I have a 64 econoline with a 170. It has a 1978 Carter YFA carb that someone had put on it. Here are my issues... The van starts up and runs great. I'll drive it around and get it up to operating temperature...so far so good. However it won't go above 2000 rpm...about 45 mph. Also, once the van sits for a while (only a few hours or so) I go to start it up. It starts right up but when I go to accelerate it spits and sputters sounds like it is flooding and I get a puff of blue smoke and smell gas. It's nearly impossible to drive. The strange part is that it doesn't do it consistently. If I let is sit overnight it seems fine when I start it in the morning. Sometimes it will run great without this issue. I used to think it was a carb boiling issue, but I don't think so anymore. Here is what I have tried to remedy the problem.... 1. rebuilt carb 2. all new fuel lines/filters 3. cleaned gas tank 4. new fuel pump 5. 1/2" carb spacer It has an automatic choke which is not hooked up. It starts fine without it on warm days. Could it be sticking? Could it be a vacuum problem? Could that keep me from getting full acceleration? When I rebuilt the carb there was a small spacer missing above the accelerator pump (I saw it in the diagram) ...I didn't replace because it didn't have one to start with...could this be it? At this point I am considering finding a carb that was made for that engine. Any advice would be appreciated. I am really tired of messing with this...I JUST WANT TO DRIVE HER!! If there is a fellow hamb member in the Delaware, Ohio area who wants to come over and help me troubleshoot I will supply an infinite supply of beer. I'll try to post pictures of my set-up later.
It looks like you have replaced the obvious stuff and it is probably time to find the correct carb for the engine.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder if I am still somehow getting debris in the carb. I have taking the carb off twice and completely dis***embled and cleaned it. Each time there was **** in the bowl even after I had checked the tank and lines. I'm running a filter before and after the fuel pump. Both time the van ran great after I reinstalled the carb...but it doesn't last long. This will sound really stupid but is there anyway for a carb to pull in debris other than from the gas tank? Could the carb somehow be pulling in **** from the manifold? I just can't see how I keep getting **** in my carb. I'm going to pull it off again tomorrow and see if there is **** in the bowl again.
I am thinking about a couple of things you mentioned. You still have debris in the carb and have cleaned it out a few times, and you have two in line filters. When you pull it apart this time, take a look at the debris and see if you can determine where it came from. Such as a part you are not replacing in the carb that is slowly coming apart each time you run it. Also, hook up a vacuum gauge, off the manifold, and see how steady it is when you are fully warmed up. If it is bouncing all over, you have a leak somewhere, such as the intake itself to the head. Or the carb could be warped. I had to take my gas tank in to a radiator shop and have it boiled out for 3 days before I could use it Keep trying!!
If you are still getting **** with 2 filters the tank has to be full of **** and you might be better off to get a new tank and find a complete carb that is the right one for engine,after all it doesn"t have alot of hp but good carbureration anf firing on the 170 is important.
And NO you shouldn't be getting **** in the float bowl from anywhere other than the fuel line, most likely the tank.