VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 1946 won't idle

1946 starts and runs but it WILL NOT idle at the normal idling speed/range . Keeps dying. It will start right up again, run several seconds, then sputter and quit. Took carb off, cleaned, replaced a couple gaskets, everything looks good. New : coil, spark plugs, condenser, plug wires, dist. cap, points, rotor. I had it running fine about 1 month ago...now this !! ??

If anybody read my posts before, the original coil quit, the replacement coil was bad, now I have another replacement coil on it. Again, it was running great till about 2 weeks ago. Had a nice warm day here so I decided to work on it. Thanks all.

What am I missing or do wrong ? This is driving me nuts.

Very possible cause is dirt in the carb. low speed jet....assuming that you have an original Carter W-1 carb.
Remove air cleaner. Place #3 spark plug wire on #4 spark plug and #4 wire on #3 spark plug. Start engine and mash down the gas pedal several times. This wiil cause the engine to back-fire through the carb. and blow the dirt out of the low speed jet.

Ohhhhhh ok thx will try that ! It is a rebuilt carb, probably original to the car and rebuilt ( it has the little rebuild tag on it ) or replaced sometime in the last 71 years. Thanks for advice. And I did a search and looked at lots of posts about idling.

Clement,

Please let us know if the backfiring solved your problem.

Thanks, Mike

Clement,

Have you adjusted the idle mixture screw on the engine side of the carb? Or the accelerator rod? Or timing?

Just a thought or two,

Charlie

I hope not as those items will have no effect on your problem.

going to try right now...no...have not adjusted mentioned items. Fingers crossed

Tried the spark plug trick did it several times....lots of backfiring.idles ok...not perfect at all..better....still dies...probably need to do it more....ugh...

Could also have a vacuum leak such as the rubber wiper hose or cracked carbuetor to manifold insulator.

How old is the gas that you are putting into the carb?

Manifold gasket good.....will check wiper hose. Gasoline just 2 months old.

carb to manifold gasket good....wiper hose seems good.....did some more spark plug switching and blew out some more deposits.....still same situation when done...try it some more

Eliminate the wiper system completely by plugging the supply outlet to test. If you have tried the plug switching several times and it "helps" but is not a cure then either there is another problem or the carb needs a professional rebuild. I read the post where the gas is only a couple months old but did you check for possible water in the gas?

Hear is just a thought! The gas now a days has a minimum of 10% Ethanol added to the gas! Here is the following article I just found on the internet!

EPA Admits Ethanol Damages Engines This week 7/22/14 marks a victory for the latter camp, as the EPA has now publicly confirmed that ethanol does cause serious damage the engines.

According to the EPA, ethanol impacts motor vehicles in two primary ways. First … ethanol leans the [air/fuel] ratio (increases the proportion of oxygen relative to hydrocarbons) which can lead to increased exhaust gas temperatures and potentially increase incremental deterioration of emission control hardware and performance over time, possibly causing catalyst failure.

Second, ethanol can cause materials compatibility issues, which may lead to other component failures. What material compatibility issues would they be referring to? Ethanol has been known to wreak havoc on fuel systems, deteriorating plastic and silicone components such as hoses, fuel pumps and filters, gas tanks, and fuel injectors.

Among its other talents, ethanol also has the ability to etch aluminum and magnesium, as well as absorb moisture from the air, allowing a water/alcohol mixture in the fuel tank.

I have had a few leaf blowers rubber hoses destroyed plus my next door neighbor landscaper has had 2 high end chain saws engines destroyed from this E10 ethanol gas!

Plus a few months ago my 400 SB Chevy gas was dumping out on the garage floor and the next day tried to find the leak and now the gas was dumping in the oil pan.

Again that crap they put in the gas ate thru the rubber diaphragm in the mechanical fuel pump!

When you replace to any parts it NEEDS to be minimum 10% Ethanol rated including any rubber hoses, O-rings, etc.!

Rory
1934 Chevrolet Standard Roadster
1933 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1934 Ford 4 Door Sedan rolling frame under construction
1933 Ford 4 Door Phaeton

I have used gas with 10% ethanol in my old cars for the last 25 years and never had a problem. Due to health problems some was over two years old and the engines started and ran fine.
I do not let it sit all winter in my lawn mowers, etc. but it has never been a problem in my old cars. Also I have driven all over the country with the old cars using both non-ethanol and 10% ethanol and the engines always performed the same.

I have had nothing but problems for years with that junk Ethanol and hopefully the EPA will eliminate that crap in the near future.

Wow, I have used nothing but 10% ethanol since the early 1990s in my newer vehicles and never had a problem. I do avoid it in my old Chevys for 2 reasons, mainly the rubber diaphram in the fuel pump and one of my cars has a dirty fuel tank. Ethanol loosens up any crud in the fuel system and I had a problem with that in my '33 which sat out for years. I have used it in my '37 with no problems but it has been on the road constantly for it's entire life and has a clean gas tank. Maybe our ethanol here in Iowa is fresher or something but I will not use anything but ethanol in my newer vehicles if it is available. Sometimes on vacation I buy regular for my motorhome because it is cheaper or ethanol is not available but I don't see any difference in performance.

Gas with ethanol added will not generally be a problem with most vehicles if the gas tank is filled and the the vehicle driven regularly. There are two major issues, ethanol is polar and hydroscopic. 1. The polarity of ethanol can result in the molecule penetrating many elastomers (aka rubber) which can either swell or deteriorate the material or both. 2. Polar molecules have a positive charge on one side and negative on the other. H2O is also polar. So ethanol attracts water (hydro [water} scopic [seeking]. The water/ethanol molecule can act as an agent to loosen deposits. That produces solids that can plug small openings. Over time the water/ethanol compounds will attack metals like brass, copper, steel, zinc. It takes time to form the secondary compounds and therefore more insoluble solids that can coat or plug up stuff.

There are additives put into gasoline blends by the gasoline distributors to reduce the negative effects but they are only effective for a limited time. That is the reason that personally added stuff, like SeaFoam, Sta-Bil can help.

End of chemistry lesson for today. Back to the why the '46 will not idle. My guess is crud plugging a small opening.

Thanks all. Will take off wiper hose and plug that outlet on manifold and try that. There has got to be some more gunk in carb, and yes, it might need a professional rebuild. Suggestions ? I know you have to be careful finding a good rebuilder...have read stories about " carb rebuild disasters "on other posts on here.

The poster above your post is a carburetor rebuilder that you can depend on.
If dirt is a problem that problem MUST be resolved before any carburetor work is done.

There are several companies that make brand new carburetors just bolt on and adjust jets!

It would also be a good idea to buy a rebuilding kit to rebuild your old one as a backup!

Plus another tip have a clear plastic inline gas filter near the tank and another clear filter near the carburetor. That way you can get a visual of how dirty your fuel is!

Here is one www.chevsofthe40s.com Carburetor-Replacement Item # 838939 37-67 Weighs 4.9300lbs.

They have models is made especially for Chevy 6 cyl engines from 1937-1967. This high quality replacement carburetor bolts right on the manifold; has the normal Chevy linkage, pre-jetted, and are all manual choke models. It will fit either the 216 or 235 engines without modifications, and also the larger 261 engines. 1 year warranty for parts and manufacturing defects. Made in the USA

Rory
1934 Chevrolet Standard Roadster
1933 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1934 Ford 4 Door Sedan rolling frame under construction
1933 Ford 4 Door Phaeton

Here is another source Kanter Auto Products Classic Antique Car Restoration Parts! I have bought brand new Carters and rebuild kits for my 34 Chevy!

www.kanter.com

Rory
1934 Chevrolet Standard Roadster
1933 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1934 Ford 4 Door Sedan rolling frame under construction
1933 Ford 4 Door Phaeton

Use a VCCA advertiser and member Dean Echols Chino Valley Az. 928-710-4325 deanechols@cableone.net

Thanks. I bought a rebuild kit from Chev's.....the plunger in it was completely wrong....too short and a rectangular shaped shaft...original was round....other parts looked good. I appreciate the input.....I will try Chevgene's trick again, also take off wiper hose and try that. I might try rebuilding it myself....can it be that hard to do ??? LOL Or send it out to your 1 of your suggested places.

and I have the original ( or rebuilt ) fuel pump with the glass bowl. Gasoline clear and beautiful...no gunk at all. Also a fuel line filter was installed by previous owner near carb. Fuel clear and beautiful and no gunk .