[67Twistytee]

Went for a drive with my son and all was running well until we came to a stop sign. The car was stumbling for gas and died several times as soon as I took my foot of the accelerator. I limped back home with the same symptoms at each stop sign. I'm thinking my carb float is not working. It's over 10 years old at this point so maybe fuel logged from ethanol gas? Everything else seems to check out fine (fuel pump, gas lines, ignition, etc.). Has anyone else encountered this before? Aside from tuning, I've never taken apart a Qjet before. Can the float be replaced while carb is still on the car or is this a bench job?

[fyrffytr1]

Have you checked the fuel filter? There should be one in the carb inlet. I also put one in the rubber line just before the fuel pump inlet.
Be careful when removing and replacing the carb filter, the threads on the housing strip fairly easy.

[67Twistytee]

I just replaced the flex fuel line and external filter because the hose was getting hard from ethanol. That's partly why I suspect the float is shot. I haven't removed the hard line from the inlet yet to check the other one. Figured I would do it when I change the float. Hoping the solves the problem although I've twice now found the upper throttle plate sticking above the primaries after trying to start the car.

[carbking]

The carb may need cleaning, and if so, a new float is an excellent idea (if yours is phenolic).

However, if the engine is starving for fuel; that would be the opposite of a float deteriorated from ethanol. If the float gets heavy, it sinks lower and allows MORE fuel in the bowl, and the engine floods.

I would concur on trying a new fuel filter in the carb inlet, and as mentioned, BE CAREFUL. Really easy to cross-thread and strip the threads.

Jon.

[GT182]

Jon, don't the older 67 replacement and original carbs have brass floats?

My Carter AFB "Competition Series" carb built by Weber does. Both of them... manual and electric choke.

[67Twistytee]

I just sent my original '67 Qjet off to Cliff for a rebuild. The one currently on my car and causing me trouble is a rebuild from a '68 Buick. Since I plan to re-install the original, I don't want to put a lot of time and money into the Buick carb.

Can I get a basic set of gaskets and new float from Napa? Is it ok to remove the air horn to check the float while the base plate remains on the engine? I don't want to be dropping small screws in bad places but I'd prefer to troubleshoot the float and needle first. Another reason I suspect the float is I can see gas bubble up at the accelerator pump when I move the throttle which would indicate the bowl is full. Perhaps the carb is flooding and causing the engine to bog down?

[GT182]

Andy, remove the carb before you take any part of it apart. When you least expect it, some little dinky part could fall into the intake and might not be retrievable. Like goes into a head's valve-train.

[fyrffytr1]

Before I took the carb off I would check the inlet filter. May be full of trash from the deteriorated hose. Then, if you don't find anything, you are one step ahead in removing the carb. One other thing. Have you looked down into the carb as you work the throttle to see if you are getting a shot of gas? Needless to say do this with the ignition off. It will only work once or twice before you lose what little pressure is in the line.

[Longs]

Originally Posted by 67Twistytee

I just sent my original '67 Qjet off to Cliff for a rebuild. The one currently on my car and causing me trouble is a rebuild from a '68 Buick. Since I plan to re-install the original, I don't want to put a lot of time and money into the Buick carb.

'67, how long is the turnaround time on a rebuild from Cliff's? I recently saw on their site that the turnaround was almost a year. I've thought about ordering a rebuild kit from them, my '67 has the original QJet, but I haven't rebuild a carburetor in more than 20 years.

[67Twistytee]

Thanks Guys. I will pull the line to check the filter first. I am getting fuel into the bowl but maybe there's a partial blockage. Would a '68 Buick Qjet take the same filter as the Pontiac version? Is it an AC Delco GF427?

If that doesn't solve it I'll remove the carb and try to replace the float too. I'm hoping a basic kit from Napa will get me the correct gaskets. Are the Nitro floats ok to use or should I look for a brass replacement?

Longs - I think Cliff is catching up and now running about 6-8 months on his wait list. Since I wanted to put my original back on and had a working back-up, I was ok waiting because I could still drive the car. I put my name down back in April/May.

I've worked on other types of carbs but am a novice around Qjets and didn't want to attempt a full rebuild of the original on my own.

[geeteeohguy]

I've taken the tops off of a ton of Q-jets with the carb mounted on the car. Not really difficult, but you need to be delicate. The trick is to get the metering rods positioned correctly when you re-install it. If you've never done it, or aren't super mechanically inclined, you'd be safer to do it 'on the bench'. That way, you can also blow out all the main body passages, etc.

[67Twistytee]

I plan to pull it and do the work on my bench. Since this carb is a stop-gap until I get my original back, I was hoping to keep tear down work to a minimum. Since I gather I'll need to remove the choke rod, accelerator pump arm, and metering rods to do the work anyways, I may as well do it on the bench so I can be careful.

If anyone has a preference for a basic kit, let me know. This carb is 70228244 which indicates its from a 1968 Buick GS 350. I see most of the parts listed on Rockauto but only see a generic gasket kit listed on Napa (CRB25781).

[fyrffytr1]

Walker makes a kit for it but does not include a new float.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...keyword=15466d

[67Twistytee]

I ended up getting the kit from Cliff since he includes the float and correct needle and seat for the Buick carbs. Other than some light sediment in the bowl and a bit of carbon on the primary rods, this Qjet looks clean. The nitro float was ok and there was no blockage at the filters. It had a decent looking accelerator pump (see photo - used one on the bottom & new one from Cliff's kit on the top). It also had a small wire screen inline filter instead of the oem style paper filter.

The only explanation I can find for the flooding is there's no sign of the wire needle clip to hang the needle from the float. The float was attached to the fulcrom but the needle appeared not to be attached. If it slipped off I can't find any sign of it but I'm guessing this was my problem. Won't know until I finishing cleaning the carb and get it back on the car.

[Kenth]

Obviously a factory (Holley) restored unit with a float pin repair kit installed.
I would check that float has free movement since these float pin repair kits needs to be installed correctly avoiding float bind.

[67Twistytee]

Not sure about the Holley reference, but with the exception of the fuel filter whoever rebuilt it last used all Qjet parts. '68 and older carbs used a smaller float and the one I took out looks very similar to the one supplied in Cliff's kit. Same with the needle and seat - but no clip found between float and needle. Does any one have a good photo of how to connect the replacement clip to the float arm? Does it simply balance on the forward flat part of the arm?

Also, in the photo attached there is a white c clip next to the gasket. I thought I took good notes and photos but do not recognize this part. Any ideas?

Unfortunately they didn't seal the bottom plugs so I'll need to do it before I put it back together and check the float height and movement.

[67Twistytee]

I finished the rebuild of the 68 carb and it's running very well now. Also installed a new Napa gold fuel filter which seams to have helped with my fuel delivery. I noticed during the tear down that someone removed the hot idle compensator and put a plug in the port. Is it common to find this missing on early Qjets?