Im stumped!

[Jcrane88]

carb problem
when cold the car starts up great and purrs like a kitten...then when it warms up it wont idle and wont rev-up......my guess overly rich...or choke not functioning right.......the carb was flooding itself. Im wanting to rebuild the carb................now everybody and there brother (and dog) have messed with this car.......when i got it, it had a 2.8L out of a gmc and a carburator from who knows where.........now i need to know about this carb so i can know what rebuild kit to get for it.....its a rochester Vari-jet 2 barrel... now isnt a vari-jet a computer controlled carb??...... the only thing you can plug into it is the electric choke..other than that there is nothing on the carb to plug into.......according to my wiring diagrams the original camaro v6 carb is computer controlled........i asked the techs at summit and gave them my carb number and they were honest and said they dont know.....im really confused how is this carb, computer controlled when you cant hook anything up to it...and how do i rebuild it when i have no idea what i have?? whoever figures this out wins

[wrightz28]

hmmm, you should have a TPS sensor on that bad boy somewhere?

I'd go to Napa or something and ge the kit from there. This should have a choke pull-off valve on it aswell which usually causes this type of problem.

I've never owned a 2 bbl but the same concepts should apply just minus the 2 BIG barrels.

[Jcrane88]

Well im sure the choke works fine which is why i decided the carb needs a rebuild....it got so bad my oil pressure would steadily drop i get 0 oil pressure and my oil looks more like gas than oil.........im also supposed to have a o2 sensor as well...but how do i tell what carb i have?

[wrightz28]

Are you saying you don't have an o2? What's the model #

[Jcrane88]

No o2 ..i the guy who owned this car before me screwed alot up.....its my understanding that the computer is supposed to read the sensors ( including o2) and use that info to run the computer controlled vara-jet II..........off the carb i have got several casting numbers
17077901,17074284 and heres the only one that i can decode and it doesnt make sense 17085348 according to this number its made after 1976 (170) its made in the 80's (8) its made in 1985 (5) its a 1 BBL (3) its from a buick (4) and its with a auto trans (8)....

[wrightz28]

Hmm, that's pretty messed up. The buick thing got my attention tho, i wonder if you could just use a carb for a 231 (3.8) buick? Tons of em around and atleast you'll know what to get parts for.

[Jcrane88]

good idea thanks...one of my former band mates owns a napa...i'll take the carb in there...if he cant help..i think i wanna get the right carb

[Jcrane88]

ok i ran all three of those numbers at napaonline.com.........all of them failed except for 17085348 and it came up with this http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPage...uretor+-+Remfd
way way expensive......but if i can find the rebuild kit for this im set.....it looks like mine as far as i can tell

[wrightz28]

Wow, that's alot for a damn 2 barrel carb! The rebuild kit should say what models it covers. I still have a funny feeling about the choke pull off tho, like a cracked vacuum line or bad diaphragm, your symptoms sound almost classic to it.

[Jcrane88]

whats a choke pull off?? a few weeks ago when i looked at it ..after the engine got warm i kept it running for my dad..and he says the choke valve was open..so thats means the choke works ok...plus its flooding so bad the engine dont keep oil pressure...the oil feels very thin...and smells gassy.......thats what led me to think i need a rebuild......

[malletslinger]

When was the last time you changed the oil? If you havent changed it since you got it from the PO, Ive heard of running diesel fuel in with the oil to thin it out and clean up all the gunk in there, but you cant leave it in there for ever. This could be what happened.
Go change the oil this weekend, before you do anything else to it. If the oil is thin, that will cause a drop in oil pressure, and remember that it gets thinner as it heats up.
Go to the store and buy 10 qts of 5W-30, and a new filter...drain the old oil and put 4.5 qts(I think thats the correct amount) of fresh oil in. Then run the car on that for a while...Go for a drive, let it circulate and mix with the traces of remaining old oil. A 7-10 min joy ride should do it
Then change the oil again, but this time change the filter too. Then wait and see if the oil thins out again overtime.
Hopefully this will fix the oil pressure problem and you will know the oil is nice and clean.

[wrightz28]

Originally Posted by Jcrane88

whats a choke pull off??

in the Napa link you put up on the right side view, the little valve attached to the choke plate and a vacuum hose to the carb venturi.