carb rebuild info

[4x4orbust]

hey guys,

i am starting to do some work on the engine in my  82. (350 bored .030, not sure what else was done by the P.O. when he rebuilt it)  i am going to be replacing the valve covers, (they leak and are rusted chrome) and am thinking of removing the carb and rebuilding it.   it currently has a q-jet on it, which i would like to keep.

how can i determine if my carb even needs to be rebuilt?  i know that on initial startup (when cold) it runs as if it is only firin on 5 cylinders, then the rest of the cylinders kick in as it warms up.  it runs decent through the rpm range after it warms up, (no hesitation, good power up to about 3000-3500 rpm, then levels out)  but seems to be lacking in power.

i have never rebuilt a carb before (never even tinkered with them to change fuel mixtures or anything), and i was wondering if anyone had a link to a how to, or even suggest a good book to buy that would take me through it step by step.  i am thinking that my usual method of tearing things apart and putting them back together without any reference may not be a good idea. 

 also, can anyone suggest a good place to purchase the rebuild kit? 

thanks for the help!!

[VileZambonie]

Any autoparts store can get you a rebuild kit. You can just google how to rebuild quadrajet and you'll find plenty of articles. If you have any specific questions there are plenty of us on here that can help you.

[4x4orbust]

thanks vile,   i'll be stopping by advanced to order the kit, hopefully tomorrow or friday.   I just wasnt sure if there was somewhere that sold a kit that was "better" than the local parts store's. 

I had googled on the rebuild, but could not find a step by step description.  tearing it apart should be easy, it's putting it back together, and making sure all the parts are in the right spot, that i'm worried about.

[choptop]

I priced a kit for mine today at $21.00 and it was $20.00 for a gallon of carb cleaner with the basket. Not to bad. I may try to document my rebuild, if you dont. Seems like this gets asked alot.

[78 Chevyrado]

Take evrything apart slowly so springs do't go flying and if you're not sure or may get confused, take pictures and use different colored sharpies to mark stuff in a way you can easily remember.  sometimes I like to mark a part a certain color and mark the pictur of it on the sheet the same color.  just don't hurry and follow the instructions to the letter and it'll all work out, good luck!

[kiowamec]

http://www.carburetor.ca/carbs/tech/Rochester/Quadrajet-index.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=DwUMAaiyMoYC&dq=Rochester+Carburetors+roe&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=bWS8Sf3hMJi3twfV9uH3Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result

[kiowamec]

http://www.florida4x4.com/tech/quadrajet/index.php

[team39763]

Definately get a book.  It makes things much easier.

[4x4orbust]

man, those links are  helpful!!   a lot of the information i was looking for!   thanks a ton for those


i was planning on taking a lot of pictures and writing a report on my rebuild.   hopefully good enough for a tech article.....

i was also planning on getting a book on the q-jet.   can't remember the name of it right now, but i know my local barnes and noble stok it for 22.95.     thanks for the help, it been great so far!   

priced out the rebuid kit at advanced, it's about 25$   not bad, and hopefully by rebuilding it i can learn more about how to tune a carb...   gonna be gone on a work trip for a week, so hopefully getting to the carb next week..

[Stewart G Griffin]

It's not that hard;  i didn't know jack about quadrajets and yet i was able to rebuild mine with no problems 2 months ago.

http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=10062.45


2) the three books that you may want to get are:

a) Doug Roe's  (as also mentioned by kiowamec)

b) Cliff Ruggle's

c) Haynes manual, which you could probably find in most autoparts stores.

As i've mentioned before, i feel that all three books do contain great info, but there is conflicting info in all three, and these books are not nessesarily the best for people like me who know little-to- jack about carbs.  This will all be addressed in another thread after my problem is done and taken care of.

d) there are also many great websites concerning the quadrajet under the florida 4x4's links which kiowamec also listed.  i found these to be real helpful.

Other things:

1) you need a very wide blade (but not too wide as you'll see) screwdriver to get the needle+seat out.  But here, you have to be very careful about it as you'll see.

2) As far as the rebuild kit, you have to make sure you've got your carb# right when ordering.  This, i feel, is crucial.

More later?

[The dream]

hey 4X4orbust,

How is the project going? this is your first carb rebuild right?
I'm thinking on doing the same thing...
Gimme some pointers since its going to be my first carb also. 

[choptop]

Just a word of caution, if you have to remove the butterflys, it is recommended that you take a small die grinder and grind the backside of the screws flush, then remove them.They are mashed on the backside, and if you dont do this, you will break them off. I have experienced this in the past. I have reinstalled the screws using locktite, but if you can find replacement ones, that would be best. Also check the butterfly shafts for wear. If worn too much, you will get an airleak there. I have used bushing kits for the shafts, but havent bought any in a while. Some carb kits have them. If you dont have to remove the butterflys to put the bushings in, they are best left alone.
  Also, when removing the idle/ mixture screws, I turn them in till they touch and count the number of turns I take to seat them, then right this number down. I usually preset them two and a half turns out if I dont have this measurement. Check the base plate for cracks at the rear where the booster plugs in, I have seen several cracked here.