Continued fuel problems

[dn010]

So I've posted a bunch of times about my carb problems and with no luck fixing all my latest fuel issues I received a "professionally" rebuild carburetor for my boat. My old carb number was 17057132. What they gave me in return is pretty much the same as I turned in only they ground the serial number off so I have no idea what it really is which pisses me off but, my brother in law paid for the new/rebuilt carb since I constantly take him fishing all the time on the boat so I didn't press the issue. The carburetor was purchased from "flyingfishcarburetors".com and picked up locally here in Florida.

Here is the history:

1978 Century with 3.7L, Carburetor in question is a Rochester 2GC similar to 17057132 with 2 idle screws. First of all, this damn carburetor still needs to be primed prior to running every time! I also changed all filters & separator prior to running. The boat started and idled wonderfully, and ran excellent until my fuel tank pick-up tube began clogging, so I couldn't run WOT and mostly just went from point A-B at 2,000 RPM. Still, all was well provided the carburetor got it's fuel.

Second time I took the boat out - it started up, it idled as usual, warmed it up and idle kicked down, threw it in reverse to get the boat from trailer -> dock and it stalled right after I left the trailer and would not restart. Only way I found to restart was to go WOT while cranking and the engine kicked over, so that equals flooding. I took the spark arrestor off and sure enough fuel was pouring out of the venturi of a newly rebuilt/refurbished carburetor. I slammed the butt of a screwdriver on the top of the carb and the flooding issue stopped. Ran fine after that but again clogged fuel pick-up which I thought was fixed in the first place.

I recently opened up this new carburetor to see what was going on and it is all new and clean, lowered the float a little, put in a new seat/needle just in case and reinstalled. Primed it up, ran it, checked my dwell, timing & idle speed and adjusted for all that. Now while running at idle, the venturi will still drip once every 2-3 seconds but doesn't flood.

I never had all these issues until this year, my pump works fine although I haven't checked the pressure - but I seem to doubt it would output high pressure suddenly if it was working fine the past 3 years. I also just cleaned my fuel tank as well as installed new lines all the way to the carburetor. I'm pulling my hair out over this continual mess! Why do I still need to prime a new carb and why is this thing dripping! I suspect a warranty inspection is in order but would like opinions as to what else may cause this.

Thanks guys

 

[tinkerguy70]

Re: Continued fuel problems

I'm just taking a wild guess here and say that it sounds to me like you are missing a check ball(s), or they are in the wrong place.
The smaller aluminum check ball should be directly under the accelerator pump in the bottom of the pump well. The other (and larger) one is under the main venturis in the main pump discharge.
If one of those check balls is missing or in the wrong place, it will cause the same symptoms as you describe. This is assuming that the float level is correct and the fuel pump pressure is within range.

But..
It's hard to imagine a professional carb rebuilder would mess up like that, but off the top of my head I can't think of anything else that would do it other than possibly a messed up gasket during the rebuild, but those generally show themselves with poor idle or performance.
Maybe someone else can toss out an idea or two.

 

[alldodge]

Re: Continued fuel problems

I'm not going to put the company down but the name alone would keep me away, fish much less flying and carbs don't mix. It is rare to find a rebuilt carb which works as good as a new one. No offence, but rebuilding a 1978 carb in 2013 when things when most things in 78 had out of sight guarantees (once there out of sight it's over).

Now that being said you stated it did fine until your pickup tube got clogged which could cause problems later. But from the rest of your post I do not think you receive a very good rebuild, but .................. there seams to be other variables involved here also.

 

[dn010]

Re: Continued fuel problems

Never heard of a flying fish eh? Hmm... The company is also known as marinecarburetor.com, while I am really not fond of the company (shaving off a serial number??), it is what it is [and was free for me] but at least they do offer a warranty. The carburetor in question is not MY 1978 carburetor rebuilt, it is another Rochester 2GC of an unknown year but it has to be updated because my 1978 carb didn't have a check ball or a passage under the accelerator pump - and this new reman one does.

The check balls were one of the first things I thought of as well and when I checked them, they were all where they should be, of the material they should be as well. I will however, take it off of the engine and pop it open, measure the float once again to be sure. I'll also open up my fuel pump to see if there's anything wrong inside it.

I doubt my clogged intake tube in my fuel tank contributed to any of the new carburetor issues, the intake tube screen caught most of the debris (rubber from somewhere) and the filter after that didn't have much of anything in it. After the screen and inline filter, the line runs through a primer bulb, to water separator, to fuel pump (filter) to carburetor (filter). The carb filter screen didn't have anything in it at all last time it was open.

To be honest, I've about had it with this continued issue - I'm almost ready to give up on this one...

Thanks for your replies guys, I appreciate it!

 

[alldodge]

Re: Continued fuel problems

Your issue still leans me to the carb. Do you have a steel stright edge you can use to measure flatness? It could be that the air horn in the middle is warped from over tightening down the air cleaner (if it use to be on a car) nut too much. If that has happened, it raises the casting enough at the rear of the float bowl to allow air flow through the carb to pull raw fuel from the float bowl into the carb venturis. This is a WAG but it has happened and if flying fish carb didn't check it, well maybe.

 

[dn010]

Re: Continued fuel problems

I never thought of that, I'll give it a shot tonight and see what the results are. I'm led to believe it's a marine carburetor since it looks like it has been painted over the original black paint but then again anything is possible. I do have another 2GC with 1 idle screw (can't remember the carb number, and I'm at work so I can't check right now) but it can't be used without a rebuild. I'm so tired of dumping money into a boat that isn't worth anything but if this continues I may give that one a kit and see if all these wonderful problems are still happening with that one.


Thanks again for the reply!

 

[Volphin]

Re: Continued fuel problems

When you adjusted the float, did you check them for leaks? Did you reset the floats to factory specs for resting height and drop? May also want to check the needle and seat. The seat should be tight with a small fiber gasket at the base.

 

[dn010]

Re: Continued fuel problems

When I did the float, I actually took the "new" float out of the reman carburetor and used another new one I had kept from my old carburetor, it doesn't leak (thank god they stopped using brass!). I also changed the needle and seat with new ones again from my old carburetor kit. These parts were all new and unused, and I know; that doesn't mean they aren't defective. I used the float ruler and the specs I had from when I did the old carburetor. Now I'm second guessing if those specs are right for this carburetor or not... This evening its back to the bench with the carb, I'll look up and make sure I have the proper specs & will post results. Thanks guys for all these suggestions, I'm feeling a little more enthusiastic about this LOL!

When you adjusted the float, did you check them for leaks? Did you reset the floats to factory specs for resting height and drop? May also want to check the needle and seat. The seat should be tight with a small fiber gasket at the base.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Continued fuel problems

Never heard of a flying fish eh? Hmm... The company is also known as marinecarburetor.com, while I am really not fond of the company (shaving off a serial number??), it is what it is [and was free for me] but at least they do offer a warranty. The carburetor in question is not MY 1978 carburetor rebuilt, it is another Rochester 2GC of an unknown year but it has to be updated because my 1978 carb didn't have a check ball or a passage under the accelerator pump - and this new reman one does.

The check balls were one of the first things I thought of as well and when I checked them, they were all where they should be, of the material they should be as well. I will however, take it off of the engine and pop it open, measure the float once again to be sure. I'll also open up my fuel pump to see if there's anything wrong inside it.

I doubt my clogged intake tube in my fuel tank contributed to any of the new carburetor issues, the intake tube screen caught most of the debris (rubber from somewhere) and the filter after that didn't have much of anything in it. After the screen and inline filter, the line runs through a primer bulb, to water separator, to fuel pump (filter) to carburetor (filter). The carb filter screen didn't have anything in it at all last time it was open.

To be honest, I've about had it with this continued issue - I'm almost ready to give up on this one...

Thanks for your replies guys, I appreciate it!

Ayuh,.... What you Should have is tank, anti-siphon valve, canister filter, fuel pump, carb,....

No in-line filters, 'n No primer bulbs,....

With all that junk in there, it's ripe for a vacuum leak,...

 

[dn010]

Re: Continued fuel problems

So I took the carburetor off the engine, opened it up and found that I have 2 steel check balls, one of them is not aluminum. The smaller one was under the venturi, larger under the accelerator pump. Does it matter that the one is not aluminum? I swapped them around and tomorrow I'll measure the float & give it a trial run. Thanks Bondo about the fuel line route. I've always needed a bulb because every time I go to fire up my boat the carburetor is empty. The bulb also let me know the intake tube was clogged because once my engine died, I saw the thing was deflated. I do have the anti-siphon valve is there, but I'll dump the primer bulb and inline filter, see if it helps. I'll post tomorrow after the trial run, hope it will be good news. Thanks again guys, I appreciate all this help!

 

[dn010]

Re: Continued fuel problems

One more question, is there supposed to be two air horn gaskets between the body and air horn???

 

[achris]

Re: Continued fuel problems

no, only the one gasket...

 

[dn010]

Re: Continued fuel problems

no, only the one gasket...

:facepalm:




This "rebuilt/remanufactured" carburetor just keeps getting better. At this rate, I won't even need a rebuild kit for my other 2gc, I can just take all the duplicate parts from this one!!