mrhws
Been Here A While
Posts: 784
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Post by mrhws on Sept 27, 2011 22:52:56 GMT -5
Well, Murphys Law got a hold on my '74. Decided it was time to clean the block. Warmed up for 2 minutes, cut it off, removed air cleaner, wrapped carb, dist and alt, sprayed down and let it sit for 15 minutes. Hosed it down, used lawn blower to remove sitting water, removed wraps and fired it up to dry remaining wetness. After 1 minute, I noticed some light smoke, seemed to be coming from top rear of driver side valve cover. Cut the engine and went to look. Bubbling and hissing on intake. What the.....
Wiped it up and fired it off again, but got out to look and see gas coming from the side of the carburetor. Appears to be coming from between the plastic body and top plate, dead center on drivers side. I have always had trouble starting, especially if it sat for more than a few days. After that, it ran fine. So, now to my question. Do I buy a rebuilt TQ or replace it with a Holley or Edelbrock? I had it rebuilt when I first bought it due to water in the tank. Other than a TQ replacement, are there mismatches with linkage, fuel lines, matching to factory intake, etc? Would the leak be from a seal that can be replaced or a possible crack in the plastic body? I'm looking for suggestions. I would like to keep it original, but I also am looking for reliability.
Forgot to ask.... From the time I started car and backed out of garage to noticing the gas bubbling on the intake, the engine did not run for more than 4 or 5 minutes total. Why would the gas be bubbling(boiling)? It couldn't have been that hot.
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Post by boy1cuda on Sept 28, 2011 1:42:57 GMT -5
Is the gas bubbling because it is near a vacuum leak? Also if gas is coming from the side of the carb you need to check to see that one of the plates didn't warp.
This is just my opinion but I think that the Thermoquads are the best sounding Carbs out there and are very responsive, when they run right. My experience is that they don't hold up as well as the Holley carbs though. Holley carbs are less expensive and easier to rebuild (my 2 cents).
If you do rebuild the TQ don't forget to take a straight edge and check the plates carefully to make sure that they aren't warped.
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Post by odzking on Sept 28, 2011 8:06:08 GMT -5
This will be my first experience with a TQ as I get my 400 back to original. I have always had experience with AFB's. I have found this however, there is no in between with TQ folks. They either love them or hate them.
From what I understand when they are right they are great but when they are bad, they're awful. Warpage being the biggest culprit I'm told.
I found a fellow who is extremely knowledgeable at Moparfest. Even tests the carbs after rebuild and gaurantees his work. He says he has had "excellent" luck with TQ's and is happy to rebuild them. I have his name if you're interested.
If you would like to try to keep it original, I don't think it is a bad choice (my 2c) but if you're not familuar with them, have it done right.
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DynoDave
CO-ADMINISTRATOR
Motown Mopar-Wizard
Posts: 11,169
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Post by DynoDave on Sept 28, 2011 12:07:03 GMT -5
A cracked bowl is certainly a possibility. The TQ on the 400 in my Chrysler has a big ol' patch of J.B. Weld across the front of it where the phenolic bowl split. It was like that when I got it from my grandmother, and has never leaked since I've had it. So while not pretty, it's certainly a viable repair.
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Post by aspenrt360 on Sept 28, 2011 19:46:12 GMT -5
you should hunt down a guy on moparts called demonsizzler he is the tq master i have had two freinds get carbs from him you will not be disapointed
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DynoDave
CO-ADMINISTRATOR
Motown Mopar-Wizard
Posts: 11,169
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Post by DynoDave on Sept 28, 2011 21:25:23 GMT -5
you should hunt down a guy on moparts called demonsizzler he is the tq master I have had two freinds get carbs from him you will not be disapointed You can also contact him through his website. www.thermoquads.com/index.html |
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mrhws
Been Here A While
Posts: 784
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Post by mrhws on Sept 29, 2011 7:54:07 GMT -5
Is the gas bubbling because it is near a vacuum leak? Also if gas is coming from the side of the carburetor you need to check to see that one of the plates didn't warp. This is just my opinion but I think that the Thermoquads are the best sounding Carbs out there and are very responsive, when they run right. My experience is that they don't hold up as well as the Holley carbs though. Holley carbs are less expensive and easier to rebuild (my 2 cents). If you do rebuild the TQ don't forget to take a straight edge and check the plates carefully to make sure that they aren't warped. The gas was bubbling on the manifold like it was boiling. I doubt it was that hot because the motor hadn't run a total of 5 minutes. |
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mrhws
Been Here A While
Posts: 784
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Post by mrhws on Sept 29, 2011 8:19:18 GMT -5
A friend and the only person around here that will touch a TQ, who rebuilt the carb when I first bought car, will stop by this weekend and have a look. I don't want to drive it to his place for obvious reasons and don't want to pay to have it hauled. He doesn't have inside storage and I don't want it sitting on his property in the weather.
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Post by odzking on Sept 29, 2011 10:13:39 GMT -5
you should hunt down a guy on moparts called demonsizzler he is the tq master I have had two freinds get carbs from him you will not be disapointed You can also contact him through his website. www.thermoquads.com/index.htmlI tried to reach him last year with no luck. Wonder if he is still doing carbs? |
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Post by boy1cuda on Sept 29, 2011 10:53:39 GMT -5
Is the gas bubbling because it is near a vacuum leak? Also if gas is coming from the side of the carburetor you need to check to see that one of the plates didn't warp. This is just my opinion but I think that the Thermoquads are the best sounding Carbs out there and are very responsive, when they run right. My experience is that they don't hold up as well as the Holley carbs though. Holley carbs are less expensive and easier to rebuild (my 2 cents). If you do rebuild the TQ don't forget to take a straight edge and check the plates carefully to make sure that they aren't warped. The gas was bubbling on the manifold like it was boiling. I doubt it was that hot because the motor hadn't run a total of 5 minutes. I was just wondering if it was really boiling or if it was something else causing it to look like it was boiling. Gasoline has a boiling point of 100 degrees to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (depending on a number of factors) so it is possible that it was boiling. I would also suspect that with gasoline the flash point is not too far behind the boiling point, so be careful. I read some time ago that a lot of times you never even see the gasoline boil before it ignites. |
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