work...It can increase the idle more but when we loosen it all the way out, the idle stays pretty high. I have no idea what the RPMs are since there is no tach :banghead: . We tried to adjust the mixture screws and we had no idea if it was enough or not... Were only 18 and kinda noobs about this lol. If i get a vacuum gauge, how should I hook it up? The car has a 650 Holley and a Edelbrock performer manifold. My first priority is to adjust the idle speed though...The former owner mentioned that it might need a new throttle cable soon though. My friend got in the car and hit the gas all the way down and the butterflies were perpendicular to the manifold. I tightened down the carb to the manifold and checked for leaks from lines going to the carburetor. What else could cause this to happen? Anybody have any idea how to effectively tune it and check for vacuum leaks? Sorry for the super noob question but im just starting out :).
 
Any questions, big or small, are no problem. We all started somewhere. :D

Since you mentioned the cable.....try disconnecting it and see if the idle comes down and the screw gets the adjustability back. If not, make sure the choke is not holding it on a higher idle.

Really need to get the idle down first and then work on the other adjustments.
 
OldmanRick said:
Any questions, big or small, are no problem. We all started somewhere. :D

Since you mentioned the cable.....try disconnecting it and see if the idle comes down and the screw gets the adjustability back. If not, make sure the choke is not holding it on a higher idle.

Really need to get the idle down first and then work on the other adjustments.
Click to expand...

Alright, so disconnect the cable entirely? Cause that would mean that the trans kick down cable would have to be disconnected too. How can I check that choke thing you were mentioning? thanks alot for being so understanding of my situation. Ive just been kinda frustrated recently with it for shaking haha.
 
The kickdown "should" float enough that it won't hold the throttle open. If by chance it does, that may be the issue? As far as the choke, It depends on the type, manual or electric? As long as it's open all the way, there is a separate fast idle screw associated with it on the passenger side of the carb. You need to make sure that it's not touching the graduated cam when it's fully warmed and the choke is open. Let me know what type choke you have, and maybe I can find a pic to illustrate it.
 
Alright, there is slack on the kickdown line so it wont hold it open so i should be good to go. And I believe its an electric choke. It has a black circular shaped thing on the passenger side of the carb and it has like 2 wires on it. If you can get a pic, that would be AWESOME! :)
 
swingerboy said:
Alright, there is slack on the kickdown line so it wont hold it open so i should be good to go. And I believe its an electric choke. It has a black circular shaped thing on the passenger side of the carb and it has like 2 wires on it. If you can get a pic, that would be AWESOME! :)
Click to expand...

Cool, electric....let me check some things.
 
I'm not sure this is your issue......just trying to methodically go thru the basics to see what further issues may need to be addressed.

This vid will at least take the choke adjustment out of the equation...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H5IBSFgYJE"]Holley Carburetor Choke Adjustment Tips - YouTube[/ame]
 
You welcome :smile:. Your linkage may not be just like this, but the reason I said disconnect the cable from the carb was to see if the adjustment in the red circle is too tight holding the throttle lever open.....
 

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Well what we did was that we thought that the throttle cable might be too loose so we pulled it back and tightened the clamp.
 
Gotcha......If the cable is not holding it open, and the choke adjustment/cam is not holding it open......it's possible the primary throttle blades are catching on the carb baseplate gasket. This is not as easy as it sounds over the net...lol. Just gotta figure a way to get the idle speed screw to function properly before making other adjustments.

I'm sorry, but I have to get up at 4am eastern to get the wife to the hospital for a chemo treatment. I'll be gone most of tomorrow, but will check in tomorrow evening to see if I can offer any advise. I don't think your too far off, just something simple. Please just stick with it and you'll get there and be able to enjoy what these cars are all about. :thumleft:
 
I had to jump in again before I hit the sack.......Since you asked about a possible vacuum leak, the only way it would cause a high idle would be if the carb was so rich, it needed the extra air. I doubt that's the issue right now, unless the previous owner really messed with the carb.

Ok, i'm out....:D.
 
If the carb came off a car with alot of cam duration and or overlap they may have drilled idle air bypass holes in the primary throttle plates. Look down the throttle bores with a flashlight and see if there are small holes drilled in the plates.
 
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