Hey guys, i searched and couldnt find anything. I'm running a 350 under an edelbrock 1405 (650 mech secondary). The problem is that the car stalls when making left turns if i dont have it in gear. After it stalls, if i dont have enough speed to restart, it is very hard to start again. when it does start, i get the smell of fuel and lots of smoke. I'm not real experienced with the insides of a carb, but i can tune it okay (change metering rods, jets, idle air bleed...that kinda thing). Could anyone give me an idea as to what they think is going on, and maybe how i could fix it?

thanks
-andrew

 

first thing I would say to check is the float levels.

 

The float is side-hung. When you go around a corner, the gas all runs into a corner where the float isn't, dropping the fuel level where the float actually IS, and causing it to drop and admit fuel, which drastically overfills the fuel bowl. Then the extra gasoline spills out the top of the carb, through the vents and everywhere else, and drowns the motor.

In most carbs there's a little plastic block that occupies some of the extra volume in the top of the carb where the gasoline can go hide, so that doesn't happen. I can't recall whether those carbs have one or not, but I think they do. Sounds like it got left out.

Carbs with front- or rear-hung floats will do the same thing on hard braking or acceleration.

 

That sounds exactly like what's happening. makes sense. this is something that just started happenenig recently, and the carb has been on there for the better part of two years, so maybe it broke or cracked or something. so if this only happens on left turns, that means its the one on the right side? Is this plastic block something i can pick up with a rebuilt kit, or am i springing for a new carb?

 

if you can't come up with one on a rebuild kit next best thing. junk yard.

why buy a new carb if yours works fine and they are everywhere

 

if it has an electric fuel pump, it may be that

 

Do you mean - the float hangs from the side of the carb (as in driver side or pass side when installed in car)? If this is what you mean, this is not true on the 1405 - the floats are hung from the rear of the carb (towards the firewall when installed in car) - I just had mine apart trying to adjust the floats for this same reason.

Mine, like everyone elses, ran fine for months, then, bam - dies when circling (like in a cul-de-sac. Adjusting floats doesn't help - been there done that, numerous times. And on mine, every aspect of the fuel system is new, from pump to carb - can't see where it's a carb issue.

Anyone with a clue please shed some light!

 

well if it dies then won't start and when it does start smells of fuel what else could it be? most other things would cause lean issue instead. you know fuel going to wrong side of tank would cause it to be lean. not smell of gas.
fuel pump? same thing generally lack of gas. ignition issues? sure except I really don't think that is going to cause it unless the ignition shuts off all together which I doubt.

sounds carb related to me. either float related either sticking, sinking, or not adjusted right. fuel slosh in the carb, gaskets. I haven't seen an old edlebrock in a while though so I'm not sure how everything looks again. but I can take a peak sometime in the future at a friends if he still has it to get an idea

 

i have mpfi, and my car does this too. making turns it likes to quit on me. also when coming off the highway and shifting down and all it will cut off to.. fuel pump maybe?

 

is yours followed by smell of gasoline and lots of smoke when it starts back up?

if not I would look into the pump,filter, or fuel pickup area.

 

No smell of gas usually..i just replaced the filter. and am not looking forward to get someone to drop the tank, i seen how much work it is to do ::sigh:: i'm really thinking fuel pump though.

 

It wouldn't be the fuel pump - they either work or they don't - there's nothing intermittent about them. The ONLY exception would be if by chance you had a power lead to the fuel pump that was shorting on something when you made the turn.

However I have the same problem as you, and I have no shorts, brand new fuel pump, brand new filter, brand new oil pressure sending unit, brand new fuel pressure regulator - everything in my fuel system is brand new, and I still have the same problem.

I'm at a loss, and I've given up on it for now - since it only happens on a sharp turn when foot is off the gas, I now know this, and I'll just powerbrake on these rare occasions - at least until someone comes up with a viable solution to try.

 

Incorrect. My girlfriend's 93 Ford Probe does this on left hand turns, when she has less than 1/2 tank of gas. It's then hard to start the car for a minute (while the air purges out).

I haven't seen the inside of our fuel tanks before, and the Probe is probably different. But I think his problem lies in the gas tank.

 

Well, just because a Ford does something, doesn't mean a Chevy will - let's keep apples with apples.

If he's having the same problem I am (which he appears to have), then it has nothing to do with the tank - I didn't have this same problem a month ago, and now I do.

AND, it happens on a completely full tank, with gas in the filler neck, as I'm leaving the gas station.

 

i've heard of fuel pumps being clogged? after u replaced pump did it still do it right after? maybe u got sludge in ur tank and it messed it up? Ionno, i'm out of ideas... i mean my engine was just bought rebuilt professionally, so i've cancelled out that being the reason.

Oh yea an engine from carquest, is it short block or long block? real question, the water pump, came wit it or didn't.

 

so let me get this right if a ford does it that means a chevy can't?


and if he has the same problem as you that means it can't be tank related?

 

LOL - no - I'm just stating what I know about my car.

A full tank of gas rules out the sloshing in the tank theory (for me).

I don't think it's sludge in the tank, cause I installed a new sock on the new pump, and I have scarring all over my right arm now from wiping inside the tank - I stuffed my arm in there and did a contortionist's act wiping every little thing I could out of there - I hosed brake cleaner all inside to rinse the goop and grime towards one end where I could wipe it out.

Like I said, I know when it's going to happen - when I go into the cul-de-sac - and now I know to just power-brake a bit in that situation.

But I'm always open to any ideas that come along that I hadn't thought of, and haven't yet tried.