54 years on this earth and I finally know the correct starting procedure for older cars with carbs. Wish I knew this info before now. Who knows, maybe I did…but forgot. Great video!
Shout out to ALL who still have happy carburetors still out there running round ! Excellent video ! I'm sure a lot of folks never seen this so when the computer era stepped in they loved how they can cold start without pumping. Grandfather always said "you have to think like a electric fuel pump when operating a carb." Too bad they don't continue to make genuine parts for a carb or just sell them new. People out here still have em !
Carburetors are superior to fuel injection in my opinion due to their simplicity and ease of adjustment. I just rebuilt a Quadra jet for an rv and it runs just as well as anything new.
@@evanchapmanfanman A carbureted engine is superior because of it’s simplicity and ease of adjustment? I guess you don’t know anything about fuel injection, You don’t have to make any adjustments the computer does it for you! That sounds pretty easy to me!
@@NeverEnoughPyro40 fuel injection is great when all works well, but when a problem occurs, several hours of troubleshooting take place, often times with the problem component buried under manifolds and endless wire harnesses, I’d much rather turn a couple screws than spend a ton of time combing thru possible issues. Plus the Quadrajet really holds its tune far longer than any other carburetor.
When you learn and understand the how and why something works ...only then can you can figure out what and why it does not work. Great video that helped me fix a carburetor on an original engine in a 1979 Chevrolet Caprice.
@@mrmichael555 You should have just installed an electronic choke! The kit comes with everything you need and it does not cost much at all! I have a Quadra jet on my boat that originally came with a divorce choke, I converted it over to an electric choke and I love it!
@@NeverEnoughPyro40 swapping parts out wouldn’t have made any difference, it still needed to be set up correctly. Once I saw the theory of operation, I understood what I was trying to achieve. After watching this video, I made a small adjustment and it’s been working great!
Great video! It explains why I was using too much "starting fluid" when my son's truck engine would not start when cold...:) choke flap was fully open even after depressing the gas pedal so there was no fuel sent into the engine...Thanks for posting!
This is the best ,video i seen explaining the workings of the quadrajet carburetor. I've seen some people adjust the choke ,with the lean or rich settings but not showing the rear pull off choke linkage adjustment pulling the butterfly partially open on startup,smallest drill bit distance measurement more or less .Now my 1980 oldsmobile delta 88,5.0-307 v-8 engine.4 barrel carburetor.car Starts,up exactly as,explained .As long as,everything else on carburetor is correct.Damnskippy.
All of us were doing it wrong. I'm about to watch the old lady again, the one who did it correctly. I need to check again: (1) If she first put the key in the ignition on the ON position, followed by the single press of the pedal for a few seconds, then cranked the engine over to start it. Or (2) If she first simply left the key on the OFF position, followed by the single press of the gas pedal for a few seconds, then cranked the engine over to start it.
I started doing this since ai watched the video and my Wagoneer starts 95% of the time. When it doesn’t I give it one extra pedal pump and it starts 👍🏼
This video is insane. I was having so much trouble starting my 1985 Olds when the weather got into the 40s and 30s. I was checking everything to see what was wrong, but it was ME! I was totally pumping multiple times before starting (and sometimes while starting) to start it.. Usually it would stall out because I was then holding the gas pedal afterwards... Wow, and I thought I had it down.
Ive spent thousands chasing what i thought was a hard start issue with my 69 F100. Ive changed coil, chokes, carb etc. No mechanic could figure it out. After watching the video i went out and started my truck without an issue. I try to tell myself at least ive upgraded a lot of the ignition system.☹️
I usually just pull the choke knob out, turn the key, and then push the choke back in when it starts. I never touch the peddle unless something is wrong.
If no leaky well plugs draining float bowel or fuel pump check valve is good and gas an't settling back down the fuel line. And carburetor accelerator pump is good.One should be okay.
I keep my old carbed datsun truck running. Every fix is a new car that doesnt need to be mined for, a car that doesnt need to be smelted, etc... Fix your stuff. Its worth it. Dont vilify old carbs and such, with a few you tube videos these old things are so understandable and more cheaply fixable than new stuff
The problem is that car drivers rarely read the handbook that came with the car. Worse, most drivers were taught(?) to drive by a family member that also never read the car handbook. Every car handbook tells the owner how to start the car. As a trained engineer, I was taught to always RTFM! My old cars with QuadraJets work great. And the DualJets. And the Webers, SUs, and amazingly the Strombergs too. So, RTFM to you all.
Maybe y’all can help me.. I have an 85 c10 305. I watched this video and was amazed at how easily my truck finally cranked! My issue is that once cranked it cuts right back off. I then have the hardest time keeping it cranked and idling. I end up cranking it ten times and have to almost floor it to get it to finally idol. I have a new fuel pump and fuel filter. Last night after filling up I couldn’t even go over 45mph.. any help is appreciated
Does the choke plate close when the accelerator pedal is depressed on a cold engine? If not either the spring needs to be adjusted or replaced. The bi-metal choke spring is under the black plastic cover and if it not adjustable by loosening the screws and turning it, then it needs to be replaced as the spring has lost tension. The EPA did not allow adjustments after a certain time and required them to be riveted. You would need to drill the rivets and replace them with self-tapping screws. Good luck.
@@automotiveservice6828 I actually have tried manually closing the choke nearly completely. Still requires 3 tries at firing it up. Whether that's 15 short pumps in 3 tries or, or 3 long pumps. Something about 3's. I need to check what it does with my foot on the accelerator with a helper.
@@DominiAeternum After depressing the accelerator pedal and releasing it on a cold engine, the choke plate should close. If it does and the engine won't start, manually open the choke plate and look in the carb while NOT cranking (I said NOT cranking) and look for liquid fuel on the surfaces. If there is none, then you may have leaky well plugs allowing the fuel to leak out of the float bowl into the intake manifold when the car is off. This would require time for the fuel pump to fill the float bowl up. A test would be to shoot some aerosol carb cleaner or starting fluid into the intake. If the engine starts on the aerosol, then you know that you have a fuel problem. Be careful with stating fluid. It is very flammable.
@@automotiveservice6828 Didn't see this until now. I'll have to try this. Have used starter fluid on another car that wouldn't startup at all. So if the fuel is leaking the intake manifold does that lead to something bad? I'm assuming it should only take 1 pedal depression or pump or set of pumps to cold start a carb?
@@skylerhagen9960 congrats on being the exception to the rule. Stay gold Ponyboy! As for the rest of them, they probably couldn't even find a carburetor let alone start the car. Forget tuning it. I knew millenial mechanics that didnt know how to work on carbs.
I have a 1969 Impala with a Rochester Quadrajet. It has taken me nearly 2 years to learn the correct starting procedure, mostly through trial and error and it's exactly as the guy says here. I've always been able to get the car to start but I would do 3 pumps or try holding the throttle down partially as the guy who sold the car to me did. Now I do one pedal to the floor and release and turn the key. I'm now learning more about the fast idle cam and how long that should stay on for. If I blip the throttle then it kicks down but the car will then sputter and idle too low, sometimes stalling. If I turn the key completely off at that point and restart then it runs fine. My thoughts are that the choke plate is remaining closed via vacuum, even after I get it off high idle. Maybe I need to not touch the throttle until the car is warmed up a bit more. Learning a lot anyway.
Don't know how the hell someone found this, but it's priceless. All new auto shop grads need to watch it too to keep carbureted tech alive
instaBlaster
who imagined that the most useful carb. tutorial was made in the 60's? i finally understood how choke works. thanks for posting this.
You will find alot of info from that era more understanding because they used common sense.
True that!!
One in a million youtube videos are actually useful. This is the one.
Straight from the dues who created this carb.
54 years on this earth and I finally know the correct starting procedure for older cars with carbs. Wish I knew this info before now. Who knows, maybe I did…but forgot. Great video!
A needle in a haystack is what this video is! I'm glad to see these vintage videos by the OEMs still exist and didn't get destroyed.
Shout out to ALL who still have happy carburetors still out there running round ! Excellent video ! I'm sure a lot of folks never seen this so when the computer era stepped in they loved how they can cold start without pumping. Grandfather always said "you have to think like a electric fuel pump when operating a carb." Too bad they don't continue to make genuine parts for a carb or just sell them new. People out here still have em !
Carburetors are superior to fuel injection in my opinion due to their simplicity and ease of adjustment. I just rebuilt a Quadra jet for an rv and it runs just as well as anything new.
@@evanchapmanfanman still running my carberated toyota corolla!
@@evanchapmanfanman A carbureted engine is superior because of it’s simplicity and ease of adjustment? I guess you don’t know anything about fuel injection, You don’t have to make any adjustments the computer does it for you! That sounds pretty easy to me!
@@NeverEnoughPyro40 fuel injection is great when all works well, but when a problem occurs, several hours of troubleshooting take place, often times with the problem component buried under manifolds and endless wire harnesses, I’d much rather turn a couple screws than spend a ton of time combing thru possible issues. Plus the Quadrajet really holds its tune far longer than any other carburetor.
I love my Quadrajet!
When you learn and understand the how and why something works ...only then can you can figure out what and why it does not work. Great video that helped me fix a carburetor on an original engine in a 1979 Chevrolet Caprice.
Same here, even with the service manual, setting up the divorced choke on my ‘73 Caprice was difficult for me, until I found this video.
@@mrmichael555 You should have just installed an electronic choke! The kit comes with everything you need and it does not cost much at all! I have a Quadra jet on my boat that originally came with a divorce choke, I converted it over to an electric choke and I love it!
@@NeverEnoughPyro40 swapping parts out wouldn’t have made any difference, it still needed to be set up correctly. Once I saw the theory of operation, I understood what I was trying to achieve. After watching this video, I made a small adjustment and it’s been working great!
Had problems with electric choke and was deciding on installing manual choke cable. Found this video while searching for answers... Love it!!!!
Best video on the Quadra Jet
Whenever an engineer in a suit and tie talks.....I listen.
I tried that method on my Rochester Quadra jet on my 75 Buick skylark with a 350.....it worked on the first crank!!
Still holds up today....I drive a stock standard 64 impala with a manual 3 on the tree!
Great video! It explains why I was using too much "starting fluid" when my son's truck engine would not start when cold...:) choke flap was fully open even after depressing the gas pedal so there was no fuel sent into the engine...Thanks for posting!
This is the best ,video i seen explaining the workings of the quadrajet carburetor. I've seen some people adjust the choke ,with the lean or rich settings but not showing the rear pull off choke linkage adjustment pulling the butterfly partially open on startup,smallest drill bit distance measurement more or less .Now my 1980 oldsmobile delta 88,5.0-307 v-8 engine.4 barrel carburetor.car Starts,up exactly as,explained .As long as,everything else on carburetor is correct.Damnskippy.
What an amazingly clear video on starting carbureted cars 👍🏼
Now I know what I’m doing wrong!
All of us were doing it wrong. I'm about to watch the old lady again, the one who did it correctly.
I need to check again:
(1) If she first put the key in the ignition on the ON position,
followed by the single press of the pedal for a few seconds,
then cranked the engine over to start it.
Or
(2) If she first simply left the key on the OFF position,
followed by the single press of the gas pedal for a few seconds,
then cranked the engine over to start it.
I started doing this since ai watched the video and my Wagoneer starts 95% of the time. When it doesn’t I give it one extra pedal pump and it starts 👍🏼
This video is insane. I was having so much trouble starting my 1985 Olds when the weather got into the 40s and 30s. I was checking everything to see what was wrong, but it was ME! I was totally pumping multiple times before starting (and sometimes while starting) to start it.. Usually it would stall out because I was then holding the gas pedal afterwards... Wow, and I thought I had it down.
Thanks for putting on this video. I’ve learned A LOT about carburetors just by watching this video!
It is hard to beat official manufacturer instructions, except in extremely rare cases.
Man... I wish I found this a few years ago. But better late than never. 2 thumbs up!!!
Ive spent thousands chasing what i thought was a hard start issue with my 69 F100. Ive changed coil, chokes, carb etc. No mechanic could figure it out. After watching the video i went out and started my truck without an issue. I try to tell myself at least ive upgraded a lot of the ignition system.☹️
Wow. Learned something so basic after all these years.
I have a Chevrolet Malibu, it took a lot of work to get it started. If I had known this before ... Very useful.
Great Tuition video
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!!!
This is gold.
amazing video!
This video is Gold !!!!
Never knew that all these years I've been doing it wrong thank you
I usually just pull the choke knob out, turn the key, and then push the choke back in when it starts. I never touch the peddle unless something is wrong.
This is awesome
Just like my 68 impala(looked like the one in the video) pushed the pedal once and starts right up
Ive done the correct procedure for years. All it takes is reading your owners manual. I do this with my 78 Cadillac Coupe and fires right up.
Thanks so much for the video
If no leaky well plugs draining float bowel or fuel pump check valve is good and gas an't settling back down the fuel line. And carburetor accelerator pump is good.One should be okay.
I keep my old carbed datsun truck running. Every fix is a new car that doesnt need to be mined for, a car that doesnt need to be smelted, etc... Fix your stuff. Its worth it. Dont vilify old carbs and such, with a few you tube videos these old things are so understandable and more cheaply fixable than new stuff
I bet a dollar to a donut hole this guy is an engineer... 🤔😂
I have a 1989 toyota corolla and i have that same issue with starting.... It's carberated.
The problem is that car drivers rarely read the handbook that came with the car. Worse, most drivers were taught(?) to drive by a family member that also never read the car handbook. Every car handbook tells the owner how to start the car.
As a trained engineer, I was taught to always RTFM! My old cars with QuadraJets work great. And the DualJets. And the Webers, SUs, and amazingly the Strombergs too. So, RTFM to you all.
I even have a start procedure on the sun visor of my ‘73 Chevrolet. It was a common problem back then.
God bless them carbs
don't you have to prime (pump) the accelerator on some old carbs ?
Maybe y’all can help me.. I have an 85 c10 305. I watched this video and was amazed at how easily my truck finally cranked! My issue is that once cranked it cuts right back off. I then have the hardest time keeping it cranked and idling. I end up cranking it ten times and have to almost floor it to get it to finally idol. I have a new fuel pump and fuel filter. Last night after filling up I couldn’t even go over 45mph.. any help is appreciated
Awesome video!!
Well I learned something new. Someone put this goofball UFO shaped thing on my carburetor and as this video shows, you shouldn't have that.
And this is why my nova wouldn't start! hahah ! I was a pumper... now I know !
This guy would be a gas to party with
It all worked until they put in the exhaust crossover, which boiled the fuel dry out of the carburetor.
oh terima kasih para engginering
Now the question is what's wrong if the correct method still doesn't work?
Does the choke plate close when the accelerator pedal is depressed on a cold engine? If not either the spring needs to be adjusted or replaced. The bi-metal choke spring is under the black plastic cover and if it not adjustable by loosening the screws and turning it, then it needs to be replaced as the spring has lost tension. The EPA did not allow adjustments after a certain time and required them to be riveted. You would need to drill the rivets and replace them with self-tapping screws. Good luck.
@@automotiveservice6828 I actually have tried manually closing the choke nearly completely. Still requires 3 tries at firing it up. Whether that's 15 short pumps in 3 tries or, or 3 long pumps. Something about 3's. I need to check what it does with my foot on the accelerator with a helper.
@@DominiAeternum After depressing the accelerator pedal and releasing it on a cold engine, the choke plate should close. If it does and the engine won't start, manually open the choke plate and look in the carb while NOT cranking (I said NOT cranking) and look for liquid fuel on the surfaces. If there is none, then you may have leaky well plugs allowing the fuel to leak out of the float bowl into the intake manifold when the car is off. This would require time for the fuel pump to fill the float bowl up. A test would be to shoot some aerosol carb cleaner or starting fluid into the intake. If the engine starts on the aerosol, then you know that you have a fuel problem. Be careful with stating fluid. It is very flammable.
@@automotiveservice6828 Didn't see this until now. I'll have to try this. Have used starter fluid on another car that wouldn't startup at all.
So if the fuel is leaking the intake manifold does that lead to something bad? I'm assuming it should only take 1 pedal depression or pump or set of pumps to cold start a carb?
Then it could be the driver if all else doesn't work.
Harry heavy foot 😂
😂 I bet millennials😂 still won't be able to start a carburetor car after watching this video😄
Millennials cant even wipe they ass without an Ap for it!
@@skylerhagen9960 congrats on being the exception to the rule. Stay gold Ponyboy! As for the rest of them, they probably couldn't even find a carburetor let alone start the car. Forget tuning it. I knew millenial mechanics that didnt know how to work on carbs.
R Alvarez Ha ha
That's Generation Z. Many older Millenials had a carbureted car as their first one.
I may be a millennial but I can tune a quadrajet to purr like a kitten and roar like a lion
I have a 1969 Impala with a Rochester Quadrajet. It has taken me nearly 2 years to learn the correct starting procedure, mostly through trial and error and it's exactly as the guy says here. I've always been able to get the car to start but I would do 3 pumps or try holding the throttle down partially as the guy who sold the car to me did. Now I do one pedal to the floor and release and turn the key. I'm now learning more about the fast idle cam and how long that should stay on for. If I blip the throttle then it kicks down but the car will then sputter and idle too low, sometimes stalling. If I turn the key completely off at that point and restart then it runs fine. My thoughts are that the choke plate is remaining closed via vacuum, even after I get it off high idle. Maybe I need to not touch the throttle until the car is warmed up a bit more. Learning a lot anyway.