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holly problems

tRustyK5 said:
I had my Q-jet tuned by a pro back in the day, and it did run really well for a year or two like that. Both the Holley and 1406 Edelbrock made more top end power than the Q-jet though...

The Holley i had was a 600 cfm with Vac secondaries and I can't recall the model number.

Rene
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It was probably a 4160 or a 4150. I have a 600 cfm 4160 on my truck and I have no regrets about it. It was on the truck when I got it and it was way out of wack, so that if you hit the brakes too hard the engine would sputter and want to stall. So i rebuilt it and tuned it which took a while to get right. Also to run better on angles I just lowered the floats slightly, enough to make a difference offroad but not enough to effect on road driving.
 
Thunder said:
It is totally ovious thay all you guys that say q-Jets make the least power have never taken the time to learn how to tune one.
A properly tuned Q-Jet will run as good or better than any hollley or AFB/ EDL1406carb, on a stock or moderate build engine.
q-jets get better MPG, And practally run upside down. They dont call Q-Jets "Hillbilly injection" for no reason.
I would far better have a carb that ran good right out of the box than one that will need a bunch of tuneing, tweaking, fiddiling with. I dont like being on a 45 degree side hill and wondering cuz my engine is sputtering and stalling if fuel is leaking all over my manifold and my truck is going to catch on fire.
Much rather have a Q-Jet on top pulling all the way
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It's totally obvious that all you guys that say that a Q jet CAN make as much power as a holley have never taken the time to learn how to tune one :wink1: AND the holley truck avenger on my truck will run at any angle a Q jet will!!!:D
 
Main reason I bought my Jimmy was to have a project to work on! Also, when I started turning wrenches I learned on the newer computer controlled stuff...this is the first I have worked with carbs...and that was another goal...to learn how to fiddle with em! so it sounds like I have dived into it the right way! I just don't have money to start pullin it apart and replacing things needlesly!
 
one of the most important things to have when running a holley is a GOOD FUEL FILTER!! Trust me I've been down that road!
 
WOO!! HOOO!! she is runnin again! I bumped the float assembly up then back down a couple turns, then messed around with it. took a while but I soon realized my initial problem is that I'm simply an idiot and didn't know what I was doin!! things sure make you an idiot when your learning by the seat of your pants.
For whatever reason I had it in my head that if I didn't hook the choke up it just wouldn't work...didn't think about the operation of the choke...the bi-metal strip warms up as electricity flows through it which then slowly releases the choke! So it being unhooked it never warmed up thus never releasing the choke which is why it started runnin like chit!
Damn! I'm an idiot! At least I learned somethin out of it...had never messed with the floats or even realized where the sight holes were...now I have and do. Thanks guys!
The learning curve is huge when you start from knowing nothing!
 
Wait till you start using it offroad. You will learn all about float adjustment, sight holes, bowl vents, and needle valves.:D Pretty soon you will be good and edumacated on Holley's.
 
yeah I hear they make for a fun time!! lol..can't wait! What do you do when you find yourself on a steep incline and fuel is pouring out your vent's cause the floats are off kilter! I heard one guy talk about taking a peice of tubing and connecting the two vents! is this even viable?
 
newlyblzed said:
yeah I hear they make for a fun time!! lol..can't wait! What do you do when you find yourself on a steep incline and fuel is pouring out your vent's cause the floats are off kilter! I heard one guy talk about taking a peice of tubing and connecting the two vents! is this even viable?
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Get a Quadra jet..... But if you insist on a Holley Yes. Connect the rear and front bowl vents together. Will help a lot to keep the carb from flooding on steep hills and off camber side hills....and mabe prevent a engine fire
 
newlyblzed said:
yeah I hear they make for a fun time!! lol..can't wait! What do you do when you find yourself on a steep incline and fuel is pouring out your vent's cause the floats are off kilter! I heard one guy talk about taking a peice of tubing and connecting the two vents! is this even viable?
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Again, yes it will work, but make sure you have some breather holes in the tubing so the bowls can be vented to the atmosphere. Look at the TA.

Notice vents connected together and the side-hung float bowls:




Modifying a holley for off-road:
1) Lowering your float
2) Lowering your fuel pressure
3) Installing vent baffle(extension)


4) Extending vent horn on top of carb (2-barrels), or connecting it to back float bowl vent tube (4-barrels)
5) Spring loaded needle and seat (off-road needle)


6) Anti-bottoming spring on float
7) Using a side-hung float compared to center-hung style float, especially when float bowl faces front of engine

These are the things that I have learned and tried on my holley 2-barrel and have put it through some pretty nasty inclines and off-cambers, and still to this day no spitting and/or sputtering.
But again, I wanted the challenge to try and make a holley handle off-road conditions...and it worked.

Good Luck.

Kirk
 
thank you...so far I love the holley...it's given me some initial troubles...but thats only cause I am learnin and playin with it. The floats are side hung...and it has the anti-bottoming springs. I might connect the vent tubes...will that cause any problems with the air filter!? pretty sure the clearance is there. How do you lower the fuel pressure? and what effect will that have on road driving?
 
You can get an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. I have found holleys run best offroad around 4 PSI.(you can go up to 7 for performance street engines)4 PSI Shouldn't have any real effect on road driving on a mostly stock engine. Mabe even get a little better MPG.
Yes! connect your float bowl tubes with a piece of hose. Take a razor knife and cut a small notch in the top of the tube so you can vent the bowls without flooding. Plus adjust the floats to lower the fuel level to a little below the sight holes.
 
Just to add, every full rotation of the float adjust nut is approximately 3/16" up or down on the fuel level. When I was playing w/ the float level I found that one full turn clockwise, to lower the float, had the best results off-road. Too low and it ran poor, and of course too high and it flooded out.
And like said before, with an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, 4psi was just about perfect for off-road driving, and 7psi and proper set float level (just below the sight glass) for regular on-road driving for the holley carb.

Keep us posted and Good Luck.

Kirk
 
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