hello all, Im new to this forum and just recently purchased my truck!!! It needs a little work but thats the whole reason why I bought it. I needed something new to tinker with. Anyways, I have been trying to do my research on my 216 but I am having issues with the carter yf carb flooding out. I bought a rebuild kit as well as a new float for the 2100s version of the carb. supposedly the carb was rebuilt by the previous owner but I went ahead and put the new needle and seat in as well as the float anyways . I set the float at 5/32 at rest and 1 1/4 inch for the the droop as per the mikes carbs specs. thought it was easy enough but It's still flooding out to the the point where the engine no longer starts. she turns over but the bowl just fills up and leaks onto the butter fly and fuel runs out of the shaft. After researching the particular carb i have ( 2100s), i found that the carb is for a 235 ci 1953-1956, could this be the reason for all the issues?
are you using the original fuel pump? is the float hitting the side of the bowl? i always test the needle and seat operation by blowing into the inlet, then flip the carb and try blowing in. it should be closed. [all done with a clean dry carb before installation]
as far as i know its the factory pump. it has the glass bowl on top. I did blow in the fuel feed when i had it the top of the carb off. I turned the horn upside down so the float would have pressure on the need and it seemed fine. I also did the warm water test with both floats and neither had air bubbles. i have a holley fpr on the way... 1-4.5 psi, don't know if that will help or not. it was kind of my last resort. a little more back story. when i bought the truck it was running and i was able to drive it around. It drove fine, no issues accelerating or stalling, just when you turn the truck off, gas would seep out of the shaft. all I've done to the carb was the needle and seat and float, and i can't even get it to start now haha. I just didn't know if it being a carb for a 235 if it would make a difference or not. thanks for the help!
One issue with aftermarket generic rebuilding kits for the Carter YF is that MOST of the kits sold for the YF are sold for the 300 CID Ford 6 cylinder. The fuel seat orifice for the Ford version is 0.101 inch and the valve is a solid valve tipped with neopreme. The fuel seat orifice for the Chevrolet version (both for the 216 and 235) is 0.076 inch and the valve is a 3-piece valve. The main portion of the valve has a machined hole into which is inserted a spring and a follower (the follower resembles a miniature golf tee). Installation of the wrong fuel valve will cause the carburetor to flood profusely, even with a regulator. Would suggest checking the fuel valve orifice. If this is the problem, did you retain your original fuel valve and seat? If not, the correct valve and seat combination are available in the better rebuilding kits. As far as your original problem, it was political, not mechanical: http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Troubleshooting.htm#Fuelleak EDIT: just reread the thread, and noted on your second post that you also replaced the float. There are multiple floats used in the various type YF carbs. The ones for the Ford YF's will fit, but not work correctly in the Chevrolet YF's. Might be worth while to compare the old float with the new float in the area around the hinge (the tab for height adjustment and the tab, if present, for drop adjustment). Jon.
Thanks a lot for all the insight. I bookmarked your page as well. There's a lot of good stuff up there. I found another needle and seat set in my kit (kit came with 3) and found the 3 piece one that you were describing with the spring. evidently it is still too big because it flooded out again. I found that particular one on the carb site i got it from, and it said it's a .097. so i found the .076 and went ahead and ordered it. so for now I will have to wait haha. thanks again for the help and I will keep y'all up to date on the out come.
The 0.097 spring-loaded version sounds like (without seeing the length and thread) the one Carter used on marine AFB carbs. Why would that fuel valve be in a kit for a YF??? Carter made approximately 600 different fuel valves for various applications. EDIT: when you receive your spring-loaded fuel valve, should you get no guidance from the vendor; adjustment is done with the air horn inverted, and the mass of the float ONLY resting on the spring-loaded valve. DO NOT push the float down with your finger for adjustment. Jon.
ok, I finally got around to putting in the new needle and seat and I wish I could say its fixed. It floods just as bad as it did with the other one. Im about out of patience with it. haha. Is there a different carb that someone could recommend? Im just ready to drive this thing with out pouring too much more money in it and getting no where...
probably end up doing that. I finally got some more time to fool with it yesterday. checked a few more things. my fuel pressure is sitting right at 3 psi. I found that 2 of the 4 bolts on the power valve were loose, so I tightened those up. gave it a shot and it still floods something fierce . next thing i tried was bending the float down, that way it would shut off fuel really early, still the same symptoms. good news is if i hold the gas pedal to the floor she'll fire up and run. just need to get passed the initial flooding issue. its bad enough that if you look down the throat of the carb you can see it flowing in onto the butterfly valve....
ok I finally got it sorted out! I finally broke down and tore down the whole carb and found that the diaphragm was tore in one spot and pinched in another. replaced that and buttoned it back up and she fired on the 1st crank. startled me at first, wasn't expecting it at all. haha no drips of gas to be found. I'm a happy man. thanks for all the help along the way guys!
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