I was adjusting the air-valve tension on my quadrajet and when i let off the adjusting "screw" (not really a screw) it shot out and the spring fell down on to the block. I dont think my set bolt/screw was tight enough.

The spring is nearly impossible to put back in, i gave up for the night and am frustrated.. Any tips from you all to get it back in? The spring looks to be fine.

You all got a real nice "community" here, so much information to read through, i could sit here and read for hours. I couldnt find anything about this subject searching, any help would be great..

 

The spring fits AROUND the adjustment screw, if that helps any. Difficult to describe but you have to shove the spring roughly back up into position. Leave the little spring arm with the hook on the end of it pointing about straight down- in fact, use this as a handle to help you position the spring. Now, line it up so you can see THROUGH the spring from the little hole on the side of the carb that the adjusting screw fits into. Got it lined up pretty good? OK, now shove the adjusting screw into place and make sure it goes through the middle of the tension spring when you do this. Now, while pushing in LIGHTLY on the adjusting screw, twist it back and forth a few times until it "grabs" the tension spring. Now that the 2 of them are locked together you can tighten it clockwise until the arm with the hook on it JUST HOOKS ONTO the little dowel sticking out the side of the air valve shaft (which it applies tension to through the little hook) with the air valve in the fully closed position. Turn it clockwise about 1/2-3/4 turn more from there for a good "starting" adjustment point and then lock it down with the locking screw WHILE HOLDING THE ADJSTMENT SCREW IN PLACE SO IT DOESN'T SLIP BACK BEFORE YOU LOCK IT DOWN.

 

many thanks, Damon. Do you think i'll need to remove the carb to do this.. Its a real tight spot. Have you had luck doing it while the carb is still connected?

thanks again man. I started this tuning because i had the typical "bog" with the q-jet you always here about and noticed that the air-valve was opening while in neutral.

 

Ok.. I got the tension spring and tenion screw assembled and working. Now the set screw will not move either way and i think its stripped. When i first starting adjusting it, it was very hard to turn either way (this is when i first started messing with it days ago) but it did losen.

Im at a loss here, i cant adjust it because it is in such a tight spot no pliers i've seen could get to it and im nearly positive its stripped. I've used many different allen wrenches and only one fits and it wont spin, it just slips.. would removing the air-horn be more trouble then its worth? its all i can think of to get access to this screw with pliers.. any help would be great here, i need my vehicle to be running right!

 

that sucks dude. maybe the set screw is a torx screw. I know the tech article said some cars got the torx screw. I tried to adjust mine over the weekend but I couldnt get it to turn so I think I have a torx one. Maybe you could just take the carb off if you think you stripped it. Its only 4 bolts then som plugs and wires.

 

I would un-bolt the carb and drain the gas out of the float bowl.

 

my torx-driver is way to long to fit in there to try it.. Though a friend has a small set and its worth a try. I'll try it out later tonight. hopefully it isnt raining on me again


i've considered removing the carburetor, though dont know much about them, so im weary. Will the fuel from the float bowl drain from where the fuel filter goes if i tilt it (with the fuel filter/line disconnected, of course)? if not whats the best way to drain it?


i have also thought of using a peice of a hack-saw blade to make a grove in the screw so i can get it off with a flat-head. not sure about this one though

thanks again for all your help, you all..

 

Insted of ripping the carb off i thought, "why not use my digital camera".. luckily it has a "close up" mode since theres only about 4 inches of room between the screw and the head..

Looks like a torx bit to me! (a well rounded one at that..lol)

 

You didn't round it out. Almost impossible to round out a torx-head screw. You just need the right size torx bit...... which I have no idea what size it is. I always remove them (with vice grips) and screw in an earlier allen-key-head screw from an earlier QJet.

Yes, the screw is interchangable between torx head and allen head. Might want to make a trip to the junkyard and swipe one off some poor unsuspecting earlier model QJet.

 

im not sure on the size either, but it was the smallest one in the set i was using. Its difficult to adjust because im using interchangable screw driver bits w/o the screw driver (the screwdriver wont fit in the tight spot), it was the only thing i could find I have to hold the bit in place with one hand and turn it with my pliers, while my third hand is holding the adjuster screw in place.. With the right tools this tuning would be a breeze.

I got it set though, still needs some finer tuning..