Cleaning the Phenolic spacer
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Freshman User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 32
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From: Austin, Texas
Cleaning the Phenolic spacer
1983 ford e150 w/351
I need to replace the gaskets to the Phenolic spacer
between the carb and engine. It appears to be made out of
a hard black plastic..... Can I allow this to sit in
carb. cleaner and soak for ...say 10 to 15 minutes
w/out damaging it??? I need to get the old gaskets off.
Thanks..
I need to replace the gaskets to the Phenolic spacer
between the carb and engine. It appears to be made out of
a hard black plastic..... Can I allow this to sit in
carb. cleaner and soak for ...say 10 to 15 minutes
w/out damaging it??? I need to get the old gaskets off.
Thanks..
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,127
Likes: 3
From: (near) Denver USA
Cleaning the Phenolic spacer
No. Serious carb cleaners (like ChemDip) will dissolve the spacer. Even 10 minutes is enough to damage the surface.
Try a less aggressive solvent, like engine degreaser or naphtha. You might have to soak it a little longer, but the spacer will still be there when you come back.
Try a less aggressive solvent, like engine degreaser or naphtha. You might have to soak it a little longer, but the spacer will still be there when you come back.
Thread Starter
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Freshman User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 32
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From: Austin, Texas
Cleaning the Phenolic spacer
Thanks Bubba, you've been a great help.
I got my gaskets and MC 2150 jets in the mail today.
I hope to put the carb back together tonight
and install back in the Van Saturday....
One more quick question.
The 2 idle mixture screws... one ""was" backed out 2 1/2 turns..
The other was backed out 4 2/3 turns...
Although maybe not "normal"... is this "nominal" i.e.
"it happens"
Also, Will GUNK work ok on the spacer??
Thanks..
I got my gaskets and MC 2150 jets in the mail today.
I hope to put the carb back together tonight
and install back in the Van Saturday....
One more quick question.
The 2 idle mixture screws... one ""was" backed out 2 1/2 turns..
The other was backed out 4 2/3 turns...
Although maybe not "normal"... is this "nominal" i.e.
"it happens"
Also, Will GUNK work ok on the spacer??
Thanks..
Last edited by scarl; Sep 18, 2003 at 05:22 PM.
Moderator
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 22,436
Likes: 17
From: Louisville,Ky.
Cleaning the Phenolic spacer
Usually they are about the same. There may have been some blockage on one side requiring more fuel or it may have vibrated out if the spring is weak or, whomever adjusted the carb last didn't really have a clue to what they were doing.
Jimmy
Jimmy
Thread Starter
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Freshman User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 32
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From: Austin, Texas
Cleaning the Phenolic spacer
Rebuilding a MC 2150 on 1983 van e150 w/351.
When I took the carb. off
the 2 idle mixture screws... one ""was" backed out 2 1/2 turns..
The other was backed out 4 2/3 turns...
Although maybe not "normal"... is this "nominal" i.e.
"it happens" and still correct??
What would be a good starting point for the idle mixture screws???
Thanks
When I took the carb. off
the 2 idle mixture screws... one ""was" backed out 2 1/2 turns..
The other was backed out 4 2/3 turns...
Although maybe not "normal"... is this "nominal" i.e.
"it happens" and still correct??
What would be a good starting point for the idle mixture screws???
Thanks
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,127
Likes: 3
From: (near) Denver USA
Cleaning the Phenolic spacer
If you're referring to Gunk brand engine degreaser, it should be fine on the spacer. Just avoid cleaners with high levels of toluene or acetone. Those are great cleaning solvents, but they attack many types of plastic/rubber.
Jimmy is right about the idle mixture screws. Both screws should be set to the same position. Whenever I find a carb with large differences between the screw positions, I assume somebody was just messing around and didn't really know what they were doing.
The only reason to use different adjustments that I can think of would be to compensate for a vacuum leak on one side of the carb. (Of course, to do that right, you'd also have to use different jets and different power valve metering for the two sides of the carb. All that could be done, but I've never seen it on a street vehicle.)
Start the idle mixture screws at 2.0 turns out. Once you get the engine running, you can adjust them (probably out a little more) to get the highest manifold vacuum at idle speed. Each time you make an adjustment, turn both screws the same amount.
If you have emission testing to deal with, you might need somebody with a gas analyzer to do a final tweak for you.
Jimmy is right about the idle mixture screws. Both screws should be set to the same position. Whenever I find a carb with large differences between the screw positions, I assume somebody was just messing around and didn't really know what they were doing.
The only reason to use different adjustments that I can think of would be to compensate for a vacuum leak on one side of the carb. (Of course, to do that right, you'd also have to use different jets and different power valve metering for the two sides of the carb. All that could be done, but I've never seen it on a street vehicle.)
Start the idle mixture screws at 2.0 turns out. Once you get the engine running, you can adjust them (probably out a little more) to get the highest manifold vacuum at idle speed. Each time you make an adjustment, turn both screws the same amount.
If you have emission testing to deal with, you might need somebody with a gas analyzer to do a final tweak for you.
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