Same 521 Troubles

[Toneloc521]

Last time I was on here I was all over the place I’d like to keep it some what simple this time. I got a 71 521 Datsun pick up with a 32 36 DGAV Weber carb that was converted from a water choke to a electric. After replacing my plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, rotor, it would not start I realized I had the fire order wrong once this was fixed it fired up no problem but sputtered when accelerating so I took the carb off and cleaned it replaced a few parts in the Carb. I put the carb on and drove it around my small town and then drove it to work the next day. She drove great all the way there and home. The guy I bought it from told me if it’s cold I’ll need to hit it with starting fluid so I assumed the choke wasn’t in working order. If I start the truck and go hold the top plates it will eventually warm up and after that starts great. I tried starting it yesterday and she would turn over but would not stay running I finally got it to where it would stay at an idle and tried her around the block. I had died out down the road and had to push it home cause it would not start I am just looking for any and all advice on this, I will work in steps and try anything and everything you guys have thoughts on. I have photos and am willing to provide all info

thanks in advance 

[banzai510(hainz)]

Is this a Junk Weber ? How good was it in the first place.

 

a electric choke?  well when COLD the plate will be closed and when the key is On it will heat the coil choke plate up and it will open over some time.  when fully open its should run normal You hook a 12voltSwitchable key wire to this???.  Now after warm up is should be open. Not half open.  otherwise it needs to be adjusted. Be honest I could never adjust them right after it was fucked with. meaning the choke would stay on to long or not long enought and I went to pull cable choke cable ( a kit that has the round part that hooks up to the arm to the choke plate.

 

when cold I would pushe the pedal a few times then try to start. pushing the pedal causes thew accell pump to squirt extra gas in the carb.

Edited April 28, 2021 by banzai510(hainz)

[Toneloc521]

10 hours ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

Is this a Junk Weber ? How good was it in the first place.

 

a electric choke?  well when COLD the plate will be closed and when the key is On it will heat the coil choke plate up and it will open over some time.  when fully open its should run normal You hook a 12voltSwitchable key wire to this???.  Now after warm up is should be open. Not half open.  otherwise it needs to be adjusted. Be honest I could never adjust them right after it was fucked with. meaning the choke would stay on to long or not long enought and I went to pull cable choke cable ( a kit that has the round part that hooks up to the arm to the choke plate.

 

when cold I would pushe the pedal a few times then try to start. pushing the pedal causes thew accell pump to squirt extra gas in the carb.

I’m gonna get a new Weber I already took her apart and replaced parts and cleaned well but do you think a manual choke is better then a electric?

[datzenmike]

Get electric. Reliable, accurate and nothing to do.

[banzai510(hainz)]

Mike Likes Electric

I like the manual.

[Charlie69]

I like electric also set it and forget it.

[mainer311]

I like the manual. You can also use it as a crude idle adjustment when the lights are on at night, or on cold days.

[Toneloc521]

1 hour ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

Mike Likes Electric

I like the manual.

I just felt manual was a better option just because it would allow me to choke it but I did wire the choke directly to my ignition coil 

[Toneloc521]

I will be back with results after I replace the carb 

[gene knight]

i have a manual choke weber 32/36 on my 521 with no issues on my beefed up L18

[bottomwatcher]

I kept forgetting to open my manual and got shitty gas mileage. I had a dgv so no auto option. Anyways if installing manual cable make the run as short and straight as possible. Any curves add a lot of friction.

[datzenmike]

The electric never forgets and sets in proportion to how warm the engine is since it was last shut off and cooled down. On warm days it's less 'on' than really cold ones so you don't need to guesstimate the setting.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

If the truck died and would not re-start, it's probably not the carb. Even a "junk" Weber will run if it has gas. Have you checked to see if the gas is making it to the carb?  Has the truck been sitting for a while before or after you bought it? If it has been sitting a while, could be that the fuel line is plugged, or the diaphragm in the fuel pump is torn, or the accelerator pump diaphragm in the carb is bad.

 

If the carb is dirty, it is possible to clean it and get back on the road, but you need to figure out why it's getting dirty in the first place. Crap in the fuel tank or hoses that are deteriorating will plug up a carburetor.

 

A few years back, I bought an ultrasonic cleaner and it will clean a carb like it's brand new. Probably the best tool I have purchased in a while. This is the one I bought, but you can get them much cheaper, for like $60, at Walmart.   https://www.riogrande.com/product/sharpertek-6-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner/336186

 

You can't get them as clean with carb cleaner, no matter how hard you try.

[banzai510(hainz)]

kinda confusing on what he did and fixed then changed.

Ran then didnt run , swapped carb fixed fire order, torn it apart.

Hold the top plates open with hand ,after warm works fine(means igNItion is good RIGHT?)

 

your right a carb with gas poured it will fire off if the points/condensor( Ignition is good)

Edited April 29, 2021 by banzai510(hainz)

[datzenmike]

4 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

You can't get them as clean with carb cleaner, no matter how hard you try.

 

Fucking environmental crap. Carburetor cleaner used to clean carburetors back in the day. I rebuilt my '70 Dart AFB using Gunk that you mix with water. When I was done my hands were sore from chemical burns. Tried some (new formula!!!!) in the 90s and it was a waste of time and money. Bring back the old days when gas was GAS and everyone was either male or female. There was no gay-ass lite beers and girly wine coolers. When if your feelings were hurt well too fucking bad ya whiny cunt. Asking for a coffee was simple and fast... black or cream? When Canadians weren't sorry all the time.  

[Toneloc521]

8 hours ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

kinda confusing on what he did and fixed then changed.

Ran then didnt run , swapped carb fixed fire order, torn it apart.

Hold the top plates open with hand ,after warm works fine(means igNItion is good RIGHT?)

 

your right a carb with gas poured it will fire off if the points/condensor( Ignition is good)

It was not choking so I would close the top plates until she idled I I had my fire order for a L20b I swapped it fired up still acting like the gas isn’t making it to the carb took the carb off cleaned it fixed a few warm down parts put her together back on drove her around the small town I live in took it to work the next day and drove it home about 40 miles altogether drove a couple more times the next few days then when I wrote this article it would latest but not idle finally got her idling after playing with the choke took it for a spin around the block got about 3/4 of a mile away she stopped wouldn’t fire haven’t had a chance to go back and do anything since then a day or two ago I dumped gas in the carb fires right up so I’m thinking it’s not getting gas but it doesn’t do this always so maybe I have something clogging fuel pump possibly going idk to be honest

[Toneloc521]

1 minute ago, Toneloc521 said:

It was not choking so I would close the top plates until she idled I I had my fire order for a L20b I swapped it fired up still acting like the gas isn’t making it to the carb took the carb off cleaned it fixed a few warm down parts put her together back on drove her around the small town I live in took it to work the next day and drove it home about 40 miles altogether drove a couple more times the next few days then when I wrote this article it would latest but not idle finally got her idling after playing with the choke took it for a spin around the block got about 3/4 of a mile away she stopped wouldn’t fire haven’t had a chance to go back and do anything since then a day or two ago I dumped gas in the carb fires right up so I’m thinking it’s not getting gas but it doesn’t do this always so maybe I have something clogging fuel pump possibly going idk to be honest

Not fully close but about an 1/8th open on top

[Toneloc521]

9 hours ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

kinda confusing on what he did and fixed then changed.

Ran then didnt run , swapped carb fixed fire order, torn it apart.

Hold the top plates open with hand ,after warm works fine(means igNItion is good RIGHT?)

 

your right a carb with gas poured it will fire off if the points/condensor( Ignition is good)

When I changed my plugs they were black my Haines book said it was to rich of a mixture 

[mainer311]

5 minutes ago, Toneloc521 said:

When I changed my plugs they were black my Haines book said it was to rich of a mixture 

I can’t remember if you ever mentioned it before, but do you know what jets are in your current Weber?

[datzenmike]

Webers tend to run fairly well no matter what jets are in them.

 

 

Playing around with the choke to get it to idle is just wrong. The choke is to force a rich mixture when the engine is cold and doesn't have enough warmth to evaporate the fuel in the fuel/air mixture. Running rich assures that enough will evaporate and mix with the air to make it run well enough to drive. Withing 8 to 10 minutes the engine will be warm enough to do this by itself and the choke should be off.

 

If it's warmed up and will only idle with the choke partly on, this would tell be that the engine is running lean and the choke is compensating for this. Two things...

 

1/ Check for a vacuum leak around the adapter plate(s). Webers are notorious for studs/bolts vibrating loose and owners over tightening them and cracking the adapter.

 

2/ Have you set the Weber for the best idle mixture?

[Toneloc521]

1 hour ago, datzenmike said:

Webers tend to run fairly well no matter what jets are in them.

 

 

Playing around with the choke to get it to idle is just wrong. The choke is to force a rich mixture when the engine is cold and doesn't have enough warmth to evaporate the fuel in the fuel/air mixture. Running rich assures that enough will evaporate and mix with the air to make it run well enough to drive. Withing 8 to 10 minutes the engine will be warm enough to do this by itself and the choke should be off.

 

If it's warmed up and will only idle with the choke partly on, this would tell be that the engine is running lean and the choke is compensating for this. Two things...

 

1/ Check for a vacuum leak around the adapter plate(s). Webers are notorious for studs/bolts vibrating loose and owners over tightening them and cracking the adapter.

 

2/ Have you set the Weber for the best idle mixture?

I will look for the vacuum leak and I need to work with the idle mixture it’s next on my agenda I won’t be able to get to it until Saturday morning the choke seems to be on more then not so i will check this out and report back 

[Toneloc521]

1 hour ago, mainer311 said:

I can’t remember if you ever mentioned it before, but do you know what jets are in your current Weber?

I don’t but I will pull them out when I have the carb off this saturday

[Charlie69]

Redline is the US distributor/Importer of Webers.  All they order as far as the DGV series is water choke carbs and then these are converted with OEM Weber parts to electric choke carbs. This is what Redline, Pierce Manifolds, and Carb Unlimited all told me on the phone.

 

I have been running these carbs on my Datsun/Nissans since the 70s.  They are the simplest carbs on the market as far as I am concerned.  I am down to 7 Webers DGAVs that have been converted to electric choke, the least amount of the carbs I have owned since the 70s.  I scrapped 300 pounds of worn out Webers last summer.  I do not need but 3 carbs at this time so I have spares for my trucks plus 1 extra.

 

Your Weber just needs to be tuned to your engine and also re-jetted possibly if you are above 4000 elevation.

 

If you do buy a new one be sure it is a genuine made in Spain Weber not a Chinese knock off.

 

Let me know if you want to sell your old Weber as I will buy it for parts.

 

The Weber on my daily driver 86 720 just turned 10 years old and runs great.

 

Also you can use starting fluid, WD40, brake cleaner, or carb cleaner aerosol cans and spray with you engine idling around the base of your carb and other vacuum connections for leaks, if the engine pickup RPMs then your have leak where you sprayed.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Charlie69

[mainer311]

Did you already buy a new Weber? I just took a manual-choke DGV that's brand new off of my L16. It has a CNC machined air horn and a giant K&N filter on it. If anyone wants it, let me know.

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by mainer311

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I still think you need to check your fuel lines and pump. The bottom line is if you dump fuel into the carb and it fires up, the carb is starving for fuel.

 

There are two rules that always apply to automotive diagnosis and repair. First - it's always something simple, and second - start from what you know and go forward.  Simple stuff is also something that could have been overlooked, and what you know is called a baseline. The basics of diagnosing a fuel issue is start by verifying and testing fuel delivery, and then move on to vacuum leaks and then finally air/fuel mixture.

 

Ignition and cam timing can also affect how the carb performs, or more accurately, if the ignition timing or cam timing are off, carb adjustments can be made to mask those problems. So don't rule out timing either until you verify it.