Hello, I need some help. I have an Eldebrock 1406 on a 283. The problem that I have is that after I drive for about 5 miles or so the cabin starts to get a very strong gas\exhaust type smell. I just put on new exhaust all the way from the manifolds to the back. I can't find a gas leak anywhere. when I looked at the carb though I seems as if gas might be splashing back up into the air filter. could it be running way to rich? If I floor the gas it will back fire sometimes, spit and sputter sometimes. over all it Idles ok. Runs fine on the high way. Just the smell is killing me. Any thoughts?
Think of that Edelbrock as a typical Quadra Jet . The operational principals are one of the same . Yes, gasoline could be running out of the body . Yes, I think it's too rich . I'd set the float a might lower . scrubba
if it smells like an exhuast leak its got nothing to do with the carb if you have fuel spraying up out of the carb you have a stuck needle valve if your running more then 6 lbs max pressure its flooding the engine because the fuel is blowing past the needles seat
I'm fairly certain its not an exhaust leak since I have all new exhaust put in and right after I used a carbon monoxide detector while I drove around and the smell was so bad it was burning my eyes. The detector never went off. I tested it by putting it right up to the tailpipe and sure enough it went off so I have to think its not exhaust. I have since left the carbon mono detector in the car for safety... It could very well be the fuel pressure or the needle valve... I'll will definitely have to check those things out. It's driving me nuts. Thanks again for the info..
I've never had the carb off so i will have to check that out as well. Thanks for the info. One other note. After it the engine warms up a bit its sometimes hard to get started after.
is it hard to start because the starter is dragging from being hot (headers too close) or does it crank and crank becuase its flooded
I'm going to have to go with flooded. The starter isn't slow to crank just cranks and cranks and the engine will slowly spit and sputter. As for road draft tube I'm gona have to say no to that one.. I see only 2 tubes off the carb one that goes to the distributor and the actual fuel line. Hope that helps
I recently put exhaust all the way to the back on my coupe trying to get rid of CO. It got worse. Exhaust comes into the car from the rear due to lower air pressure behind the car. My solution is to seal off the cabin area. Car makers have been doing this for that reason since the 50's. If you have a roadster then running the pipes out the side ahead of the wheels may be a good choice. Also make sure you have a PCV system on the 283.
It sounds to me like it is running rich. Check for rust out in the body. I had a customer that swore my new exhaust system leaked. I put a rag over the exhaust and it was so tight the engine stalled. When I opened the hatch back on the Supra it was riddled with rust holes. If you look at factory tail pipes on station wagons and vans, they all turn out to the side into the airstream.
What fuel pump are you using ? Try a pressure regulator and set it at 4 psi. That's what I had to do on my 305 sbc with stock fuel pump and 1406 Edelbrock carb.
Sometimes a good question is better than a so-so answer. Do make sure that the crankcase is properly vented. If it has a draft tube, and if you're getting some blowby, the draft tube may be venting it just below the p***enger compartment. And blow-by is unburned fuel getting past the rings and into the c/case so that would explain a raw fuel smell (hydrocarbons) instead of an exhaust smell (CO). If possible, try to rig up a true PCV system to vent the crankcase if it isn't already equipped with one.
The road draft tube is located at the back of the block, bell housing area on the drivers side. You can hook up your pcv there, do a search and lots of examples will show up.
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