Just can't get my Rochester 2bbl to stop smelling like gas on acceleration. Strong smell. This rebuilt carb was put on in the mid 90s. It always ran rich. They had a hard time getting it right. When I got the car it was WAY out out of adjustment. Like 4 turns rich. Better now. Starts well and Idles well. Accelerates well, I think. I don't really have much for comparison. So the car seems to perform well overall. However I am getting poor gas mileage. Like 8-10 mpg. All other parts are recent tune (plugs, wires, points etc). When I accelerate hard I smell gas and recently on hard cornering I smell gas and have had a couple stalls. Gas smell isn't bad otherwise.
How big of a deal is it to open up the float bowl and clean it out. See if anything looks like an issue? Will that require gasket replacement? I've never done much with car carbs only small engines. My carb "rebuild" experiences are more carb cleaner spray can, q-tip and rag if you know what I mean.
I am considering a new 2bbl carb. Good source? What exactly do I need? Worth getting this one rebuilt? By who?
Sounds like the float level is too high. Some of the carbs had a vacuum operated vent to vent the fuel bowl to atmosphere when engine is off. If you have that it could be the venting you are smelling. Some of the older two barrels had holes drilled into the bores just above the throttle plates to keep fuel vapours from condensing and running into the manifold. Could be smelling that. Both those vents where discontinued with the emissions standards coming into play. I have a Rochester two barrel on my work bench that has the external bowl vent which is operated by a lever attached to the throttle lever. Every time the throttle is closed the vent lever opens the bowl vent, when the throttle is opened the vent is closed and only the internal airhorn vent is in play. Any of these could be giving you a gas smell. I'd start with checking the fuel level in the bowl and adjust the float level if necessary.
Buy a new airhorn gasket first, then remove the airhorn to set the float height. You will need to get the part number off the carb to get the float settings. While you're at it why not get a rebuild/overhaul kit and follow the steps in the instructions until you have all the adjustments. There are just as many different models of 2 barrel Rochesters as there are Quadrajets. Each one is slightly different per application. The two barrel Rochester was one of the most successful carbs built, mainly for V-8s.
If you run into trouble someone on this site can most likely help you out. Chances are someone has just had one apart.
Given the fact that this carb was trouble from the start I'm wondering about how much time and effort to put into it. Something is telling me that the couple hundred bucks for a new carb might be worth it. I'll try to get some numbers from it and go from there. I can at least try adjusting the float before swapping it.
Ok, we're talking a 25 year old carburetor...it needs a rebuild, call up Cliff Ruggles and get a good kit for it (ethanol friendly) don't buy one off ebay or your local parts store.
The number of the carb is either on a brass or aluminium tag under one of the top cover screws or stamped on the side of the bowl, passenger side under the fuel inlet and over the timed vacuum port. That one was a rebuild so hopeful it has the stamping on the bowl. When the rebuilders do the carbs they generally leave off the tag or put one of their own on. If you have the number you can get the correct kit. The carburetor identification number is stamped, tells all the info of the carb, an example is 7027060. The cast in numbers are not the identification numbers of the carburetor, an example would be 7008597 which is cast into the bowl of the 2 Jet I have on my bench. The model will be a 2G, 2GC or 2GV depending on the type of choke. 2G is manual 2GC is automatic choke attached to the carb and 2GV is divorced choke, it has a vacuum break but the choke is on the manifold. Your too rich on acceleration could be the float level, leaking power valve or even vacuum pulling fuel through the accelerator pump. A rebuild should fix it.
They made millions of those carbs and put them on everything from Pontiac cars to school buses. The barrels both have their own metering system and each bore feeds four cylinders, the intake manifold is divided to feed four cylinders from one bore and the other four from the second bore. They're not considered a high performance carburetor but will have no problem moving your Firebird around.