63Ragtop Posted March 24 Posted March 24 Had my first major problem for a while with the bug on Monday evening. Id moved the car outside to work on garage stuff, went to start it later and the motor wouldn't turn over. The left carb was wet and dripping fuel everywhere, got the car pushed inside, removed the carb and sparkplugs, engine turns over by hand, carb was making a gurgling sound!? So hopefully the piston rings and bearings are okay. After a Google it looks like I've got a stuck needle valve or broken float? How or what do I need to look for? Is that the valve attached to the float mechanism? How do I actually diagnose this? Any wisdom from the carb Barrys? Quote
ThePog Posted March 24 Posted March 24 You can blow lightly in the fuel feed and move the floats up and down, the needles will either seal or not. Also remove the floats and shake them to see if fuel has got in. 6 Quote
Valiant Posted March 25 Posted March 25 Change your engine oil. The fuel gets past the rings and into the sump. It dilutes the engine oil which can lead to engine damage. 4 Quote
azzurro Posted March 25 Posted March 25 id suspect if it was fine then suddenly not fine, you have something happen that prevented the needle from closing off the fuel supply like - schmutz in the needle/seat or damage preventing a good seal (remove & inspect) - the float has got a hole (remove and see if it floats - it it still has air in it it will slosh so a shake can sometime tell but might be totally full, so float test is best) - the float has gone out of adjustment (unlikley but may as well check while its in your face and before you put it back, esp if there was somethign in the seat) the needle is tiny and is only held closed by the float pushing on it, so doesnt take much. motor not turning over was probalby hydrolocked with fuel so def want to change the oil as Valiant said. Id also check the screen behind the big nut on the fuel supply banjo to see if its even there, or has a hole in it, and if there is any more stuff waiting there to ruin your day. Depending on what you find, if there is some crud in there be worth going though the carbs to make sure there isnt other stuff in the fuel that has got in there, like crap in the tank, debris in the fuel, rust form the lines or even small chunks of rubber from the soft lines (this has got me before, new lines but making a hack of cutting them little bits of hose blocked one of the jets) 6 2 Quote
63Ragtop Posted March 25 Author Posted March 25 Thanks guys, will inspect tonight. I usually change the oil when it's warm, should I dump it cold in this case? 1 Quote
Valiant Posted March 25 Posted March 25 27 minutes ago, 63Ragtop said: Thanks guys, will inspect tonight. I usually change the oil when it's warm, should I dump it cold in this case? Yes. change it without starting the engine. 3 1 Quote
63Ragtop Posted March 25 Author Posted March 25 Well, that was inconclusive. It was about now I remembered my eyes aren't as good as I thought. Cleaned everything, needle seems good, floats look okay, float and aren't full of gas. Guess I'll hook it up and see if it over flows again. 4 Quote
azzurro Posted March 25 Posted March 25 Looks like new parts, and hard to tell from the photo but is there a scratch or wire in the seat? did you take the seat and banjo out and blow that passage out? (heh) Float height reset? (i use a drill bit to measure) do ThePogs blow test? (heheheh) only takes a tiny grain of something (or a scratch?) to stop those brass needles from sealing. Best case is its washed through and came out with your oil change and youll never know what did it. 5 1 Quote
Thousand Dollar Supercar Posted March 27 Posted March 27 On 26/03/2026 at 10:06, azzurro said: only takes a tiny grain of something (or a scratch?) to stop those brass needles from sealing. A little piece of something got into one of my Alfa 33's carbs once and stopped the accelerator pump from working. I had to go find a sewing needle for a size comparison: I still have the carbs from the 33, but they're Dellorto DRLA40 rather than DRLA36. Quote
ThePog Posted March 27 Posted March 27 3 hours ago, Thousand Dollar Supercar said: A little piece of something got into one of my Alfa 33's carbs once and stopped the accelerator pump from working. I had to go find a sewing needle for a size comparison: I still have the carbs from the 33, but they're Dellorto DRLA40 rather than DRLA36. Do you want to sell those boys? I know someone who wants a set Quote
Thousand Dollar Supercar Posted March 27 Posted March 27 6 minutes ago, ThePog said: Do you want to sell those boys? I know someone who wants a set Yes, I've been meaning to list them for years but haven't got round to it. They were modified by old Murray at Weber Specialties... He ported the top plates to suit some 45mm(?) intake trumpets, inserted extra threaded rods to attach the trumpets, and swapped out the bearings of the throttle shafts(?) for a different design (because leaking air). I still have the trumpets and the 90-degree elbows from the 33 airbox. I also had the floats replaced not long after first buying the 33 approximately a million years ago. I've just found that I took photos for that listing which I never got around to placing. 3 Quote
ThePog Posted March 27 Posted March 27 8 minutes ago, Thousand Dollar Supercar said: Yes, I've been meaning to list them for years but haven't got round to it. They were modified by old Murray at Weber Specialties... He ported the top plates to suit some 45mm(?) intake trumpets, inserted extra threaded rods to attach the trumpets, and swapped out the bearings of the throttle shafts(?) for a different design (because leaking air). I still have the trumpets and the 90-degree elbows from the 33 airbox. I also had the floats replaced not long after first buying the 33 approximately a million years ago. I've just found that I took photos for that listing which I never got around to placing. How many pinga? Quote
Thousand Dollar Supercar Posted March 27 Posted March 27 7 hours ago, ThePog said: How many pinga? I dunno what they're worth, so it's probably best if I just list them and find out. I see you can get new China carbs on TradeMe these days, and I imagine that's what today's kids are all doing when they're hotting up their Beetles etc. Quote
63Ragtop Posted March 28 Author Posted March 28 On 28/03/2026 at 00:46, Thousand Dollar Supercar said: I dunno what they're worth, so it's probably best if I just list them and find out. I see you can get new China carbs on TradeMe these days, and I imagine that's what today's kids are all doing when they're hotting up their Beetles etc. Yeah I think the china carbs are a super common upgrade. What size engine did these DRLA dells come on @Thousand Dollar Supercar? 1800-2000cc? Quote
63Ragtop Posted March 28 Author Posted March 28 Think I may have solved my flooding problem, put everything back together, turned on the fuel pump to prime the carbs and it pissed out the side of the banjo fitting! Seems this fibre washer fucked out. So that's the fuel leak sorted, now onto the massive oil leak and yet another broken exhaust mount! VW life! 6 Quote
Thousand Dollar Supercar Posted March 29 Posted March 29 7 hours ago, 63Ragtop said: Yeah I think the china carbs are a super common upgrade. What size engine did these DRLA dells come on @Thousand Dollar Supercar? 1800-2000cc? 40mm carbs were on 1712cc boxer Alfas, which was the largest displacement the engine was produced in. The 1.5l twin carb versions of the motor had 36mm carbs. They brought out 16v heads and fuel injection for the final years of the 33, as seen here: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/alfa-romeo/33/listing/5767061733 1 1 Quote
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