QuadraJet 4 barrel way too rich!!!

[rdauphinais]

Well, so far with my k3500, I put gas in it and put a little down the carb throat and I got it to start. It is running very rich, there is constantly gray/black smoke coming from the exhaust, and I have no power. The person I bought it from told me that the carb was messed up and they were right What could it be? Stuck float, the float sank? Choke not adjusted properly? I know the previous owner did some work and I'm not sure if the choke was removed. Any help is appreciated. Also one more thing is that this morning, it was 18 degrees F and the truck started up with two revolutions. I'm not saying that is a bad thing but I'm pretty sure I should have had to pump the pedal a little.

[geezer#99]

A pic of your carb would decide if you've got a choke or not!

[86c20]

pics of carb? as it sits right now cold. when you start it does she hold high rpm then kick down? have you checked timing? vacc leaks? how does she run? smooth or choppy?

[rdauphinais]

Sorry, I meant I have a choke, I was saying that the previous owner maight have removed it and not put it back on right. It runs very choppy, There is no idle, if I let off the gas, it will die immediately and then I have to hold the throttle wide open because it floods out. I will get pics tomorrow, too late here. I will try and find a number. How soon should the choke plate open after running? 1,5,10 minutes?

[geezer#99]

Should open immediately about 1/4 inch.
Then fully open within 5 minutes, depending on how rich it's set up at.

[craig113]

Might have a clogged jet, sounds like a removal and good soaking are needed.

[rdauphinais]

Could the pipe that goes from the manifold to the choke be plugged? Causing it to not recognize hot air? I might just rebuild the whole carb, but there are no leaks, and I'm hoping it's something simple.

[geezer#99]

If you're talking the hot air choke line, it's easy to check. Pull it off the choke, pull the end off the carb and blow through it. That is if you have a hot air choke.
Don't jump to conclusions!!
Did you know that 90% of perceived carb problems are actually timing problems.
Once again, pics will help!

[86c20]

do this. wire the choke open and start it. see what she does. also mark the dizzy losen the hold down and turn it see if it gets better. if not put it back to the mark. thats the half ass way to do it. best is with a light.

[Bigstevex4]

what he said prop choke open

[K5owner]

Why not have it rebuilt and then at least you know you are getting a decent baseline if a quality shop is rebuilding it.

[rdauphinais]

Thanks everyone for your response, I'm going out to work on it today and I will get pics for you. The reason I don't send it out is because then I don't learn anything that way. I want to open t up if I need to and put a kit in it and say that I fixed it. Im not trying to offend anyone, JMO so I'll make a mark on the choke housing the way it sits and try turning it and see if it gets better. If not I'll try turning the distributor, is there marks on there?

[K5owner]

No offense taken but a word of caution. You have just enough knowledge to make yourself dangerous. I would go out an buy several of the good books on the quadrajet that are out there as well as a good Haynes or Chilton repair manual. Read those first then make timing and carb adjustments. You obviously don't understand either well enough to fix your problem but certainly enough to make it worse.

[rdauphinais]

Originally Posted by K5owner

You obviously don't understand either well enough to fix your problem but certainly enough to make it worse.

Why would you even bother posting anything if your not here to help. I'm sorry if YOU don't understand my problem but I do.

[K5owner]

I understand your problem but you are going to be chasing your tail if you don't bring the truck back to an established baseline. You need to determine what was stock and what is not then set the timing to that. A manual can help you. Turning idle mix screws and the distributor without a reference point is going to get you in deeper. Again no offense but you really need to focus on learning before you go wrenching. Now I would set timing back to stock, determine what is missing or there on your engine either with the engine decal or a manual and then report back with some pictures. We can help you if you don't try to do everything yourself. For example the quadrajet is generally more complicated then other carbs and not something a first time rebuilder wants to tackle without the right books or manuals to help. This is why I suggested sending it off to be rebuilt.

[rdauphinais]

I never touched the timing, and I never adjusted the carb the only thing I did was hold the choke open while someone else tried to start it. I have a Rochester Carburetor manual and a couple of Haynes manuals. I know what I'm doing and I don't need anyone telling me otherwise

[K5owner]

Originally Posted by rdauphinais

I never touched the timing, and I never adjusted the carb the only thing I did was hold the choke open while someone else tried to start it. I have a Rochester Carburetor manual and a couple of Haynes manuals. I know what I'm doing and I don't need anyone telling me otherwise

Really because in post #12 you stated you were going to mark the choke then turn it and see if it got better. Not exactly the correct way to adjust the choke. Then you went on to say if that didn't do it then you were going to start turning the distributor and asked if there were marks on there. Anyone who knows anything about these old trucks or has cracked open a manual will know there are no marks on a distributor. All the timing marks are down on the harmonic balancer and the timing tab attached to the timing chain cover on stock applications. This is why I questioned your knowledge. This is basic stuff. I wasn't trying to be rude, crass or condescending to you. But when you ask simple questions and use terminology that is common to these trucks but use it in correctly we all are left scratching our heads.

Now since the P.O monkeyed with the carb and it sounds like he didn't even know what was wrong with it I suggested you take it have have it rebuilt as this would make it more probable that it would run half way decent and stop exhibiting the symptoms you are describing. Since you want to give rebuilding a shot then go ahead. I just said make sure you really read up on how to do it as this carbs a can be tricky even with those with lots of experience with them. Please don't take offense but reading the other posts I am not the only one who questioned what you knew or what you were asking. Sorry if that offended you.

[ron350]

Ok, but then why is gas dripping out of the primary boost ventures?

A Q-jet can make you scratch your head and kick a tire.

I have known mechanical engineers that could not fully understand how to adjust a distributor much less how a Q-Jet works.

Why turn down free advice on this forum when free advice can be so hard to find?

[rdauphinais]

Originally Posted by ron350

Ok, but then why is gas dripping out of the primary boost ventures?

Wait what? I never said that.

It's not that I don't like advise, but that wasn't advice, that was criticism. His message was clear.

[86c20]

sir i get that you want to do it your self and i am the same way. and i have got into way over my head really fast. the point in reading the books as i have been told to do that myself is that you get close to a base knolage so poeple when you talk to them dont think you know something you dont. and like was said a qjet is a pia. i have read manny a thing on them....still lost lol. if you are going to start turning things. mark where they are or count the turns you make. wright it down that way you can return to where you where if nothing else. first i still say open the choke up. wire it open hold it what ever and see how she runs. if that cleans up alot then you know its more carb work if not then you can move on to the next thing. but i would also check timeing with a light and see what you get

[rdauphinais]

86C20, I understand that, that is what I plan to do if I move stuff. Thanks for the advise. And yes the books do explain a lot

[86c20]

k5 has a good point. if you know of another good carb that you can try that will help point you in the right way. have done that before

[geezer#99]

Did you guys see what I wrote in post #8.
'Don't jump to conclusions"!!
It hasn't even been determined if it's carb that's the problem.
Back off and let the man speak!!

[K5owner]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Did you guys see what I wrote in post #8.
'Don't jump to conclusions"!!
It hasn't even been determined if it's carb that's the problem.
Back off and let the man speak!!

Which is exactly why I suggested get a manual. He mentioned carb work from a previous owner and choke issue and flooding. That is when i mentioned getting the carb rebuilt. he wants to do it himself so i suggested at least a good quadrajet book so from there he can trouble shoot. But just wildly playing with the choke, carb or timing isn't going to help and probably make it worse especially when it seemed like he was confused on how some of these systems work. (indicated he planned on adjusting the choke then going straight to the dizzy and asking where are the marks on the dizzy?) it was probably just miscommunication but when he claimed he knew what he was doing then I seen that I offended him so I apologized, twice. I didn't intend to. I was just trying to have him avoid making the issues he was having worse by jumping around before he identified the problem.

[rdauphinais]

I appoligize for making a big fuss out of this,

K5Owner, I now understand what you are saying. I did misunderstand you and to me it sounded like you were degrading me. I know this is not the case.

As the truck stands right now, no adjustments have been made on anything. I know i said i was going to, and im sorry for misleading everyone, when i got out to the truck, i decided not to adjust anything until i looked into it more. When i had it started, it wasn't misfiring of backfiring, it was just dogging and could barely take off in 1st gear. I was assuming it was a carb problem because of the black/dark smoke constantly. I'll admit that i don't fully understand every little detail about these trucks and the correct terminology for them, and i am new, please be patient.

1 new question: Where is the best place to buy a carb kit for the carb? I will look for a number tonight after work.