1984 Camaro V8, Rochester Quad (WM?)

I had Firestone do a tuneup and fuel filter change. On the way home it died on me. When I tried to restart it the engine would start but was VERY rough and would start to stall. I would press on the gas and the engine would start to squeak. I had it towed back there since it was running fine beforehand. They worked on it some more, said there were 2 fuel leaks. They fixed one, but the other leak was between the carburetor and the engine. Firestone said I needed to rebuild the carburetor. They tried to show me the leak but there wasn't one and the car was running fine. Took it home and tightened all the screws on the carburetor. When I started it again the engine was idling VERY high. High to the point that when driving it I did not really need to press on the gas to slowly accelerate up to 35MPH. Today it's running fine.

Questions:

Is the gas leak actually leaking inside the carburetor and that's why the engine was idling high?

Is that dangerous?

Should I rebuild the carburetor?

Should I replace the carburetor?

Should I do nothing until it acts up again?


ANY help with this is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Adam

 

It could very well be leaking from one of the well plugs on the bottom of the carburetor, but this would NOT cause it to idle high. It's idling high because either the throttle is open too much or there is a vacuum leak. When it next idles high check to see whether the throttle is resting on the curb idle set screw or if something's holding it open (usually choke related). Oh and have a look around to make sure no lines were left disconnected.

The fuel filter is inside the carb and the fuel line to the carb must be removed to access it. This wasn't one of the leaks they found was it? Might suggest they weren't as careful re-assembling as they should have been.

A tune up should include cap, rotor, plugs, wires and O2 sensor. All stuff easily done in the driveway with minimum tools.

 

The metal tube that goes into where the fuel filter is was cut by PO and fixed with a rubber tube, it was leaking from one of those ends when they replaced it.

I wouldn't doubt it if there was a leak, PO butchered the car and there are wires and tubes that are either cut, cut and stopped, and/or don't go to anything that's obvious. I'll post pictures later tonight/tomorrow morning.

I will check next time it's idling high to see if anything is stuck, but would a rebuild be a good suggestion or replace the bottom seal/gasket that's between the carburetor and engine?

Thank you for your help.

Adam

 

Replacing the gasket below the carb won't fix any issues. If the well plugs are leaking they're above this gasket and will need to be epoxied. Don't torque down on the four carb bolts holding it to the manifold too much either. Too much effort here can warp the body-it's only aluminum.

A rebuild is a good cleaning and replacing the soft parts inside. Wouldn't hurt, but I'd try to find the problem before compounding it with some other variable.

If the choke linkage on the pass side of the carb looks gunky, spray it down real good with some carb cleaner as a start. Then post a pic of the mess.