Mechanic's tip of the day: Rebuilding carburetors

[JGalt]

 

[Rambunctious]

I rebuilt my VW bus carburetor 4 MFing times... then my non mechanic friend came over looked at the engine for two seconds and asked why is this wire so long when it is plugged into here right next to where it starts...
So he unplugged it and plugged it into a terminal at the bottom of the engine....
Problem fixed....

 

[1srelluc]

I feel his pain.

I had a dodge PU that would start missing. I traced it to a cracked distributor cap.....Replaced the cap with an OEM one and GTG.

This happened three more times within two years. Every time after a snow.

I called a mechanic friend, and he just laughed and said go and get a FRAM distributor cap and you won't have the problem again.

Come to find out there was a design flaw which allowed water to go around the drain lip under the hood and drip down on the cap.

The MOPAR cap was thinner so the cold melted water dripping down on the hot cap would crack it!

Put the FRAM cap on, no more issues ever.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

I remember how we had to pump the carburetor and let it warm up for a few minutes.
Electronic ignition and fuel injection made cars much more reliable.
Cars start and idle much better nowadays.
Electronic ignition retards the timing during starting which makes it much easier to start.

 

[Concerned American]

I rebuilt my VW bus carburetor 4 MFing times... then my non mechanic friend came over looked at the engine for two seconds and asked why is this wire so long when it is plugged into here right next to where it starts...
So he unplugged it and plugged it into a terminal at the bottom of the engine....
Problem fixed....

I hate to say how many valve jobs I've done on VWs. They are famous for burning the valves on #3 cylinder. It gets the least cooling.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

Car suspension is also much better nowadays.
We used to have to constantly work the steering wheel left and right to keep it going straight.