Carburetor replacement

[sandmann999]

I rebuilt my carburetor last year. It seemed to work fine for a while, gave me a lot more power (I was even able to go 70mph on the flats if the wind was right), but suddenly, I've lost it all again. My engine is again gutless, my gas milage has dropped from 23 mpg on the highway to about 16 - 18, and dropped from 15mpg in town to about 9. Granted it is cold here right now and it doesn't have a lot of time to warm up on town driving, but even when it does, it just seems like it's struggling. The engine runs smooth, but lately I've also started to get a small buck in the idle. Not bad, but noticable.

Secondly, which carburetor is better for the 1bbl straight six? I have the original carter in there right now, but I can get a rebuilt one at Schucks (Kraggen or whatever), for $195, but it's a Holley. I don't know anything about those.

Are there better place to get rebuilds? Is it the carburetor? Or could it be something else? The only other tell tale I can think of is that the engine LITERALLY sounds like it just can't push the power out, like something is in the way. I might have the cat checked, but I dont' know if they can have that much effect on an engine.

Any ideas?

 

[Bully Bob]

"engine LITERALLY sounds like it just can't push the power out, like something is in the way. I might have the cat checked, but I dont' know if they can have that much effect on an engine"

I think you solved your own problem here..."Can't pump air into a milk bottle"

Check that exhaust system...

I have a 1brl. Holley....15yrs. runn'n works like a swiss watch..!

 

[sandmann999]

"engine LITERALLY sounds like it just can't push the power out, like something is in the way. I might have the cat checked, but I dont' know if they can have that much effect on an engine"
I think you solved your own problem here..."Can't pump air into a milk bottle"

Check that exhaust system...

I have a 1brl. Holley....15yrs. runn'n works like a swiss watch..!

33073[/snapback]

​

Had the exhaust system checked out. They said that normal back pressure fora cat is 2 - 3lbs and mine is at 4lbs. A FULLY plugged cat is at around 7 or 8. They said it might have a "little" influence, but not that much yet.

The guy said the same thing happened to his '79 6cyl Bronco and that it was the timing chain slipping. He also suggested looking at the coil. I'll check out the timing again (did it last week, didn't seem to make any difference), but I don't know anything about checking a coil or how it could be a factor.

Any ideas anyone? The 6 cyls don't have that much power to begin with so loss of power really sucks. What other things should I check? Could it be the carb?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Justshootme84]

Well, for one thing, the 300 I-6 has a timing gear set instead of a chain. It's not likely to slip, but could possibly have a broken gear tooth or two. A more likely problem would be a vacuum leak, fouled spark plugs or a bad distributor. Then again, may be as simple as changing the fuel filter. AS far as the carb, check to see of the choke is working properly or opening up.

You can often ID an engine problem by the exhaust. IF it smokes or smells like strong sulphur, that can indicate a problem. You can take a white piece of paper (the old trick is to use a dollar bill, but any black soot shows up better on paper) and place it over the exhaust pipe while the engine is running. If the paper jumps or sucks back into the pipe, you have a miss or vacuum leak. Hope that helps.