Well guys, i was taking off my carburetor and guess wat, i dropped pieces of gasket into my intake manifold. so WTF do i do now?

 

Good light, forceps, and a vacuum cleaner and go correct your wrong

 

hmm, sounds like an smart way to do it, but its like dirty in there, so wont some gasket stick to the inside of the manifold?? I thikn ill have to remove my manifold and stuff and clean it out

 

there's not much to removing a manifold, esp on the older carb engines. it's a good opportunity to clean it out and replace the intake gaskets. once you have it off, use some carb cleaner to remove the junk and compressed air to blow out the runners. just be sure to follow the right pattern when re-tightening the manifold bolts and you should be fine. In fact... if you have some extra cash, a good aluminum intake can be had for less than a couple hundred bucks. The right one will not only make your engine several pounds lighter, but will probably net you some hp/tq as well.

 

cool, i appreciate the help. where are the runners? and for carb cleaner do i just spray it in? and do i need to buy a new manifold gasket when i take it off?

 

The runners are the ports in the manifold that the air fuel mix goes into the engine by. Yes you need a new gasket if you pull the manifold and some gasket sealer. You can clean that manifold up or get a good Edelbrock performance one.

 

well i dont think im gonna replace it, i dont really care much for performance, but i may replace my carburetor. It looks pretty bad, i ordered a rebuild kit, and i have NO idea anything about carburetors, much less rebuilding them. I just puled my carb and it looks pretty dirty, i sprayed carb cleaner all over it, so maybe that will help. Once i put it all back together, i doubt it will run - so ill probobly end up buying a new one. What is the name of the carb used on the bronco 351w?

 

Start with a good spraying of gunk degreaser and pressure wash, if you don't have one take it to the local car wash after midnight

 

carwash after midniught? haha

 

Get a haynes manual to help rebuild the carb, and the brand name of carb is a motorcraft

 

well i have a haynes manual, and it isnt very helpful, the pictures are bad, there aren't enough of them, and they are so close up you cant even tell what theyre pointing too! I have not found that manual helpfull at all, not once. I rebuild the carb, and i have it in the engine. I havent started it because i forgot to put in the fuel tube that connects the 2 gas bowl thingies. i HIGHLY doubt i did the rebuild right, and i think it didnt replace enough of the parts (the kit didnt come with new floats).

Anyway, it probobly wont work, and if it doesnt - what is the cheapest edelbrock carburetor that is compatable for my car? Or would i have to modify it to get to it fit? Or can i just buy a Holley 4180 carburetor? Because ill probobly just buy a new one. and HOW THE FLIP DO YOU DISCONNECT THE FUEL LINE/TUBE FROM THE FREAKING BOWL!!!!??!?!? Its the one that screws in, and it is freaking impossible - its the one that holds the small fuel filter.

 

I love my haynes manual...

anyway, the fuel line you're talking about is probably just stuck in there good and needs to be worked loose. try dousing it with carb cleaner (be sure to get some down in the threads if possible) and let it sit for at least 10-15 minutes. use a crescent wrench to slowly try and turn the fitting. If it doesn't work... blow the fitting off with some compresed air and try the whole process again. If it still doesn't work after about 5 tries, you might want to take it to your local mechanic and let him have a go at it. It's the kind of thing that is easy once you figure it out, but the first time can be a real pain.

as for carbs, pretty much any edelbrock / weber / whateverbrand carb designed for a v8 engine is going to be compatible. even if you're going to keep the stock intake, just be sure that you either get a carb with the same shape intake port as your manifold, or you get an adapter. If you're not worried about performance, you can get a lower CFM 4-bbl carb or even go to a 2-bbl for gas mileage.

It's always going to be cheaper to rebuild your existing carb than to buy a new one. if you don't want to upgrade for performance... you're probably better off rebuilding the one you have.

 

well heres an update, i finally "kinda" got the fuel line loose, but man is it a pain and it takes a long time too. I remeber seeing some kind of Edelbrock carburetor (i think it was a 750cfm performer?) and it was a 4bbl and all chrome plated and it was only $245, should i just buy that? Do you think it will fit? I kinda want a 600cfm, that would probobly work better with a stcok motor. Maybe 650cfm for a little extra juice.
liek this one -http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000182DIS/sr=8-1/qid=1155569375/ref=sr_1_1/002-9367754-6452054?ie=UTF8
Yet that one looks much different, the mixing bowl things are on the left and right, where on mine theyre int he front and back. So would that fit? Also those tubes taht attatch to the mixing bowls, how will i relocate them to the left and right so i can connect them to the new carb? It just doesnt seem possible. Obviously id rather keep my car stock but this rebuild isnt going so well, its like leaking fuel all over the place. and it wont turn over, and even when it does turn over it stalls.

 

without upgrading your intake, you won't see much if any real performance gain from a 650+ CFM carb, you'll just end up using more gas. If you're interested in a new carb and manifold, find a used (rebuilt) intake / carb combo on ebay or at your local swap meet. I bet you can get both for less than $250 if you look hard enough. If you're in more of a hurry... get the 650 now and get an upgraded manifold later. you should be able to find an adapter (pretty cheap) to mate the new carb up to your old manifold.

As for the fuel lines, you really should try to resolve that leak before you start cranking it over. you might think it's a pain... but an engine fire is far worse . You may need some flexible fuel line to reroute everything properly, but that's cheap too. I'd recommend calling someplace like JBG or jegs and talk to a tech about what will fit and what you need to make it all work together.

also, as a personal recommendation, I think you should try to stay focused on the rebuild. Carb rebuilds aren't terribly difficult once you get the hang of it, and if you plan on having your rig for a long time, the experience will be very valuable. Even if you end up buying a new carb it isn't going to be a simple bolt-on-and-go. you'll have to route the fuel lines, adjust the air/fuel mixture and the idle, etc. A lot can be learned from either experience... but the rebuild is decidedly cheaper

 

wow dijjoshaud, i really appreciate your detailed help, I think that ill probobly have to stick with the rebuild, but i may actaully re-rebuild it with a more complete kit (like new floats) and also ill make sure it comes from Holley, the one i bought was from some cheap company, it was only $33 at i think NapaOnline.com. So i guess for now i will stick with my current carb, i think ill leave it on there and deal with fuel problems at this time.

A full fuel line replacement is probobly a good idea, because im quite sure i stripped my connection between the fuel lines and the carb. I really dont feel like reconnecting it because it was such a pain to remove, so im going to go get more familiar with my fuel lines and see what i can do.