Flaming Tailpipe

So my ol wagon sat for almost a year. I knew the timing chain was really sloppy, the water pump sprung a leak and the alternator went. So I just recently brought it back to life. I replaced the water pump, alternator, timing chain, fuel pump, tune up, and new carb (swapped the variable venturi carb out for motorcraft 2150) The exhaust has always smelled a bit gassy. I notice, it fires right up when dead cold, but can be difficult to start when it has already been running for a while. Sometimes when idling it makes (as my wife describes) a panting or cough sound, a miss? Curious, I held my lighter near the exhaust and.......flame thrower!!!! Hmmmm, I'm thinking this may not be good. Is there a engine replacement in my near future? I have not done a compression test yet. I think I'm scared to know.........thoughts?

 

Just running fat. Double check the carb. Rebuild if necessary. Probably have a pile of unburned ash in the exhaust pipe too. When they heat up the combustibles temperature climbs to the ignition point. Runn it lean for a while but watch the temperatures. Change the oil too. Fuel can accumulate in the oil too.

 

Carb is brand new, out of the box and bench tested before delivery. Exhaust is new, standard size and muffler, no cats.

 

How do I lean it out.....idle air mixture screws on the front of the carb?

 

I'd check the timing on that car.

 

Check choke plate it should be open and rigid at warm temp.

Screw your idle screws in and then back out 2 1/2 turns (or ask carb guy for instruction).

Screw in each until you get a 50 rpm drop.

 

Choke plate is functioning normal. I will try the mixture screws. I think timing is likely the culprit. I really need to do a compression test. I'm sure i could have some sticky or leaking valves after letting it sit for a year. I've run a few cleaners through the system and have been running premium fuel. I think I may start searching for a 302 to build up and drop in. After i use this running issue as an excuse to replace all the parts that i will end up transferring to the new engine block.

 

The ONLY way to set a carb, accuratly is to install a vacuum guage to the vacuum port the distributor advance canister is connected to, set your timing to specs, and adjust the carb to the highest reading possible, on a clockwise turn, in.
Counting the turns out will NEVER BE ACCURATE, as each motor and carb will be different!
Maybe a good place to start, on a new or rebuilt carb, but don't stop there!

 

Start over dude. I don't know what to tell you but it's running fat. Is it missing or running rough? Maybe try a different carb from a friend and see what happens? Check your fuel pressure and look down the carb when it is actually running. (Please be safe!)Look for droplets of fuel falling on the throttle plates. If you see this then the carb is leaking down into the carb throat and intake manifold.
Dave.

 

This is not that difficult to sort out, if you take your time, and do it one step at a time. Been there, done this with old Ford engines before this. Chances are that the engine is just fine mechanically. You just changed the timing chain, so I will presume you made sure the cam was indexed correctly. Base timing is 12 degrees before top dead centre. These old Ford Windsor engines like just a touch more than that. Say about 14 degrees. You should have the lightest touch of knock under heavy load and full throttle.

The gas in the exhaust is very simple. Your carb is running rich. That is all there is to it. We'll presume that since it is freshly built, the correct jets and metering rods were used. No carb comes out of the box set up properly for the car. The factory specs for a rebuild are sufficient to make the car run. The the adjustments take place. You are going to use the two adjustment screws on the front of the carb, as well as the throttle adjustment. Start on the passenger side, and turn the screw IN until the idle starts to drop. Begin turning it OUT until the idle is as high as it can go. Do the same to the driver's side screw. Lower the idle speed as required using the throttle stop adjustment to keep it in the idle circuit. With a brand new carb, it normally takes 2 or 3 times back and forth between the mixture screws to get it just right. When it is as fast and smooth as possible, turn the 2 adjustment screws IN about 1/8 of a turn, then put the air filter housing back on. That should have it running as leanly as possible, consistent with good performance. Check the spark plugs. If it was running that rich, I would bet the plugs are filthy. I would change them, along with the wires, cap, rotor, and if it is old, the coil, too. I've had good luck with the Neihoff direct replacement coils. They are not terribly expensive, and connect using the factory horse shoe. Put in a new fuel filter while you are at it. You will need to add an in line filter, since the VV carbs use a filter in the body of the carb at the fuel inlet, and the 2150 does not. Change the oil. Don't even think about that one. I can pretty much guarantee you have gas in the oil, and that can do two things. It can kill an engine, but worse, it can explode, blowing the engine apart. When you change the wires, make sure you use the correct firing order. There are 4 different orders for the Windsor engines. 302 pre- and post-85, and 351 pre- and post-85. They are all eccentric, too. Oh, and gap the spark plugs at 50/1000. Always regap new plugs. I have never, not once, found a set of plugs all gapped correctly out of the box. Do all of that, and it will take about an hour and a half all in, and you should find the car runs like a top. Oh, and cover the very basic thing. Make sure you have no vacuum leaks. Oh, one other thing most people never think of. The oil filler cap, that is also the housing for the PCV valve is supposed to have a filter in it. That filter can plug or disintegrate. The caps are readily available, for about $7 at your local parts store. Slap a new one on to keep the PCV system running clean. Don't forget a new valve and breather filter, either. All the parts for the major tune up are going to run about $150, at the top end, and will make a huge difference to how the car runs.

 

Excellent advise, i always begin my new carb at 1 and 1/4 turns out on the screws(unless specified otherwise)

When i got my ford wagon with the VV carb mine was the same way it was overfull in the oil pan and i would guess was about 2 gallons in there mostly gas!and yes it made a tad bit of monkey with hammers noise.

i replaced the plugs, carb, fuel pump oil and filter i prefer 15-40 diesel oil as it has what the older engines need(but for this clean out use the cheapest crap u can find as you will not drive it). Get it running and let it idle and come up to temp do not rev it and such just let it clean itself out with heat.Did this every day for about a week (it still reeked of gas in the oil and yes so did the tailpipe!) Change the oil and filter again. Drove it appx 500 mi and changed oil and filter again! By this time she was cleaned out good and the smell was gone and she runs like a top and never made another sound! You have to remember your rings pistons and cyls walls are washed out with gas from the top and bottom. I would do your primary tuning as it idles the first round to keep the idle smooth and then after the first change finish the rest off and test drive and such.

PS i wouldn't get excited about the gas in the tailpipe smell as the way mine was the exaust was full of gas as was the oil pan and cyls.That extra gas that was dumping had to go somewhere from cyls. running it up to temp will burn that off. And look at the bright side you have a really clean engine inside now

 

The only carb adjustments you'll make externally are the idle circuit.
I'd be looking down the venturis for dripping which indicates internal issues or too high float setting. I'm unsure of that carbs make up but enough unburned fuel to ignite the exhaust ain't likely coming from the idle circuit alone. Very weak ignition or drastically wrong timing could contribute to this too but would also manifest themselves in other ways.
Reman carbs are quite often worse than what you started with, especially cheap ones. Parts from a zillion cores are mixed and "matched", often incorrectly. Alway better to overhaul your original carb. even if it is that variable venturi job which is an acknowledged difficult one.

 

Thanks Mike, The oil was changed when I replaced the timing chain, I had already done a complete tune up before the carb replacement. I bet I need plugs again though after running so rich for about 700 miles or so. And I do need to change the oil again. I plan on using Lucas stabilizer when I do. I tuned the carb and It is so much better already. After reading your post, I'm slapping myself, because everything you said should be common sense for me, I grew up around cars and have been a mechanic for 7 years. I really should know better. I have not messed with many carbs other than on small engines. I guess I was panicking a little. I had other older mechanics around me saying all these terrible possibilities and I believe it began to interfere with my logic. Thank you very much, You are very knowledgeable and detailed. I appreciate ya! I'm buying a 83 Lincoln, donor car next week. I hope I can get my $400 worth out of it.

 

oh yea you'll get that out of it save the converters mechanical parts u can use aluminum wheels if it has em and if it's solid advertise parts keep what you think you can sell and sell it to a derby guy.You should be able to get your parts, get about half your cash back from wheels and converters(if you have a connection) and still get your 400 or MORE for whats left to a derby guy!

 

Chuck: The very first time I did a tune up on a car, I had a friend and his Dad teach me. We were working on Ma's 72 Dodge Dart. This was back in 77. That car was running so rich on the one barrel Holley that there was raw gas dripping out the pipe, too. When we started adjusting things, the metering rods were just about falling out of the carb because the idiot professional had set the idle too high and used the mixture to set the idle where it needed to be. When we were done, you could have balanced an egg on that old 225 leaning tower of power, and the gas mileage doubled. While adjusting the mixture does directly affect the idle circuit only, there is only the one set of metering rods, and the idle circuit sets the base line for the rest of the operating range. I have seen as much as a 40% increase in gas mileage simply by setting the carburetor properly, and that was on a car that was running 'right' before I started.

By the way, great call on ditching the VV. That thing is impossible to fix once it starts malfunctioning. Not even Ford Historical can figure the system out properly. If you really want to improve drivability and fuel economy, though, go to an Edelbrock Performer intake and square bore 1401 carburetor body. Talk to the Edelbrock tech desk, though, about how you use the car, and they will figure out which jets and metering rods are correct for the way you use the vehicle. Changing the rods and jets is very simple on it, too.