Car,Truck Carb,Carburetor Repair,rebuild,overhaul,advice,symptom

Your car's carburetor (if it has one, most recent cars are FUEL INJECTED) supplies the proper mix of fuel and air to your engine. A malfunctioning carburetor can make your engine run rich (too much gas, too little air) or lean (too little gas, too much air)

Symptoms of a defective carburetor

A defective carburetor can cause smelly exhaust, smoking, hard starting, rough running, stalling, hesitation on acceleration, and poor gas mileage.

How a Carburetor works

A carburetor works by the VENTURI PRINCIPLE: which basically means that if you pass air across a hole, a vacuum will be created in that hole. A carburetor has many carefully positioned holes which the air sucked in by the engine flows past. These holes are connected to the CARBURETOR BOWL, which is kept full of fuel by a FLOAT AND NEEDLE VALVE. This valve and float shut off the pressurized fuel sent from the tank by the fuel pump. It works about the same way as a toilet tank float valve. How much air flows by the carburetor venturi's is determined by the throttle plate, which restricts the airflow through the carburetor. At wide open throttle, all possible air is admitted throught he carburetor, and maximum power is gotten from the engine.

When an engine is cold it needs a richer (more fuel to air mix than usual) mixture to run correctly. A carburetor has a device called a CHOKE to accomplish this. The choke is like he throttle, except it is on the top rather than the bottom of the carb, and it closes when cold and opens when warm. When the choke is closed, it restricts the air entering the carburetor at the top, while the throttle still allows the same amount of air to go through the bottom. This means the same amount of fuel is sucked, but less air: so the mix is richer.

Click here for some images of different carburetors

(you'd think carburetor would be spelled carburator, wouldn't you? In fact, carburator spelling gets some hits, because a lot of folks think carburator is right. Carburator is WRONG though, but if you want to spell it carburator I don't mind: or carburettor, for that matter!)

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Thank you for visiting the ECONOMECHANIX WEB SITE. Please feel free to comment. We also serve the surrounding communities of Alachua, High Springs, Hawthorne, and Newberry! Gainesville has been my home since 1974, and I've loved Gvl and the Gators since I came here in the fall of 1974 to attend the University of Florida. I loved it so much I stayed and opened my car repair business. Originally it was out of the back of a 1963 Chevrolet wagon, but in 1977 a fellow mechanic and I opened an auto repair shop with actual walls, etc. I stayed in the same location for 26 years, and recently moved my operation to property I bought 15 miles east of Gainesville. I am doing most all the repairs myself now, having reduced my overhead from $1500 per month to practically nothing. I do work by appointment only. I mostly work only on my established customers cars, but I will occasionally take on new clients. E-mail me and I will either make arrangements to look at your car, or I will recommend you to someone who will.

George G. Scott, Jr.

Auto, Truck Carburetor repair

Symptoms of a defective carburetor

How a Carburetor works