I post on here about everything I find going on with my van. Because everyone on here helps out.
1986 e350 460 motor.
I found a gas leak today. I haven't noticed until today. Awhile ago I changed my spark plug wires and had to remove the air filter. The whole assembly.... it's a tight fit in there if you're taking it out from under the hood... I feel like I knocked something loose while putting it back together but never noticed it...

so my question is what should I be looking for ? Should I have it running while I'm looking for this leak ? I'm nervous because there's gas leaking from the front of it and don't want to start a fire. I don't have the money right now to buy the manual that labels everything and can't find anything on the web besides just a picture without any labels what tools should I have because I can't really see on top of the carb just the front and back. Should I get a mirror ? I'm stumped and nervous that I won't be able to get the family to the holiday dinners. What's a good way to clean up the gas that leaked out ?

 

That might be a Holley 4160. if so, towards the bottom of this page is a diagram that might help
5 Best Images of Exploded View Diagram Of A Car - Exploded Isometric Drawing, Subaru Front Suspension Diagram and Toyota Clutch Diagram / gridgit.com

HEre is another
phscollectorcarworld: Tech Files: Holley 4150. 4160 ID Carburetor Guide

Get a mirror and good light. Some carb cleaner as it will remove dirt and wet gas as well as it will dry very fast. Just use rags to soak up the gas. If you can find a small ABC fire extinguisher would be great. Once cleaned and the gas is dried up, pull the coil wire and spin it over a couple of times and then look for leaks. If you have a helper that might be better. If you can't find a leak that way, you may have to put the coil wire back and start the engine for a short time and look again.

There is a good chance it is just a bad gasket, loose screw, or connection. Ethanol gas is not friendly to our older carbed systems.. They have special gaskets and rebuild kits rated for ethanol now.. let us know what you find.

EDIT
"pull the coil wire and spin it over a couple of times and then look for leaks."

Pull the coil wire and spin the engine over a couple of times and then look for leaks .
NO
Perhaps better said, try to start the engine for a few seconds... spinning the coil wire over a couple of times would be easy but spinning the engine over would prove difficult but neither would accomplish the goal!
Good luck!

 

[QUOTE=annaleigh;16815549]If you can find a small ABC fire extinguisher would be great. /QUOTE]

Annaleigh your reply is fantastic except this!!

My profession is working with fire extinguishers and fire systems. I've done it for 6 years averaging 55hours per week. I'll step in on this one

gasoline is a B rated fire so you are welcome to use a BC fire extinguisher if that's all you can find. ABC is good but no need to go searching if you already have a BC.

More importantly: check the vitals!! Make sure the gauge needle is indicating good pressure. You'd be amazed how often I encounter people and their bad fire extinguishers AND THE PEOPLE DONT KNOW!! I point out the low pressure and they say the darndest things....
"oh I never looked at that"
"I figured it would still work"
etc etc etc
(some cheap fire extinguishers don't even have a gauge. They have an "indicator". Trash them. Don't put life/property at risk for such junk)

2nd: once you've established that it has proper pressure; turn it upside down and FEEL the powder move. If you don't feel it move, then tap it, shake it, swirl it... if you don't feel the powder move, there's a chance it won't operate when you pull the trigger.

lastly, a common fire extinguisher "mistake " is having one of those tiny units. 2.5lbs of powder. They are about the diameter of a soda can but 2-3 times as tall. THESE ARE JUNK!!!! They discharge for only 6-8 seconds. Most amateurs (like you) couldn't extinguish a cigarette but in 6-8seconds. (Ok I'm exaggerating but you get the point)

a 5lb unit will discharge for about 15seconds, which is decent for amateurs. A 10lb unit will give you about 20seconds.

Look up "fire extinguisher service" in your local area and find a LOCAL company (not a national place like Cintas or Simplex Grinnel). A local company will likely sell you a used fire extinguisher for a deep discount if they know it's going in your home/car. Maybe even for free if you are a single mom or some other sob story. Every local company has a pile of "uglies" that cannot be sold for business use due to damaged serial numbers or dents or rust.

Most importantly, don't test the fire extinguisher. If you operate it for even .2 seconds, it will have powder on its rubber valve and will slowly leak away ALL its pressure in the coming days/weeks.

There you go.

 

Great post Im50fast!
Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and wisdom with us. Thank you also for the information on where to buy a fire extinguisher at a good price.
I would think fire safety is one of the most overlooked subjects for many of us. I have a 5lb extinguisher for my house but just looked under the sink and it isn't here, that's another problem!

 

I'm glad to help

For home use make sure you do have ABC instead of just BC. The "A" is for standard combustibles like wood/paper/trash.

Overall, ABC is standard but since the OP of this thread was concerned with gasoline leaking, a fire extinguisher rated BC would be just fine. And there's a decent amount of BC units out there.

Anyway, definitely splitting hairs but ....


merry Christmas everyone!