1970 Ford Galaxie carburetor problems

Are you sure the fuel pump is working properly? Was this vehicle sitting in storage or anything like that?

seems to be, i tried to light the dipstick and it didn't catch, and i put my finger on the end of the filter while i had somebody crank the car, and there was enough pressure to where i couldn't hold my finger on, not to mention when i disconnected the hose for the filter it was blowing out gas just from pressure

it is extremely fuel rich, got a new carb and installed it, and now the car will hardly start, with the choke open and the throttle all the way open it will barley start at maybe 600 rpm, and stutters profoundly, i really need help on this one, i checked the compression and i'm getting no less than 110 on all cylinders, the pump seems to be fine, and the points are set right, all cylinders are firing properly, i checked all the plugs and wires, the only thing i can really think it might be is a vacuum leak, the old carb had 1 vacuum line attachment and they new one has 2, i have tried closing both of them, having one closed and the other open and both open, i have tried numerous things with the vacuum lines and still nothing, i really need some good help, thank you

Have you adjusted the air fuel mixture? Are you sure the float is set properly? Is the fuel in the vehicle fresh?

brand new fuel, brand new carburetor, everything is factory set, unless it could be something the factory did wrong i don't think i should have to adjust anything on the carburetor, is that what you're recommending?

I would recommend adjusting the air fuel mixture

alright, my memory is a little shot, that's the 2 screws on the bottom of the carb correct? should be painted yellow if i'm not mistake, and what if that doesn't work?

There are two screws. One is the air the other is the fuel mixture. Turn both in the entire way and screw them out 1.5 turns. Fine tune from that point.

i did, it preformed best at about 2 turns each, still not that much of an improvement, but it started earlier when it was cold and ran kind of ruff, but it was able to idle, probably at about 800 or so, which is amazing because it wouldn't idle on it's own yesterday

alright i have determined through a few tests, it's a vacuum leak, whenever i pull the throttle back, the vacuum is depleted profoundly, it almost completely looses vacuum when throttle pulled back, i'm thinking vacuum advance, any idea?

That is an easy one to check. Just run a hose to the advance and suck air through it to see if there is a resistance. Also, you can use carb cleaner around the vac hoses. Be careful not to catch it on fire. lol

As far as the adjustment, is it its best at 2 turns on both? Have you checked engine vacuum? It should be around 17lbs.

haven't been able to check the vacuum, lost mine and nobody loans them out, probably gonna buy a new one tomorrow and check for leaks, and somebody told me about the tube to the advanced, but it's late and don't wanna wake the neighbors with the loud car, and i might as well check the timing while i'm at it, just in case it jumped on me, i thank you for your help and i'll post the verdict in the morning, Thanks!!

Glad to help. Let me know what you find.

well here rises a new problem i replaced the distributor because it was cheaper than replacing the advance, i set it to top dead center compression and for some strange reason the distributor would not go in where it should have, the only place it would go in was on the #8 cylinder, instead of the #1, the distributor will only go in one way and it won't fire in that position, i have tried to adjust the distributor back and forth to compensate but have had no luck, any ideas?

Try pointing the rotor toward #1. If it doesn't drop into place, try moving the crank pulley slightly back and forth while a helper sees if it will drop in.

i got the engine to start but it was running WAY to rough, i had to hold down the throttle to keep it running and even then if i let off, even a little it died, i had a gut feeling that it was something with the compression, it was getting gas and spark, but i didn't know about compression, i checked the compression on cylinders 1-4 it read 120, 110, 110, and 115, but on 5-8 it read 50, 30, 5, and 0 i added oil and tested again 1-4 stayed the same, and 5-8 all dropped down to 0 compression, i think it is the valves because if it were the rings the oil would have increased the compression, correct?

If you have 0 compression, it has to be a valve stuck open. However, is it like that in all cylinders? Did you replace the timing chain by chance?

it is only like that on the drivers side of the engine, the other side is completely fine, and no i have not touched the timing chain, that's not something i like to touch unless need be

If there is no compression on that side, you are going to either have to remove the valve cover to see if there are sticking valves or remove the head. Like I mentioned, if there is 0 PSI compression, you have to have a valve stuck open. Worn rings would still give you some compression. Also, if you had a bad head gasket, you would still have some compression.

well i did have compression until i did a wet test, and i took the timing chain cover off and found the cam skipped a few teeth, not to mention the chain was warn to the point to where i could lift it off the gears, i am going to put it back at top dead, if that doesn't work then i am going to take off the valve cover and look around, and if all else fails i guess the head is next

That's why you didn't have any compression. The valves were open on a compression stroke. You are going to replace the timing chain, correct? If it is that loose, it is bad.

yeah but i have had no luck finding one, hopefully napa will have the correct one here later today, i'll post back with the results

Let me know what you find. Also, what size engine was it again? I will look on my end if you can't find one.

i went to Napa and was able to get the timing chain, and a good distributor, put everything at top dead and got the chain on properly, then i put it at 4 over tc and got the distributor in facing the number one plug, it started but ran really rough, after a few minutes of running i noticed a large amount of fumes coming from the 5-8 side valve cover, which smelled of straight gas, i removed the valve cover and noticed it didn't have a seal, the previous owner used house caulk to seal it, the head has been taken off recently because it has no build up of sludge what so ever, all i can think to do now is check the push rods, lifter, and if all else fails, the valves, any idea? and it's a 351 windsor 2 barrel carb single vacuum

When you set the timing, is it at 4DBTDC or ATDC? If you smell gas, something isn't firing again. Is compression all good now that you replaced the timing chain? Are you getting spark to all cylinders?

i set it to top dead, when i put the timing chain on, then after it was all reassembled i set it to 4 ATDC for the distributor, and i'm still not getting compression, i'm almost positive that the rings are still fine, and i'm getting spark to all, i took the valve cover off and noticed it had no seal, just a white sealant type material, I also noticed that all of the rocker arms were in the same position, none were lower or higher than one another, i haven't cranked it with the cover off yet, but it seems that will be my next step, any thoughts?

If you still have 0 psi compression, then the valves must be stuck open. They shouldn't all be in the same position. If the rings were bad, you would still get some compression.

well i cranked it with the valve cover off, and all of the rockers seemed to work fine, however they would always return to where they were all lined up with one another, seems to me like all of the lifter and pushrods are in fairly decent shape, but now i'm starting to think that the valves are burnt, and i know it's not a head gasket due to the fact that the oil in the head is black and not milky white

Are you getting 0psi when you check compression? If you are, then either the valves are open (stuck or timing issue) or there are no pistons in those cylinders. lol Even with a burnt valve, you will see some compression. Also, there should never be a point when all the valves are at the same position. If they are, either you have totally collapsed lifters or the lobes on the cam are shot and not opening the valves.

I'm sorry this is taking so long. If I was there with you, it would be much easier.

Joe


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understandable, it is very difficult to solve problems with somebodies help without them being here, i have yet to check the compression but plan on doing so tomorrow, i cranked the engine with both covers off and all of the valves seemed to open and close properly, i retorqued the rocker arms down to 20 and made sure all of the pushrods were able to move, but it didn't make a difference, right now i am going to tear down the engine back down to the timing chain and double check my work and have more than one person approve that it is 100% set, then i'll reset the distributor and check compression, and check all of the wires and plugs again, and make sure the ignition coil is providing the proper amount of spark, then check compression if it doesn't start like it should, right now that's all i can think to do

If timing is correct, you have good compression, the cam is good, and you have good spark and fuel to the engine, it has no choice but to run. Let me know step by step what you have done and how everything looks.

I wish I was there! I love these old cars and want to know you got this one going.

AFTER THOUGHT: If you use starting fluid, does the engine even try to start, or backfire, or anything? If you get NOTHING, make sure you are getting spark. You should get some type of fire with starting fluid.

well i did the standard procedure for removing the timing chain cover, i set the engine to top dead, compression, removed the radiator along with hoses, removed the belts, removed the fan, removed the alternator and power steering pump, took off the water pump, then the harmonic balancer, removed the fuel pump, and finally removed the timing chain cover, i inspected the gears and chain (the chain did not have any types of marking or paint) with the engine at top dead center before anything was removed, and nothing moving while i removed everything, the gears were both lined up perfectly, i had 3 people inspect to make sure it was correct, me, and 2 friends, we all agreed it was perfectly aligned, however the distributor was a little bit off, i put everything back together and set the timing to 4 before top dead center, and adjusted the distributor to where it was facing the number one wire, i connected all wires and hoses, and put new seals on the valve covers and installed everything properly, with the timing chain in order and distributor at the right interval, i cranked the engine over, it started immediately then proceeded to die, i adjusted the choke to where it was all the way open, cranked the engine again and it started again, i had to hold the RPM at a relatively high RPM to keep it running, the engine did fine at higher RPM's but if i were to let it go down to below (roughly) 2000 the engine would start to stall, the engine cannot sustain itself on idle, however does fairly well at higher RPM with no backfire and it not running rich, i have yet to check the plugs and wires, or compression, the battery is dead and is on charge, then i mowed the lawn, but that has nothing to do with this lol, and i haven't tried to use starting fluid, however i may do that tomorrow

Since you have it running, you don't need starting fluid. Based on what you described, (starting to die around 2K rpm's) you have to have a major vacuum leak. As far as compression, it wouldn't run well at all if they were at 0 psi. Did you adjust curb idle on the carb?

well they did have compression when i did a dry test, then on the wet test they dropped to 0 which, and i could be wrong would mean that it had more compression to push past the valves, and i have adjusted it from all the way down to all the way up using half turn but it hasn't done anything, and i'm not quite sure where the vacuum leak could be, it has 1 major vacuum line, 1 coming off of it, and 1 from the carb to the advance on the dist. all the hoses are in good shape

Could it be the base plate on the carb? The intake?

As far as losing compression when doing a wet compression, that should have done the opposite. You lost me on that one. lol

Have you finished cutting the grass? That is my job tomorrow. ughh!!!

well the intake is sealed from my understanding, and the base plate on the carb is good, the pcv is getting plenty of vacuum (from what i can feel)

And what i meant was, when it was dry it had some compression correct? well, when i did the wet test, the compression was increased so much that it was able to push past the valves with more ease if that makes sense, basically it had enough pressure to force it to escape

and i did finish, right before it got dark i might add, i'm on the east cost in the mountains, and i'm terribly sorry to hear that, i didn't want to do it either, but it had to be done lol

Okay, I am in PA in the mountains. Are we close?

I'm in TN, south eastern part, right near knoxville, so not to close but not the farthest away haha

well i checked the vacuum, got a reading of about 10 when i started it, 15 when i revved it a little, and 20 or so at about half throttle, but any higher and it shot down to near nothing, (this was checked on the line going from the main line attached to the intake to the thermostat housing) and it fluctuated rapidly no matter where it was at