hello everybody, i was coming home from my family's mothers day party and stopped at a stop sign. when i accelerated i heard a big POP sound and the car turned off and i came to a complete stop. i tried to turn the car on but all it did was crank but would not turn on. i was able to pull to the side and open the hood. i took off the air filter and noticed that when i pulled the throttle open, the choke was not opening and it was stuck in place. i asked my mechanic and he said that most likely it jammed really good and would need to replace the carb. so my question is what is that best carb to purchase for a daily driver 1967 riviera with a 430? thanks for all your help you guys!
Replace the carburetor because the choke jammed shut? Something doesnt sound right here. Why not just fix the choke? No offence, but my suggestion would be to replace the mechanic and not the carb.
It's a Qjet? Keep it, and get it rebuilt. I'd be glad to rebuild it for you, and there are several others here on this board that can help you out. Doesn't sound like that is the only problem though.
That is sound advice. Take it. If the car was running correctly and warmed up, the choke wouldn't have closed itself. Remember these cars are VERY simple and the problem is likely a minor one. The first thing I would look at is the ignition-- coil or condenser. Both are cheap and hard to diagnose. The fuel pump could have died, but often there is a performance problem preceding that. How has it been running in the last week or so?
A timing chain issue will not cause the choke to close. It is likely that the chioke being closed is an indicator, but simply pushing the choke ope will indicate that the blade is either free or jammed. If it jammed closed intiially, he would not have gotten as far as he had. A '73 initially had points, and an archaic ignition system. It was, easy to fix, however, and anyone having such a set up should have the tools and expertise to fix it himself, especially since the comment from the "mechanic" regarding replacing the carb is called for. Open the blade on the choke, propping it open, if necessary with a screwdriver, hold the throttle wide open, and see if the engine will start. This may take a few tries, and I have seen a backfire, as noted, jam a partially closed choke. Take it one step at a time. 1. Check for ignition, and suspect a chain if the distributor does not turn with the engine. 2. Check the compression, looking for at least 90 lbs on all cylinders, and suspect a chain if the compression is low on all cylinders. 3. If the spark plugs are fouled with fuel, or dripping fuel, suspect low compression, and obviously, the engine is getting fuel. We'll start with that. Ray
I would be very suspicious that this car has jumped time at the timing chain.... The carb having the choke stuck is a symptom not a cause,,,,Dont change carbs because of a stuck choke plate.... when it back fired the pressure jammed the choke plate , like I said , the carb plate is a symptom not the cause, what you need to know is what is the cause of the back fire in the first place,,,,, the sudden onset is a clue,,,, the car was running fine and suddenly it back fires and quits, when you attempt to accellerate,,, some thing happened at that time..... i will say that there is a good chance it wont run again untill the timing chain and gears are replaced......and there aint nothing wrong with the carb,,,,
Coils can go bad (learned the hard way: a faltering coil with an engine on LPG which caused two mufflers to 'explode") I assumed that when the mechanic looked at it, he first checked for sparks.
I'm with him. Sounds like you are not a confident mechanic your self, so you need a decent one that can help you. Any mechanic that says to replace the carb because the choke is stuck is the wrong guy to go to. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he at least doesn't know jack about older rigs. If he doesn't know anything about old carburetor engines all he's going to do is buy new parts to bolt on and run up your bill. Getting the choke right is not a tough job and you can do it if you get a manual. To start with unhook the choke linkage and use a screwdriver to control the choke position and see if the choke is all you are looking at. If the choke is stuck closed, it should start cold, and you may be able to drive it home as is. There should be a small gap, I'm not 100 percent sure on your carb but probably about 1/8th inch for when it's cold. I had thought about timing too, but with the carb acting that way I would start there. In my limited experience with timing chain going out, it will cough, sputter and backfire if the timing chain or most major timing issues are the problem.
When I was driving home from work, the backfire was so loud I thought the guy in the other lane took a shot at me with a 12 gauge shotgun. My problem ended up being the petronix electronic ignition. I put the points/condenser back in and it started up with no problems. Since I hadn't done it in the year or two I owned the car, I also replaced the cap and rotor. Since the parts are cheap and the fix is easy, this may not be a bad place to start
My suspicion, at this point, is that the carb is a symptom. Getting a stalled engine started is not that difficult. First, open the choke and let the engine breathe. Doing anything with the choke stuck will make matters worse. Anytime you crank the engine with the choke closed, fuel is literally dumped into it. Propping the choke open is the place to start. The rest is incidental. Ray
thanks guys i will check everything you guys mentioned. im going to have my other mechanic look at it today as well. ill let him know to also check the timing chain. i tested for spark and there is spark.
If you have spark, the chain, if it is involved in this situation, has jumped rather than broken. Ckeck for compression, then prop the choke open, hold the throttle on the floor, and try an extended cranking. DO NOT LET OFF OF THE THROTTLE. You might try putting in some new plugs first; frequently, if the plugs foul, the standard points ignition cannot clean them. If you have a dwell meter,(you do have one, right?) check the dwell. It should be 30 deg. Much less than 30 degrees will directly affect the strength of the spark. Why pay a mechanic, who probably has never seen one of your cars before to troubleshoot it? We can help, and if you spend the money on tools, the next tune-up is free, excepting parts. We can walk you through this, if you are the least bit curious about what makes your machine tick. It will be considerably less expensive, will benefit the forum, and, besides, I am looking for someone to whom I can pass the torch. Ray
