Holley 1904 Leaking Problem
 

So I have a 223 I6 on my 1960 F-100, and the Holley 1904 single barrel has had a slight oozing problem at the bottom of the float bowl. After a couple of weeks of it ever so slightly dripping onto the intake manifold, I decided to replace the float bowl gasket to see if that was the problem. So I bought a brand new cork gasket from Mike's Carburetor Parts for the 1904. (Link here: Holley 1904 1920 Float Bowl Gasket Cork)

I took off the float bowl cover, cleaned it, and put on the new gasket. It bowed out a little bit at the bottom like it was too wide to fit perfectly flush, but when I put on the bowl and tightened down all the screws, it seemed to fit fine, and everything looked snug. So after a while, I fired it up after a bit of cranking, and it started up. So, I get out and look at the carb, and holy $%#@, it's dumping gas all over the place!! I knew I shouldn't have trusted it! Not Happy with Mike's Carburetor Parts...

Can anyone point me in the right direction of a known correct gasket? I'm 99% sure this one's too big to seat correctly. :-arrgh And sorry for rambling so much. :-blah

If I remember correctly, I made mine out of a sheet of gasket material. Pretty inexpensive and didn't take too long. A good gasket comes with rebuild kits as well.

You sure it isn't running out of overflow on top of carb?

I didn't really let it run long enough to really check it out. All I know is that it was just dumping it out straight downwards.

mike's good stuff, sells good parts. He's pretty good about answering emails, and produces YT videos on disassembly and rebuilding and servicing carbs. They also have one of the largest inventory of parts and kits too.

With all that said I think you could try http://www.carburetion.com or https://daytonaparts.com but I bet the parts are the same.

When it comes to carburetors I like to start from the beginning. Since the manuals and everything is available for free download in .pdf form, why not? They are interesting to read and will make you a LOT better mechanic.

Use new gaskets, inlet valve and seat, float, proper size jets, inlet filter etc. Float height setting and the ultimate fuel height especially in the bowl is especially important to prevent flooding.

Holly leak
 

I'd be looking for very small cracks.

Thanks for the advice, Tedster. Do you think it's possible that I screwed up the float height when I was putting the bowl back on, and it's overflowing? Not entirely sure if its leaking from the seam yet... I'll do some investigation later after my classes today. Again, thanks for the advice, I'm actually pretty new to the whole "gearhead" world, so I'm definitely still learning.

I dunno. Have to check. The float height setting just gets things in the ballpark for testing. Might be close. "Should" be close. Maybe perfect or, sometimes, way low/high. I think it probably depends on the variance in fuel pump volume, and pressure. So there's a range of acceptable output, the needle float and seat therefore is to regulate this output into the reservoir of fuel in the bowl that isn't too much (possible flooding, running too rich) or too little (hesitation or sputtering, low power at highway speeds) at all times, under all conditions.

Or maybe a bad gasket. ha

Okay, so today I opened up the bowl again, because I knew it had to be a problem with the gasket. So, I open it up and lo and behold; the gasket hadn't flattened out at all, it actually just folded up into the bowl... :-roll So then I was trying to decide what to do about getting a new gasket and/or returning the defective one, but I just said screw it and I made my own out of some cork gasket material I had. Traced up the old one, cut it out, and after a few test fits, it was in like the last peice of a puzzle! I ran the engine for a minute or two, revved it a bit, and tada! No Niagara Falls! :-X06 Thanks for the help guys, it just took some common sense and craftiness on my part. Still a little ticked off that a simple little gasket being sold for this specific carb didn't work out and caused such a stink.

Forgot to add pics.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...78b85896b8.jpg

Brand new Mike's Carb gasket


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...a92a8afef0.jpg

My homemade one

I just went through the same process with my Holley 1904. The gasket that I got from Mikes looks like the one that you made. I'm not sure that you got the right gasket from Mikes!

It looks used? Tough to tell on a smartphone

I have been stuck before and cut out a couple layers of "cereal box", to get by. Who am I kidding, I also just left it there till I had trouble again. Why don't I learn?

Yes, It would appear that this is the wrong size for my carb. But it's listed as a 1904 gasket, and all the reviews say it works great... Idk if they just gave me the wrong one or what.

Which one? The top pic is of the brand new Mike's one after it leaked on me, and the bottom one is my homemade one from new cork gasket material.

Warped
 

I have never actually seen the carb leak but can see where gas has leaked onto the intake My carb is a little warped out the fuel bowl. Is there anything I can do? Homemade thicker gasket ???

The pictures make the bowl opening look like it isn't square, and the sides of the opening don't look straight. Maybe its the camera you are using? Anyway, I would remove the gasket and put the bowl cover in place to see if it fits flat inside the flange that surrounds the bowl opening. That way you can confirm the bowl cover still fits the way it is supposed to. If the carburetor body is distorted, it may be preventing the bowl cover from contacting the gasket the way it should causing a leak. Am I making sense?

While you are test fitting with the gasket removed, I would also make sure the float hinge pin is not sticking out far enough to prevent the bowl cover from sealing on the gasket. Also, the throttle return spring appears to be working its way through the bracket. Two springs, one inside the other, will go a long way toward preventing the dreaded throttle stuck wide open syndrome.

Welcome to the world of real old time wrenching. New parts are great but the last time I went to the local parts store for a 1904 kit, it was $75!!.
for me, half the enjoyment I get is from improvising, cut, fit, modify, weld things to make them work. I also appreciate the internet and all the avenues it opens but in some ways it's made us too dependent on running to the keyboard instead of to the wrenches.

Not my original post
 

The carb pictured above is not mine. I was reading the post and just jumped on board lol My carb does have a warp and my question was is there a way to fix this other than getting a squared up carb? Slightly thicker gasket? Use fuel resistant rtv??? I've never actually seen any drips but you can see where the fuel drips onto the manifold.

This is how I solved my leaking carb....


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...b9ae988d62.jpg

:D:D

This is a good video to check out

Similar experience here with my 1959 Ford F-250 I believe fitted with a 1954 233 Straight Six with Holley 1904 glass bowl. Although the female thread bases look warped, the glass bowl seemed to fit evenly with the metal base of the carb (with no gasket as a test fit). Mike's Carburetor parts gasket for Holley 1904 fit like a glove. But when I used the G170 Black Nitrate coated gasket it still leaked. When I swapped it out with a home made cork version cut from Fel-Pro 1/16" cork/rubber sheet, it sealed up nicely right away. So I would suggest cork for the gasket between the glass bowl and carb base. Ordered G3373 cork gasket from Mike's as backup in case the rubber/cork matrix doesn't hold up to the gasoline over time, but for now, non more drips onto the manifold.

I broke one of the clips holding the glass bowl on. So I gave in and ordered a metal bowl from Mikes. In 10 minutes no more leaks. If I could find another glass bowl with clips, I might try it again. But for now, no gas on the manifold!

Those clips look pretty easy to make. Use your old one and make a flat piece and then bend it up if you want to get back to glass.