benjamachine

What're you driving? EA82 with a Hitachi? Depends how much stuff you're carrying. I got about 27-28 in an overloaded '86 GL with a worn out Hitachi carb.

By outer port I'm guessing you mean the one closest to the body of the distributor, or the widest part of the vacuum advance bell. So I GOT IT!!! No more vacuum leaks at the base of my carburetor!!! There was a problem with the mating surfaces on the intake and my Transdapt Weber adapter, so I filed/sanded the heck out of them and put them back on -- snug, but not ridiculously tight. Works like a charm now. Anyway, thanks all for your help and advice.

Ok. I'm back with the $@&^$ Weber. I've narrowed ALL of my woes down to vacuum leaks. Is there ANY way to keep these from happening without taking off the intake manifold and having the gasket surface planed? That's a lot of extra work I'd rather not have to deal with (I know, lazy, but there's this job and all). Anyway, definitely wishing I had left well enough alone and stuck with the craptachi. It actually worked properly. What about JB Weld on the adapter to manifold mating surface? I've been having problems with coolant leaking out of that passage in the intake as well. Plugged it up with JB Weld, but it still leaks.

My timing is set at 12 degrees BTDC. Jets are 135 primary and 140 secondary. Air correctors are 220/210, idle jets are 50/45. i need to get different jets, as i think it's still too rich.

I have a ported vacuum line connected to the primary advance port on the advance bell. I've capped off the secondary. I'll check and see if it's working with a vacuum pump, but it was working pretty well until I hooked up the Weber. I need to get out there and check my plugs and change the jets on the carb, too, though, which I suspect has a lot to do why this thing isn't running correctly.

Thanks, magn! That must be what it is, because I could barely make it over Vail Pass yesterday. We were chugging along at 30 mph, getting passed by trucks.

Do you mean total timing, or initial timing at idle? You're not pinging under load? I have the stock 140 primary/secondary jets in there, with 170/180 air correctors.

Hey ShawnW, I have 140 main jets, and the two air correctors at the top are (per the Import Experts guy's recommendation) 170 and 180. It has no balls above 5,000 feet (driving over grades that peak at 10,000' is normal driving in Colorado, just to get from place to place). The Hitachi actually worked better.

I was willing to take a 2-4 mpg hit to get better driveability and power up grades, but it really didn't make much of a difference. I set all the screws just like Weber said, but that's just idle stuff. It runs great and doesn't sputter. Initial timing is set at 12 degrees BTDC.

I just installed a Weber, and am getting pretty crappy gas mileage (was getting 31 mpgs with the Hitachi). I used a transdapt one piece adapter to mount the carb. It idles well and runs decently, but it's DRINKING gas! I'm getting 21-22mpg on the freeway and way less around town. What can I do to fix that problem? I've seen people post on here saying they've been getting 27-28 mpg on the freeway. The tiny, almost unnoticeable power boost you get from a Weber (it really just makes a lot more noise) is nice, but not for a 10+ mpg reduction in fuel economy. What gives, any suggestions? I'm thinking it could be: 1 - jetting (I'm currently at sea level, but put 170/180 air correctors on there to lean it out at 5,000+ feet, where I normally live ... I should add here that I have no idea how to change any but the main jets). 2 - distributor - Does that dual port disty cause problems? Should I seek a single port advance from somewhere (like Loyale 2.7 Turbo suggested)? The stock EA82 distributor <em>seems</em> to work ok, except that I don't have the retard port hooked up, so it pings under load. 3 - Fuel line routing: I have a main fuel line, a vent/return line going back to the tank, and I have the stock vent hose open. Should I plug the vent hose? I thought that would make the inside of the car smell like gas because of that vapor separator thing under the rear trim panel. The car doesn't appear to be leaking fuel. Any other ideas? Thanks, amigos!

Just drove from Boulder, CO to Sacramento, CA in the 86 GL. There were two or three times when the engine started clattering for a few minutes. Sticky lifter?

timing belt idlers are newish, too. i replaced them when i did the timing belts. the gauge showed adequate oil pressure, although who knows how accurate that thing is.

I'll be hanged if I didn't just thrash the heck out of it and the sound went away. I guess it was an oiling system problem? Car's been sitting for a coupla weeks without running. Just drove it 100 mph on the freeway with no problem. Hmph.

I just finished putting on my brand new Weber 32/36 DGEV carb. It fired right up and ran fabulously for about 20 minutes. Then I took it for a spin. Not long after I began putting the car through its paces, it hesitated a bit and started making this horrible CLATTERING sound. I've had the oil pump mickey mouse seal sewing machine tick before, and this ain't it. It's LOUD. Plus, the car has newish (within the last 2-4 years): oil pump/oil pump seals, front and rear main seals, valve cover gaskets, clutch, . Oil pressure is still good, Throttle response is ok. It doesn't leak anything. Engine is noisy as heck. My GUESS is that it's rod knock, that I lost one of my rod or main bearings, but I'm concerned about a small washer I lost that I have reason to believe MAY have fallen into the intake manifold (although I really doubt it, because I checked with a magnet and everything). The sound seems to be coming from the rear of the engine, and is slightly more pronounced on the drivers side. Any ideas, amigos? (I'm really glad this happened now and not two days from now, when I was planning on being in the middle of Idaho). AAARRRRGGHHHH!!!!!

ONE MORE QUESTION!!! Can I plug the coolant passage in the intake manifold? How do I go about doing that? Maybe I can just peen in that little tube in the carb mounting flange, then fill it with JB Weld?

But all of this other info is definitely useful. I'm guessing I can leave the EGR on for now, and unplug the vacuum line (it's normally closed, right?). Then I can use the quarter trick to plug the stove pipe coming off of the exhaust port on the driver side under the engine. Quarter and some high temp RTV perhaps? Again, thank you all!!

Thank you all for your help. I finally got in touch with the right person at Redline. His name is Bud, he's one of their ops higher ups, and he actually cares about customers. He's a gearhead's gearhead, and got me all sorted out. He's next daying a new carb top with threaded fuel inlet fittings. Problem solved.

I had the Hitachi rebuilt a couple of years ago and it gets great gas mileage, but it has never been a great performer. I think that has more to do with all of the external vacuum/solenoid controlled gadgets attached to it than it does the carb, tho. I'm ready for something more simple, and am bummed that it has turned out to be such a hassle.

ALL OF THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR, FACING THE REAR. As I said in the post above, when I put the carb on backward (with the choke facing the rear of the car) the throttle cable doesn't reach (plus, it's dumb that it should go on like that, because that's why I bought a manual choke in the first place). If it's on the correct way, the throttle cable reaches, but the carb won't seat because the fuel inlet is on the wrong side and hits the a/c compressor. AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Hey folks. I got back into it today, and there are a few problems. 1. In order for the carburetor to seat, it has to be mounted with the throttle plate on the LEFT (drivers) side of the car, next to the a/c compressor. The Redline guy told me that the manual choke Webers (which are apparently the only ones that'll fit on a car with power steering) all have the fuel inlet coming out of the front of the carb if it's mounted with the choke on the front. This is retarded. I could have gotten an electric choke if I'd mounted the carburetor backwards to begin with. THE STOCK THROTTLE CABLE, even when rerouted, DOESN'T REACH AROUND TO THE FRONT SIDE OF THE CARB. 2. There are two vacuum ports on the distributor. Which one do I plug, and where do I route the one that still needs vacuum? 3. What the hell is that thing on the back side of the engine on the drivers side? It's connected to the exhaust manifold, and has a big 5/8" hose (just like the PCV hoses) running up into the air cleaner. Is this part of the EGR system? None of the books I have says anything about it. 4. Why not get rid of the EGR? With all of the things it's connected to, it doesn't look like it'll do much else than cause problems. 5. It seems I should keep the charcoal canister for fuel tank venting. Thoughts? 6. How dare Redline/Weber market this thing as a bolt on replacement for the Hitachi. It's not as complicated, but their directions suck. Thank you!

Thanks, Ron!

...and also, do I need a fuel pressure regulator? And where would I connect the return line, upstream or down stream of the regulator/filter (I can't wrap my head around how fuel will go into the carb at the required pressure if it has another route through the return line).

Thanks all! Very helpful tips. ONE more thing. WHICH port to I plug on the distributor? It has two vacuum lines on it.