Flooding Rochester 4ME

[HorizonblueDK]

The other day, my friend was having trouble starting his 4.3 engine. It ran a few seconds, died and there was a smell of gas. A day later, I tried starting it, and the same thing happened. Looking at the engine and yes, there was gasoline in many of the cavities on the intake manifold, so obviously, there was a leak. I had never thought that gas could pour out like that, since it is an overhauled carb I got from I-5 carburetors a few years ago and installed for my friend. I shouldn't have tried the second start..........Anyway, fuel lines were ok, so I took the carb off and brought it home with me.

I hooked it to a "facet posi flow" electric pump and started pumping. Gas was coming out many places, e.g. out of the acc pump. I assumed that the float was bend, so that the needle couldn't close properly. I took the top off the carb, to inspect, but everything looked fine, so I tried gently with compressed air, to recreate the problem. Once again, it was leaking I could hear, but suddenly the needle closed correctly, and no leak. After that I couldn't recreate the leak. I took the needle out, and here is how it looked. The tip is gone. Has anyone seen this before?

I'm having a hard time believing that the missing tip can cause the needle to not seat properly, but I have a new overhaul kit, so I will install the needle and seat from that kit.

Is flooding a common problem on Rochesters Q-jets?

 

[alldodge]

Don't think the tip is missing, my thought is it was made that way, and it should shut the fuel off, so long as the seat has a larger hole then the needle. Recheck your float setting, it is adjusted by bending the tang

 

[PatinIdaho]

My thinking is it could have been a lil piece of junk caught in there not allowing the needle to seat. Needle looks fine though.
No QJets are not prone to over flow any more then any other carb out there IF the needle/seat are clean and in working condition and the float is adjusted properly as with any carb.

 

[HorizonblueDK]

The new needle from the overhaul kit actually has the tip, the old one is missing. I will install it and check the float level.

 

[HorizonblueDK]

I installed the new needle and seat, checked the float level and cleaned the carb, blew all holes/bores with compressed air and now the engine runs fine again. The filter in front of the carb was pretty dirty/rusty inside, so I cleaned that also.

 

[PatinIdaho]

The old needle was not missing the tip. Some are made that way