I am trying to decide if I need to rebuild my carburetor and if I should do it or hire it out. The truck has been sitting for 12-15 years. I am getting to the point of trying to start it and put a new fuel pump on and wonder if I should rebuild the carb too. Is it necessary, how can I tell if it needs it without trying to start the truck and is it the kind of thing that someone else should do if I've never done one.

 

If the pickup has been sitting that many years, I would rebuild it. The gaskets and accelerator pump have probably long since dried out. Plus, you don't know if some insects or other ilk have decided to make it into a condominium.

Rebuilding a carb isn't hard. Just make sure you have a clean surface to dissemble it on. Take your time, look things over and take notes about how it looked before you re-arranged things. You will need some correct-sized screwdrivers, an air source, fine wire or small drill bits, and either cans of carb cleaner or laquer thinner. Kits usually come with an exploded view of the carb, but again, take notes about yours, as the kits cover different versions.

A couple of other things to consider. Once apart, put the major body parts together and check for daylight without the gaskets. If you see a big gap, you may have to sand or file the surfaces to avoid air leaks. Finally, take your carb to the parts house so they can look at all the casting numbers to help them get you the correct kit.

 

Thank you. I called Holley and got the rebuild kit part number based on the List # I found on the carb. It only costs about $24 vs about $250 to have a local rebuilder do it. I've done everything else myself so I thought I would try and tackle this too.

 

I took pictures of mine with a digital camera, I took lots of pictures actually. Then I had my laptop sitting there when there was a spring or two I was trying to figure out where they went.

 

The pictures sound like a great idea. I take lots of digital photos for other stuff but that idea never crossed my mine. Duh.

 

This is the best site I have found about carbs - yours is an earlier model but the basics are the same. It is well worth a read, and to study the pictures.

http://home.earthlink.net/~bubbaf250...rb/carb02.html

I saved this website on my hard drive and read it again whenever I need to do anything with a carb. . .

Clint