Lumpy Acceleration

[knockdolian]

Hi all, after putting the trike away for a couple of months I got it out today. Acceleration was very lumpy and not much power. My first thought was carb issues so drained the tank and put in fresh fuel with a bottle of sea foam. Went for a ride with no change. Checked all vac lines
They seem ok. Advance plate is moving ok in the distributor.
It feels like it’s missing on hard acceleration but I’m sure it’s fuel and not electrical. Don’t know too much about the edlbrock 1901 but willing to learn. Any ideas ?
Thanks

[Ron Radulski]

In all due respect, the correct amount of sea foam should have been added to the gas BEFORE being put away for a couple of months. You say you added a bottle of sea foam now. A whole bottle??? If so, I believe that would create another problem. You also say you believe it's fuel and not electrical. How can you be sure? I personally would install new plugs, cap, and rotor to start with. Then move on to your ignition timing. How old are your spark plug wires? I hope this helps. Good luck!

[CanuckHoss]

Let the Seafoam work for a day or two at any gumming that may have occurred..pretty sure it is a bad gas / gumming issue somewhere in the fuel system..I have seen Seafoam fix a lot of running issues both on Hosses and other makes.

[knockdolian]

In all due respect, the correct amount of sea foam should have been added to the gas BEFORE being put away for a couple of months. You say you added a bottle of sea foam now. A whole bottle??? If so, I believe that would create another problem. You also say you believe it's fuel and not electrical. How can you be sure? I personally would install new plugs, cap, and rotor to start with. Then move on to your ignition timing. How old are your spark plug wires? I hope this helps. Good luck!

Thanks Ron, all fair points. However you don’t always know when you will get to ride again. Couple of months soon goes buy and I never intended not to ride. From what I’ve read and seen on YouTube you can’t use too much sea foam !!!
I’ll follow Barry’s advice and let it work for a couple of days and see. No idea how old the leads and plugs are so changing them is also a good point. I’ve had the trike a couple of years now but only done about 4000 miles.
Thanks for the advice it’s appreciated.

[hogv8]

I add a whole bottle of Seafoam to a full tank of gas about every 4th fill up . I feel it keeps everything clean .Great stuff

[Ron Radulski]

Jack, how long have you been doing this?

[hogv8]

Jack, how long have you been doing this?

A couple of years .

[Ron Radulski]

Thanks, good to know.

[knockdolian]

I took the tank off tonight to have a good look at the carb and found two probable cases to my bad running.
One is a split vacuum bung and the other is a disintegrating filter. There are four hose bungs. Three small and one large on the front. They all look like they could do with replacing. Anyone know where I can get then ?
Thanks

[hogv8]

Wow ! You have definitely got to address those problems!

[knockdolian]

Wow ! You have definitely got to address those problems!

I’d like too. I looked for hours on the internet last night to find the port caps. Nothing. Looks like it will be glue for the time being. No idea what happened to the filter.

[rocketsteve]

Might get lucky here...

https://www.vital-parts.co.uk/epdm-caps-325-p.asp

You must have a stack of Air Filter bits inside your carb! Looks like a thorough clean out job.

[hogv8]

This company has the rubber caps you need mcmastercarr.com

[knockdolian]

Thanks chaps. I plugged the port but the problem remains. can anyone recommend a carb rebuild kit. They all seem to be in the US and I’d like a good one. They range from $27-$80 and expensive doesn’t always mean best.
Thanks again

[hogv8]

Thanks chaps. I plugged the port but the problem remains. can anyone recommend a carb rebuild kit. They all seem to be in the US and I’d like a good one. They range from $27-$80 and expensive doesn’t always mean best.
Thanks again

I was told by Carb Mike to ask for a carb rebuild kit for a 1973 Chevy Camaro with a 350 V8 engine if I ever wanted to rebuild my 1901 Edelbrock . I know , hard to believe but he would know .

[Foose1986]

I just rebuilt my 1901 actually. So I may be able to help a little.

The Edelbrock part number you need is #1920. This is for the entire rebuild kit. I also recommend soaking the carb for a few hours after you pull everything apart in the nastiest non-environmentally friendly substance you can find. You also need to have compressed air available. There are plenty of videos on Youtube about rebuilding quadrajet carbs (even if it's not the 1901). I recommend watching a few just so you know when/where to expend the spring loaded buggers to come out.

I'm not sure what happened at Edelbrock, but it seems when you order the #1920 rebuild kit, they send you an airhorn gasket that looks similar, but is incorrect. I have been running the incorrect air horn gasket all season without any issues, so it's not the end of the world. The gasket they were supposed to send was #1998, although they sent a bunch of people #1989 instead. I understand the mix-up. The correct air-horn gasket is available in 5-packs all over for $20. Expect to spend ~$80 on the #1920 rebuild kit.

To soak the carb, the best stuff I could find locally was Berryman Chem Dip. None of the components would fit inside of the can, so I transferred all of the fluid into a painters tray and did my best one part at a time. Here's the stuff on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/p/Berryman-0996/73 ... 505&chn=ps

This video will get you started (3 parts). This is the same as a 1901 Edelbrock. I used it to rebuild mine and it was a great resource.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sml0Ur9Csf8

The rubber boots need to be replaced. Any cracks will suck air, and that will cause all sorts of headaches for you. I purchased a variety kit from my local parts store for around $5, and they fit perfect. I think they were called "Vacuum Covers".

It goes without saying you need a new air filter

[knockdolian]

Goose, very comprehensive reply. Very useful info. Thought I’d seen all the strip videos on utube but not seen this set. The carb probably hasn’t been cleaned for over twenty years so he’ll, what could possibly go wrong !!
Thanks again

[knockdolian]

Squirted a large can of carb cleaner in to the carb. Fitted a new filter and changed the vacuum cap. Alls well.
I have a genuine carb rebuild kit 1920 so will do a full rebuild over Christmas.
Thanks all.