I have a 307 with the quadrajet and have a very stron fuel smell in my garage when I walk in and can't seem to find any fuel leak? I did take the air cleaner off and the one thing I did notice was that the first gasket or the top gasket not the one next to the air cleaner but just under the first intial part of the carb. I noticed that the part of the gasket that is exposed to the air seems to be wet with gas, could it be that the gasket is not sealing and the gas is seeping out of the float area?? If so is it possible to just purchase the one gasket or should a person dissassemble and put a whole kit in? The other thing is I am getting very poor fuel mileage so suspect fuel loss somewhere or bad carb adjustment. I am getting approx 11-12 mpg
Help!!

 

Sounds like your float level's set too high, or your float needle is leaking, or your float is heavy.
(of course, it could be plenty of other things, too...)

Time to rebuild the carb. Go out and buy a rebuild kit and a float, clear a nice clean space on the kitchen counter, wait for your wife to leave for a while, and have at it!

- Eric

 

X2- they're fairly straightforward to rebuild yourself.

 

Here is a link that might help. It talks about your particular fuel leakage issue and points out some other potential problem areas to check. Good luck!

http://www.mre-books.com/quadrajet/carbrebuild.html

 

If you do rebuild it yourself. be sure to address the plug areas of the carb with a good fuel proof epoxy to make sure they don't leak in the future and also, make sure while it is apart to check the throttle shaft for excessive play. They often need to be rebushed. These are great carburetors when built correctly will really work great and give great mileage.

 

Carb air horn could be leaking at the gasket because the air hiorn was over tightened and is warped. Some of the good rebuild kits like www.cliffshighperformance.com sells excellent rebuild kits with rubber parts impervious to crap in todays gas, and with a little thicker gaskets that can eliminate many warped air horn leaks. His kits include more parts than parts store kits and include a float.

I had a very strong gas smell from my 72 a while back. I too suspected the carb. Turned out it was a 3 inch piece of rubber hose under the door area on the passenger side frame connecting the tank to pump fuel line. The hose was like a sponge. It wasn't dripping, but it was allowing some fuel to run into the frame rail and then evaporate. Replaced the hose and problem solved.

 

Does your air cleaner housing have the carbon ring inside of it? That might have been a 442 only thing, but it is to absorb gasoline odors from the carb.

 

Thanks for all the tips, I think I will buy a kit and attempt a rebuild on it, I did notice the top bolts on the carb approx 8 smaller bolts were fairly loose and I snugged them up and dried the outside of the gasket to test to see if it was loose and maybe all it needed was tightening. The smell seems to be still there. I did check the fuel lines back to the tank and they appear to be the metal lines all the way back. I tried to look up at the top of the tank with a small camera and did not see any type of leak there or smell any fuel back there. The smell does seem to be originating from under the hood area??

Edzolz, my air cleaner housing doesn't have the carbon ring inside it but it does have some canister over on the driverside front of the vehicle which I think is a carbon fuel canister?/

 

Just pondering what to do with the carb, had a look at it and there is a a metal plate on it that says remanufactured which has me a little concerned about what quality of carb may be on there. I do know the car has had very little mileage put on it in the last 8-10 years and could be suffering from varnishing up, bad float, etc and possibly even warped carb? I looked on Ebay and there was a few places selling rebuilt carbs, has nayone purchased one in the past and had any luck with these or should a person stay away from them??

 

Just rebuild it, as you had said.

For the $30 for a kit and a float (okay, $40 if you get a fancy kit on line), you'll get a lot higher quality work, and a much more conscientious rebuilder, and afterward, you'll feel good about it.

Just remember, as someone much wiser than I am once told me, "Don't 'try' to rebuild it [as you said above], just rebuild it." There is no "try" - just do it or don't do it.

If worse comes to worst and you screw it up, you can always throw money at a new rebuilt carb then, and you'll have a much better idea of how your carb. works.

- Eric

 

Sounds like good advice Eric, just "DO IT!!" I was just a little afraid of tackling it cause I havn't does this procedure before.
Perry

 

Doesn't matter.

If you only did what you've already done before, you'd never do nothin'.



- Eric