The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Carter W-1 Question

I've got a Carter W-1 on a 235 installed in a 49 panel (not that that matters).

Rebuilt the carb and everything is good (except that it sure likes to leak in lots of places) however unless I run a slight choke; power does not seem right, it pops back through carb coming off of idle and it diesels when I shut it off. I think this is a lean condition and I know I need to check for vacuum leaks.

My questions:

-is this indicative of a lean condition
-is there an adjustment on the carb that would correct (does main metering rod do anything at idle)
-is the W-1 enough carburetor for a 235?

Thanks in advance

Jack - the W-1, like most carburetors, will leak around the throttle shaft from the use of modern fuel when a hot engine is turned off:

Leak by throttle shaft

Other than that, it should not leak! Well, maybe, if someone installed either an electric fuel pump, on one of the new chinese mechanical knockoffs!

If you reused the old idle jet without expanding, the idle will be rough.

If you did not blow out the idle passages, the idle may be rough.

The metering rod does nothing at idle.

Popping back coming off idle could be a host of issues, I would start with a compression test!

A professionally rebuilt W-1 (483s, 574s, or 684s) should run well on a 235 up to maybe 200 RPM of where it would run with the 235 carburetor. However, it should run RICH, not lean.

Don't guess, do some testing: compression, ignition, then carburetor.

Jon

If yours is leaking from all the screw plugs, mine did, use a little medium Loc-tite on them. A small torch soften it right up if you need to remove them. Use just enough to cover the threads. Mine still drip just a touch from the throttle shafts even with new bushings and shafts, it's just the fuel we have to run.
And as Jon said, the old idle jet needs expanded out on the tapered end to make a new seal, a pointed scratch awl works good and doesn't take much to expand it back out. A fellow on Ebay, ICERACER seems to always have W-1 parts if you take the time to hunt them down.
Metering rod adjustment is critical, just .050" difference is enough to feel. Higher up is richer. I run dual W-1's and this past fall, the rear carb quite idling, up in the main body is a small brass plug with a very small hole drilled in it. Mine plugged up, I couldn't get it pulled out, so I drilled it out very carefully. Since I wasn't sure about the front carb, I managed to get it's plug out, took measurements and made two new ones. The truck now runs like a top. I had to make a fixture to make new copper plugs for the housing using copper wire electrical wire. It was fun few days making stuff and well worth the trouble.

Thanks guys

I appreciate your time

Thinking of buying a new carb

Any recommendations?

Thanks

PS

Engine is at 14 psi vacuum at idle

Vacuum is measured in inches of mercury. theoretical maximum is ~30 inches, only available in outer space. I think 14" mercury would be a little low, but others will chime in with a better number.

Finding a "new" carburetor might be difficult. Very rarely one will find a new old stock Carter YF, Rochester B/BC, or Stromberg "B-series" for the 235. The problem with new old stock are bugs. Spiders just love to crawl into new old stock carburetors on the shelf, and build nests in small places (idle circuits). While one can try using a new old stock carburetor, the odds are pretty good it will require disassembly, compressed air through all passages, and reassembly.

We generally include a gasket set with any new old stock carburetor we sell.

As far as anything made in the last 40 years.......................no positive recommendations.

Jon

What year 235? And is it mandatory in your mind to have a manual choke or are you willing to accept an automatic choke? Carter YF models are very good...however they were carefully engineered to recognize changes in the 235's design. Rochester carburetors make good paperweights or doorstops and if you fish in a lake they're also good to weigh down trot lines. You can also throw them at gophers, moles, etc. They can be handy for that or they can be used as a wheel chock if you must park on a hill.

Like the other Jon, I'd begin with a compression test. I'd follow that with a check of ignition timing and a check of the vacuum advance unit. Backfiring might not be the fault of your carburetor...or it might. Two things commonly cause this. One is early ignition timing and another is an exhaust valve not opening or not opening correctly or a sticky valve. I've also seen this happen due to cross-firing of plug wires, a bad distributor cap (one with carbon deposits that allow a cylinder to fire when it isn't supposed to) and it can be caused by a bad accelerator pump or plugged passage. The pump tries to squirt gas in when the accelerator is pushed down but it doesn't succeed. The engine goes really lean because it gets more air than it needs and it backfires.

Thanks guys

PS

F54Y

1954 out of something with a power glide I believe

Compression 135-150

Vacuum advance stuck and won’t hold vacuum

Play in distributor shaft

Other than that alls perfect!

Thinking of doing a Carter YF distributor and advance from Jim Carter

Any cautions?

Appreciate everything

Forgot to answer

1954

Power glide engine

Ordering rebuilt carb

What’s the difference between 41-48 and 49 Carter W-1?

The 1949 is a single year; most parts are unique, and VERY expensive!

1941~1948 are virtually the same carburetor, and all parts are interchangable, and relatively cheap.

There are some rebuilding kits on ebay which say 1941-1949, but they will NOT fit the 1949 carburetor.

Jon

So as long as I’m replacing the whole carb doesn’t matter?

Bolt pattern the same?

I think my manifold is 2-1/2

Tag is missing off carb just curious if there’s any other way to identify

Thanks Jon

Installed rebuilt carb and distributor

Runs perfectly

Thanks everyone

Carbking Have you forgotten the bright red tetraethyl color that all carburetors used to be ?? They all gushed out fuel in a hot soak even when we had "good fuel" with lead in it. I had a spray that would melt the lead away so I could spin the nuts off to get the carb off of the manifold. Lot of those valuable Q-jets,made by that intelligent Carter outfit and wheel barrow loads of W-1's all soaked in red lead. Now the ethanol keeps em washed bright.

Is the metering rod adjustment really just bending more or straightening the bend at the bottom of the linkage

Just put a couple pliers on it I guess?

Yes, Carter had some tools to bend them, but I find pliers work also. I pull the cover off the top so I can get to the linkage and metering rod, then use a dial caliper to measure the hight of the metering rod as it sets. It takes quite a few times measuring till I get a repeatable number, as there is really no go place to measure from. Once I have a good idea of the hight, then I bend the rod to raise or lower the metering rod. It doesn't take much to make a difference in how the engine runs, that's why I measure. A dial indicator also works using a mag base clamped to the valve cover and the indicator tip on the metering rod. Carter also makes a tool for initial setting of the rod, I've never used one, but it sets on the jet and is calibrated so the linkage can be set to factory length. You still would need to fine tune the hight due to fuel, altitude, and engine health.

Pulled from the Carburetor Shop web site, https://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Carter_tools.htm, You can't have to many tools!

Thank you so much for all of the detail

I raised it .150” and it’s much better

I’d be tempted to go more but this adjustment cuts down on accelerator pump travel of course

Engine not hesitating off idle

Do you think there were different length rods available or different jet sizes?

235 engine

Thanks again