get 3 to find a good one? Your buddy from Roush is cluelss as well. He needs to learn how to tune a carb, sounds like he wants to bolt them on out of the box seriously there is nothing out of the box for a 460. and the way all carbs are they need to be checked before going on, floats, dirt, etc. And it doesn't matter what brand it is. Holley will be no better. as for the pressure regulator, 7 lbs. is to much for the Edelbrock, it may act like it's ok now, but it will bite you in the *** over that.
I'm running two Edelbrocks right now, a 600 cfm on a stock 350 (daily driver for the last 12 years) & a 500 cfm on a stock 283 (hot rod). Both engines have the stock fuel pumps. The 350 never needed a fuel pressure regulator, but the 283 did....go figure. I got an Edelbrock fuel pressure regulator & dialed it to 5 lbs. & the flooding problem was solved. Both carbs run really great.
I have 4 cars with Edebrocks, no pressure regs and never a problem. I have had a Holley give me nothing but misery and that is why I have Edelbrocks.
I have found that 3 or 4 psi is even better for an Edelbrock, they are damn sensitive to fuel pressure.
And you are an idiot. This guy has more knowledge about carburetors in his little finger than you'll have in a lifetime! Anyone that spends $300 and thinks that it's ok to rebuild the carb. when you get it should have his head examined!
I'll agree that you probably shouldn't have to check a carb when you get it, but you do. Not just Edelbrocks, I've had BG's that had loose parts in them out of the box, Holleys with metal shavings, etc. I've never installed a new Holley without checking the float level before it leaves the shop, it's just a little easier than checking the float level of an Edelbrock. But maybe it's just me. I never install a crate or rebuilt engine without checking the torque on the mains/rods/heads either. Speaking of which, I guess I'd better get something done in the shop. Larry T
I guess I should wait for the guys in white coats and that special jacket with all those extra belts and straps. It takes 5 minutes to knock the new carb apart on the bench, clean and check it and get it re***embled. It takes an hour to tear it down on the side of the road, spill gas all over, lose a check ball and split a gasket. It takes another hour or so for the tow truck to show up. Then it takes several hours at work to make the $$ to pay the tow truck bill. yep need my head examined.
Obviously not. Every new carb straight out of the box needs to be have the floats checked and be examined. PERIOD! Anyone that tells you different is the idiot. It's that way it is, it's reality. It's not a rebuild it's making sure it's right. That's the way it needs to be done these days regardless of manufacturer. yep
I would guess that 90% of the people on this board can repair/rebuild a carburetor, so that is not my issue. My complaint is that apparently I'm not supposed to expect that a manufacture can produce a product that doesn't meet it's adverti*****ts, it's product installation brochures, and be happy that it arrived with idle screws so tightly turned I could have cracked the aluminum base or floats that are more than 1/4 " off and didn't result from shipping or metal shavings etc. I don't know if Holley is any better or not but if they aren't then there is a golden opportunity for someone to enter the market with a high quality product we can be ***ured works. If we continue to support the lousy quality apparently many of you have experienced then shame on us but I expect better and will continue to look for it!
I... I am just in awe. Not checking a carb out of the box is like not checking your block when it comes back from the machine shop. It's just common practice, you know? No rebuilds are required, just a quick popping off the top and a look-see to make sure all's in order and set right. A new TV doesn't come with the channels pre-set. You set 'em up after you get it out of the box and plugged in. Alarm clocks don't come with the time already set. You set it after you take it out and out it on your nightstand... unless it's one of those fancy ones that set themselves! LOL! MP3 players don't come pre-loaded with your favorite music. Telephones don't come with your favorite numbers pre-installed. Hell, even pianos don'd come pre-tuned, and have to be re-tuned every time you move them - more frequently if they're in areas where the weather changes. Same with guitars - nobody expects to play a concert with one right out of the box, direct from the manufacturer. Are all these things because the manufacturer produces a product that doesn't meet it's adverti*****ts or live up to it's product installation brochures? All you're doing is making sure it's good-to-go before you press it into daily service. Nothing in this world - especially hot rod related - ever really works "out of the box". Many of us have learned the hard way, as related by Da Tinman above. We do this out of experience. Others have always done it this way because they were lucky enough to actually listen to and comply with the good advice to check their carb before installation. Either way, it's just good practice to do so. In the process, you learn more about your car - and that's never a bad thing. Several folks from the "bolt-'n-go" school of hot rod carburetion are ignorant and apathetic towards their fuel system - that always got me. Who would spend all this time learning about what makes your car go, and choose to neglect this one very critical thing - actually choosing to let it remain "voodoo" and to not learn about it? It's never set well with me. Maybe they're scared off by folks that have said, "There's lots of little parts in there." Maybe they're following suit with some one they look up to that "knows all about cars" but is really full of **** - someone who took theirs apart and never got it together right again, and has filtered their frustration at it down to younger generations, scaring them off. Carbs don't bite. And fact is, if you can build a plastic model kit, you have more than enough skills and have dealt with something with 10x the parts a regular old carburetor has - AND have used a similar set of one-sheet, line-art drawing instructions to do so. My jaw is just on the ground with this one - especially the way what the Roush guy said was interperted and posted here. I... I just don't know what to say. ~Jason
Pressure regulator is needed for sure . Also check all and everything to make sure they are set up the right way . These are ***embly line built parts and mistakes happen . Also that fuel pump you have I bet has way too much pressure for the carb ! Edelbrocks are good carbs but don't like much pressure , the garbage fuel we have to use and don't like heat ! Holley's can pretty much take just about anything you put to them BUT you have to still set the carb up and fine tune them just like any other carb out there . A bolt on and go is bull ! Remember even though the parts are suppose to be built in the USA , they are all done on a ***embly line and you have to built them as fast as you can to meet their orders on each shift so mistakes happen and as long as the carb is built in a certain amount of time then they really don't care . Now The best bolt and go I found now are the Holley Street Avengers ! They are really a great value with lots of great features and really work good right out of the box ! So go back and get a fuel pressure regulator for safety and a back up system if the fuel pump is pumping out too much fuel pressure ! Just my experience and opinion ! Retro Jim
I have a friend who owns a carb repair shop (3 generation small business) and he tells me that any carb will work good if it is set up properly (even quadrajets). His next statement is NO carb will run properly on a consistant basis out of the box and should be checked and set prior to installation. When I get a new carb (or used) I take it to him to check, rebuild and put on the flow bench for testing prior to use. I hate having carb problems on the side of the road. I have a 600cfm Edelbrock that came from Edelbrock missing a plug internally that caused it to run lean on the p***enger side, on the flow bench. It was a 10 cent part that would have caused me hours of trouble if I "ran it out of the box" like they claim you can do. Murphy lives in my shop and takes advantage of any opportunity he can find.
All carburetors are ***embled by humans. Humans are fallible creatures and will make mistakes from time-to-time. It is not only unavoidable, it is the very thing that makes us human. All carburetors are shipped to you, at least in-part, by humans (I presume). Having seen how packages are handled by all of the common carriers, it is no wonder that things like float levels need to be checked and set, and loose parts need to be secured. If you expect any of these conditions to not be the case, you are guaranteed to be disappointed with your experience. Why set yourself up for disappointment?
One of the things I enjoy about this board is that there are a variety of opinions and I respect those that are done without personal shots, unfortunately I react badly to the personal shots. I do want to clear up some mis-statements that were made by others: 1: Neither the former Roush mechanic or I ever said that a carb. didn't need to be tuned, I know I have a certain way of tuning mine and I would bet that it is different than any of you. However, to me tuning and rebuilding a new carb. are different and I don't expect to have to rebuild a new carb.- my opinion and one I will always believe in. 2: The Roush mechanic's statement was that most carburetors you get today are junk and based on my experience I agree with that. He didn't say he wouldn't inspect one, he didn't say he wouldn't repair one, he simply said they were junk! I really respected Abomination's answer the most and his ****ogy is absolutely perfect but where he and I will always disagree is that when the TV comes and I open it and find a cracked picture tube or am told that a 120 volt supply is all that is needed only to find out it really needs a 220 volt supply I'm going to complain and send it back- I would hope most of you would too in hopes that just maybe we can force a better quality product.
Well, I didn't pop the top on the 1406 that is on my daily and has been for six months. And it has several of the symptoms that others have mentioned. Idle issues and then it seems to lean out after turning a corner and hitting the gas again. I think I put a carter mechanical pump on it too so next weekend I'll pick up a fuel pressure regulator. I've rebuilt a lot of carbs over the past 45 years and the one thing that I always see on the instruction and specification sheets is that even though it's the same model number of carb they all seem to have just slightly different float level and linkage adjustments depending on the application so a guy can't expect to take one out of the box and have it be a one size fits all deal.
I think Abomination said it best. There's no reason why checking a carburetor upon arrival isn't a bad idea. If you're the 1-800 bolt and go dude, then I'm not going to knock you either. I just like checking, double checking, and triple checking to make sure my stuff works right. I don't think what he's saying lessons the manufacturers ability to produce a carburetor exactly as they describe. I just think it makes good sense to verify everything is correct. Moreover, I think you're experience has verified that fact, by the idle screw being turned in so tightly (which Edelbrock says it shouldn't be). Makes you wonder if everything else is how Edelbrock wants it to be with that carb you just bolted on. Which is probably why you sent it back, and why I'm glad I check my **** for defects before I use it. On a side note, I'm glad you've got your car running, and hope it runs without a problem for many more miles to come.
Oh no, dude - I totally agree with you there! As gimpyshotrods said - humans screw up. Either in the manufacturing process or the delivery guys, there's lots of opportunity for things to get severely jacked, warped, misaligned, etc. I've worked on Macs for 27 years. The stories I could tell you about cracked picture tubes, etc... hell, I even get where the Roush guy was comming from, too. These days, things get pushed out the door so fast that quality control suffers. The sad part is that we get used to it - when I order 10 Macs, I always expect at least one (maybe two) to need sent back to Apple. I could fix them myself, but it's the principal of the thing. I'm sure that carburetors have about the same dud-rate. At least enough to make a guy like the Roush guy say what he said about them being junk these days, after handling as many carbs as he has. You get enough duds in your hands, and it makes ya a little bit jaded. But trust me man, if it's warped, cracked, or messed up, send it the **** back! And ***** at 'em, too (after you give 'em an opportunity to make it right, of course). If you pay good money for something that comes broken, hell yes you'd better send it back! It always gets me when I call for a return and get some **** on the phone who ***umes I'm half retarded, too. The thing that kills me the most? I provide exceptional customer service to folks all damned day... when it's my turn, you'd better at least give me service as good as I provide and give me my due. It's not that hard to do right by people, you know? But I totally agree with you. There's a line between setting up the channels on your new TV and it coming with the wrong power supply. Only with carbs, you really can't tell if it's warped, etc without popping them open. But when it comes to that line where they screwed up, I say send it back and exchange. Let the screwy one become their problem. ~Jason
thanks for bringing up the vented gas cap, Iam having trouble with my edblebrock 1406 secondarie flooding, fuel pressure at 3bls now and cleaned carb also going to put new plugs in cause it flooded bad
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