have a q-jet would like to trade it out for maybe a holley, honestly i dont know what i need, i am a chef...
the q-jet ticks me off because it seems to always need adjustment
i would like something that performs well and doesnt need fiddling with

suggestions?

 

I think I'm safe in saying the consensus would be that you'd be moving in exactly the wrong direction if you did that.

 

thanks dude,
so why am i always rich?

 

Is the SES light coming on?

When was the last time the plugs, wires, cap, rotor were changed?

What adjustments have you been doing?

 

first, how do you know you're rich? black (not blue!) smoke at the tailpipe? gas smell at the tail pipe? reading plugs? (you say you're a chef, not a mechanic, so I thought we should make *sure* you're rich, otherwise you could tune it such that you have new problems...)

stock cc q-jet?
Running rich could have a ton of sources, and if you're constantly tuning it, you're probably missing the root cause. A q-jet has a LOT of thought put into it by rochester engineers, such that it should run with minimal if any tuning for 10+ years.

 

yea, blows black smoke and will just about inhalate you if you start it in the garage...

i haven't adjusted anything

plugs, wires, about 1k miles ago

my brother turned the wrench he is a crew chief ata garage, but... i moved out of town

i dont think the rotor button or cap,has been changed, has mallory on it....

i may just need to adjust it, dont know?

i had a mechanic at a local garage fiddle with it, he said i would have trouble with it when it was cold now because he basically turned the choke off to lean it out... i dont think he knew what he was doing

it is rich as ever

 

bah! This is the second time i've heard "a mechanic fixed my carb, told me he had to bypass the choke to fix it, so it won't work well in the cold", that's a telltale sign the mechanic is a goof!
Trading you one problem for another isn't worth $60/hr in my book.

first off, check if you have a noncc or a cc carb. (if the carb has 3 electrical plugs on it, it's a cc-qjet, if only the one on the choke, then it's non-cc.) Check that first. Then make sure the distributor matches it, ie, cc-carb, stock dist, non-cc carb, vacuum advance distributor.

click here

read the first 3 files there, the .doc files. They are q-jet tuning articles. This is specific to non-cc carbs, but most info overlaps, but do check which you have. If you have a cc-carb, i'll butt out, if you have non-cc then these articles can help ya out.

 

the docs are a little past my abilities, i will check the carb for electrical plugs to see what it is...
i am pretty sure that will all be o.k. the guy who did the original build knew what he was doing.
honestly i just think the air/fuel mix is f'd up
but again, i dunno
i will see if i can find a decent mechanic in my new town that takes side jobs

 

Seeing it's a 350, the car has already been modified. If it has a Check Engine light, it should be a CC carb. Adjusting just the Mixture Control solonoid by it's self may not fix the problem. Take the lid off the air cleaner. At the front of the venturi you should see a round silver thing (M/C solonoid Air Bleed Valve) with a slot going across it. Take a stubby flat tip screw driver and take it out, first count the number of threads you see so you can put it back in the same place. Very easy to do, even a CHEF could do it (Ha). It should have two O-rings on it. If they are flat, they're bad and no adjustment will fix it. They will need to be replaced. A local carb rebuilding shop should have them in stock. If you take it to a "mechanic", a "technician" would be preferable, ask them how familiar they are with a CC quadrajet. The carb can only be adjusted correctly ON THE CAR. Other than that advice, good luck.

 

take your car back to the "hack" and tell him to undo whatever he done to the choke.

Is your service engine soon light coming on? (very important)

how long since the carb has been rebuilt? or how many miles?


If all of your sensors are in order its nearly impossible to make a cc qjet run that rich at cruise. You really have very little control over the mixture once the computer takes over.

I suspect the 02 sensor, if its as old as your car it needs changed anyway.

check your service engine light codes! if you dont want to mess with pulling the codes your self autozone will do it for you for free. i know they will around here anyhow. SES lights arent always the answer though, i've driven around with my TPS sensor physically broken for a few weeks and never set the light off.

 

the hack is no longer working at the garage

i dont believe i have a service engine soon light, there is an icon of a engine that lights up sometimes

it blows black smoke only when i stomp it

 

in order to find the problem you really have to answer all the questions everyone is asking.

change the 02 sensor if its as old as the car, or even a 1/3rd as old. it sounds exactly like it fits the bill. the worse thing that could happen is you'll gain gas milage and power. i really suspect this is the problem.

it isnt the choke, no question about that.

It is a common misconception that the ccc qjet takes periodic tweaking, i once thought this my self. You can tune-out fuel problems that arise, but you're really just chasing a sensor problem. The computer really has control over the fuel mixture, you really only set the broad limitations of the fuel mixture with the carb adjusting screws.

Is it only when its floored (WOT), or just when you really give it some gas?

I think you could tune this problem out using secondary rods and hangers, but you're just patching the real problem doing it this way IMO.

Take it to autozone or a place like that and have them hook up a code scanner to it (they'll do it for free normally). You can rig one up your self with just a paper clip if you want to though.