What carburetor is this?


  #1  
Old 04-05-06, 11:16 AM
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What carburetor is this?

Greetings to everyone.
Any input from fellow DIY's is much appreciated. My spark plugs are truly black. The car is only 14 months old. I played around with the carb, gently. No improvements. Took it to a mechanic. He played around too and then declared tappet adjustments. I smelled a rat. Took it to mechanic number 2. He declared mechanic number 1 is mad. I thought mechanic number 1 was just unethical. He changed spark plugs and played around with the carb too. By now I knew the carb was getting irritated by all the playing. So finally after another week, comes mechanic number 3. He suggested replacing with a new carb. By the way, none of them opened up the carb.
So, I guess I have to do it sometime soon, perhaps with some assistance from someone out there. The carb does not have any markings except for an incomprehensible logo that looks like Arram or Arran or Arrau or something like that. Fortunately I saw a photo of it at the top of a website
http://www.importcarburetors.com
I would appreciate any input from fellow diy experts more knowledgeable in this field. Happy tinkering.
 
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Old 04-05-06, 02:49 PM
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Hello, seeing as your car is only 14 months old, I can't believe that it would have a carburator on it. It should have fuel injection unless it is some off the wall make.
It sounds to me like you need to find a reputable mechanic. And once you do, make sure you go back to him on a regular basis. They're really worth having around.
I suggest you read the "basics" that are on a "sticky" at the beginning of the Automotive section. That should be of some help.
I'm sure one of the Moderators will come along soon and give you something to go on. But for now I would fill in the information that the "basics" recommend and go from there.
 
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Old 04-05-06, 03:27 PM
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Black plugs = running rich
Possibly a carb adjustment needed
Could be something else depending on some other stuff

Tappet adjustment would be a stretch
These days not too many rebuild the carbs, so if it was leaking, perhaps a "new" or "reman" carb might be suggested

What kind of car is it?
Year/Make/Model?
 
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Old 04-06-06, 05:33 AM
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Carburetor mixture too rich but not me

Big thanks to Mr Toni and Mr Slickshift for your views and leads. I totally agree with Toni about developing a good trusting relationship between car owner and mechanic, like husbands and wives? The problem is even wives sometimes cheat when we just neglect them for a fast while. As for new cars still using carbs, may I suggest that Mr Toni should travel and see the less developed countries in this small world and not just developed countries all the time. Just kidding.

Where I come from, Malaysia if you have heard of it, we make half of the car and 'borrow' the other half. Then we have to compete with Hundyai, Kia, Toyotas and what not. So, I think carbs must be a cheaper way to beat them! By the way, the car is called Proton. There are a few models since about 1984. For us Malaysians it is cheap (even the quality) because it is taxed less, but in the open market its tough competing with Toyotas on scale, quality, price and technology.

Back to my carb problem. The price of a second-hand carb turned out to be very high. As a rough comparison, it's about half a school teacher's monthly salary for this particular carb. This is just a crude comparison and a picture for you to figure on. Anyway, I hope some enthusiasts out there with prior experience on this carb could give some detailed tips on tuning this carb or perhaps point to some information such as service manuals that are availbable (it would help me save that half of that salary). I believe it is called downdraught, variable venturi etc,etc. If anyone else has successfully opened it up and put it back on, I would be glad to hear how you did it as well as other suggestions.

Again thanks to Mr Toni and Mr Slickshift for your advise and hoping to get more from other experts.
 
  #5  
Old 04-06-06, 05:54 AM
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I would try to find a rebuild kit if one is available. The kit will include all of the gaskets and odds & ends needed to overhaul the carb. Then sit down [have a fellow diy along to help just in case] and rebuild it yourself. It can be a little complicated, but rebuilding a carburetor is not brain surgery. Sit on the floor with plenty of room to work. Use a large piece of cardboard or some newspaper to keep stuff clean. Start removing the various parts of the carburetor; mostly the disassembly will be fairly self-explanatory. As you remove the pieces, lay them out in sequence on your work surface. If you have a digital camera, you could take pictures as you go to refer to during reassembly. You can either clean the indivudal pieces as you go or wait until the disassembly is done and then go back and clean them Be sure to keep everything in its proper order as you work. Clean off all old gasket material and use a carburetor cleaning agent to remove dirt & crud. When everything is clean reassemble, starting at the end of the line of lay-out parts that you ended at.

If you're sure that's the exact same carburetor on that website, you might e-mail them and ask what it is.
 
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Old 04-06-06, 08:09 AM
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Originally Posted by JefryT
...The price of a second-hand carb turned out to be very high. As a rough comparison, it's about half a school teacher's monthly salary for this particular carb.
I understand
Hopefully a carb tuner will be by
If it does need to be repaired, a rebuild kit, if available, should be affordable
Rebuilding carbs is a detailed DIY project - but certainly a do-able one

TowGuy has put it in a good perspective there

I did have an "orphan" Jeep made by a company that went out of business
I actually enjoyed making my own gaskets, filters, and other parts
Fortunately the carb was a Rochester, the starter a backwards Ford, so I was able to get those parts and make them work

Good luck
 
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Old 04-07-06, 04:38 AM
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Nike says Just Do It

Thanks to Mr Slickshift and Mr Tow Guy for your input. It can be a headache handling some tiny parts that looks unimportant until something malfunctions again later. I also remember having a few extra parts lying around after everything seems to have been fixed up while doing other repairs. It made me feel like Mr Bean. I will keep Tow Guy's tag line in mind - " measure with a micrometer, cut with an axe " or "measure once, cut twice".

The website with the photo of the carb couldn't be reached by email. But I did find a Haynes Manual for an earlier model car. Haynes is good and solid enough. Also the service kit is easily available. So, I will open it over the weekend and explore all the air passages, seals, springs, dirt, fits and clearances.

Thanks to you guys. Happy tinkering.
 
  #8  
Old 04-11-06, 09:45 PM
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It working ok.

Lets bring this subject to its happy conclusion. With the advice from forum members and moderators and some very useful information from a Haynes Auto Manual the carburetor repair turned out nicely, no surprises and it was straight forward.
I don't have an air compressor so I just push and pull through as many, but not all though, air/fuel passages with thin copper wires, plus some carburetor spray cleaner. However, the internals really looked clean and no passageway was previously blocked or jammed. 2 small o-rings on the main jet looked flattened. I got replacements from an o-ring specialist stockist for just a few cents. He advised to use silicone rubber o-rings. I am not sure but I beleive that the o rings are causing the problem since there wasn't anything else that I did. I am really surprised that this 2 tiny fellows could cause so many problems. Obviously the original materials are of not good-quality.
The car is now normal. The spark plugs look ok. The consumption is about 30 miles per gallon ( 1.3 liter ). I just saved that half month salary. Sadly I still dont know the make and manufacturer of the carb. Come on guys! So long fellows, till the next project and thanks for your support.
 
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Old 04-12-06, 04:18 AM
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I confess I don't know exactly what type of rubber the o-rings in fuel systems are made of; hopefully the rubber in those o-rings is fuel resistant.

Good job.
 
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Old 04-14-06, 11:00 AM
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Thanks for the update
Sounds like it worked out well
 
 

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