Carb or what?

[hammermachine]

My last wheelin weekend was slightly spoiled by my K5's constant stalling. It had to have happened at least 24 times the entire day, big bumps and small. Up hills and down. I know these things are sensitive but it was a real drag (everyone else has injection). One of the guys suggested getting some kind og spring and pin or something to install in the carb, another guy said to get a marine carb because they are more rugged. I was saving up for a TBI but with Xmas coming I don't think that's going to happen. All I know is that it's a Holley 4 barrel carb, it came with the truck. Any suggestions?

 

[apache]

Personally I think Hollys suck,maybe the`ve gotten better over the years but the last 600 I had was on a 4wd suburban and it was constantly having issues from bouncing around whe wheeling. Im by far an expert on Hollys but I recall something about a float bowl vent extension kit. As I remember looking at the air horn youll see the vent tube in there. When sideways etc fuel flows out and into the mainfold making it flood,sputter etc. Look at Summit or Jegs and I think they had the kits or info on the fix.

 

[dremu]

NB: I know squat about carbs' insides. I can bolt them on, and I can plumb them so they don't leak and hook up the linkage and such. Inside, however, I am totally dumb, and take them to a shop around the corner for rebuild.

However, I have one word in response to your post:

Quadra-Jet.

Well, that might be two words ... but while much-maligned, a properly set up Q-jet is often compared to FI for reliability, power, and to your post, ability to run at stupid angles.

I hear people say good things about Holleys for the street and strip, but often very bad, angry things about wheeling with them.

YMMV.

-- A

 

[pauly383]

It is probably a CAR Holley , set up for street driving . You have two choices in order :

1. Get a Quadrajet from The Carb Shop , Jet , I-5 , Summit , or Jegs . A stage 1 or 2 with choke .

2. Holley Truck Avenger , or Lowrider Avenger ( same carb different name ) as both have the tricks for bouncy up and down stuff .

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Well, its pretty much been said but your problem is that its a Holley carb that was never designed for any kind of offroad use. Holleys (sans the Truck Avenger) are horrible offroad.

The stock carb for the truck (Quadrajet) is outstanding. Its cheap and easy to find too

 

[Thunder]

IMO your best bet is to get a q-Jet or truck avenger. But for what a truck avenger ot Q-Jet from Jet performance costs you can almost convert to FI.
As said regular holleys suck off road. However they can be modified to work ok.
You need a spring loaded needle and seat and some copper tubing and a little time to make them work.
To save me some typing go here:http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2007/05/TruckAvenger/index.php
Read the article.
also
For more infohttp://classicbroncos.com/carb_tricks.shtml

It explains how a Truck Avenger works and how to mod a regular carb to work like a TA.
I have done these mods to many holleys. They work. It will never be as good as a Q-Jet but with the mods will be way better offroad than it is now.

 

[pauly383]

Injection is nice , and I plan on that way too , but the time and money to set it up right from the start ( locate all parts , refurbish what needs to be refurbished , and install it ) was what has kept me from doing it so far . I got my quadrajet when I first got my house and was daily driving my rig . Some of us have to weigh downtime against what we really want or need .

Of course now I have time and a donor rig , so injection is a reality soon .

I got my Q-jet stage 1 from I-5 for 230.00 several years back , think they are 240.00 now . It is a viable option for someone who needs to have a driver/wheeler ready every morning on the cheap .

.

 

[rcamacho]

I've had great success modifying basic holley carburetors for off road. Add some extended vents, baffles and if you're really inclined some spring loaded needles. Here's a start outlining the procedures. In general, these modifications are nearly as good as a TA off road. Or, I have a TA670 in stock that you could make me an offer on
http://classicbroncos.com/carb_tricks.shtml

 

[89Rustbucket]

Maybe TPI?

I mean you can pick up a nice TPI intake top and bottom for about 200 bucks and then pick up the custom wiring harness and ECM weatherpacked to deal with underwater excursions for 315 bucks. Thats what im planning on doing. I've already got the TPI intake just picking up the harness. BTW the harness eliminates the EGR AIR, basically all the emissions BS that i know i don't want. It also is a speed density setup. Not as forgiving as a MAF BUT the ecm can be programmed for your setup. Im sure you could make a good snorkel for the TPI aswell. Although you may have to pick up a different fuel pump. But the TPI is a cheap way to make is a bit more efficient.