201 running far too rich

[Niel Hoback]

Cpt. Fred, are there any stations around that still sell pre-mixed fuel? My son needs to move two Wartburgs from Budapest to Hamburg.

[Cpt.Fred]

hey niel,

i'm sorry to report that these stations are all gone now.

i went to the last that i had known last year in fall when i got my scooter,

but they told me it wouldn't be profitable any more.

it's easy to mix it yourself, and i would advise he buys as much two stroke oil as he can get in budapest for the trip, and never at stations in germany. they charge at least twice as much as an autoparts store, and hungary is cheaper anyway.

sounds like a nice little adventure, do you want to take them over to the US?

[Niel Hoback]

Thanks for the info, Fred. I am sending it to him. He and I have discussions about the wisdom of using everything from used motor oil to synthetic oils. He is just looking to avoid mixing small amouts to use and the hassle involved. But then, he owns Wartburgs and is sort of asking for trouble.

Yes, he's sending them here for when they return to Virginia, if they do. I have a suspiciion that they they could end up in my garage.

Thanks again.

[Jim Yergin]

P24

In the pic note the slots in the single barrel gasket. One of them needs to line up with the hole or port in the base of the carburetor casting. some have a small hole and some have slot leading to a hole. This hole leads to the piston for the step up and holds it down and closed. If this is blocked the spring pushes it up ad the jet feeds all the time.

Greg,

In checking my carb, I can see the small hole in the base you refer to. However, I do not see a corresponding hole or slot in the manifold. Should there be one or is the vacuum created solely from the space left open in the gasket?

Jim Yergin

[Cpt.Fred]

alright, yesterday i gathered my tools, took the checklist i got from you guys and drove the plymouth to kreuzberg (a famous berlin neighborhood)

where a good friend of mine lives and works, to take a closer look at the carburetor, i had an idea and needed a second person to help me, and he is a great mechanic

(you already know his car from recent posts, it's the chopped russian GAZ with the flathead six in it).

first check:

running the engine with open oil filler tube.

no real smoke to be seen, just a tiny little vapor which i consider normal.

second check:

oil level in the air cleaner is perfectly normal, oil is fresh, mesh is clean.

step three:

i took the carburetors top off and checked float level and float bowl valve.

i switched on the electric pump and checked if the valve could hold back the pressure, everything is fine.

when the float level is high enough, the valve closes and the pump idles on, no more fuel can enter the float bowl.

since i didn't get any measuring gauge with my napa carb kit and i haven't really found anything about the float level,

i lowered it a bit but took care it could still reach the small slot/recess at the acc pump (red arrow)

i figured this would be the place where the fuel can enter the acc pump assembly.

i checked if it worked and everything seemed ok.

step four:

i took the carb out of completely to perform some more tests on it, since i had seen it was quite dirty again and the base seemed to be wet with fuel.

the step up jet assembly seemed to work fine, but i wnated to take it out and take a closer look.

the gasket was fine and the correct one, nothing blocked the airflow for the vaccum function of the step up jet.

jim: yes the fuel/air mixture drops down the intake and sucks the piston of the step up jet down through the cutouts of the gasket and the canal in the carb's base.

i took the step up jet assembly, piston, spring and gasket out of the carb and checked everything, nothing unusual to be found.

then i took a closer look at the middle part of the carb, where i suspected an air leak and where the fuel seemed to be coming from, and bingo:

the new gaskets from the napa kit didn't suit, they were to big and did not seal the tube correctly! fortunately i had not thrown away the originals,

they turned out to be in quite good shape and so i reused them, they fit much better!

Edited June 13, 2010 by Cpt.Fred

[Cpt.Fred]

step five on my checklist:

the acc pump's plunger is hooked to the middle hole of the leaver,

this is how it was described in the napa rebuild manual.

what do you suggest?

step six:

after sealing everything i reassembled the carb and my friend had built a setup to test the step up jet's function.

he had an old vacuum pump and manufactured a connector to the hole in the carburetor's base.

we pumped and the piston was pulled down immediately, moving free against the spring. so now i knew everything worked fine.

i put everything back together, fired the engine up and checked for air leaks,

nothing, everthing sealed well. i readjusted idle speed and called it a day.

by the way, a nice little whatzit on my friends yard:

i drove home, the weather was great, and i finished my day with a couple of little, cold friends:D

sadly, i haven't really found anything, i am curious how the gas mileage will be now with a lower float level and without the air leak...

but i suspect the culprit elsewhere.

next thing i'll have to adjust the valves.

[Andydodge]

This is a REALLY useful thread......ALL of you guys, Fred in Germany....Jim, Neil, Don, Bill, Greg and others in the USA that I may have missed, all of you should be commended on how you've worked together, really!.......a job well done.......thanks, andyd

[Young Ed]

Ah Fred those pesky gaskets. I've had that same trouble before. The kits I get come with multiple versions of that gasket and as you've found some are just a little off.

[Cpt.Fred]

true, unfortunately there were 4 or more in there, but all of them didn't fit correctly. they're of simple shape, the next time i'll just cut them out myself.

[38plymouth]

I had the exact same problem with the last two rebuild kits from napa. I used a little sealer and that seemed to work.

[Joe Flanagan]

This thread was a great read. I bookmarked it for future reference. Fred, those are great pictures. Sounds like a great way to spend a weekend. Too bad you're several thousand miles away. If you decide to go back to a mechanical pump, let me know. I have extra parts I can send you. Somehow I wound up with two pumps. Mine is the dual action version that also operates the wipers. My spare is a single action and I have some extra stuff with it. Just let me know if you need it.

[Cpt.Fred]

thanks a lot, joe!

i'll order a rebuild kit from antique auto cellar first,

as soon as my funds have recovered. the old pump's till here.

does teh rebuild kit contain this little filter mesh?

mine was clotted with a sealant paste i can't get off by any means.

i need some other stuff, too, so i can order everything in one shipment.

the current value of the euro doesn't help much, either...

by the way, which hole do you all use for your acc pump linkage?

and just to be sure, as i wrote above i adjusted the float level without any

precise meausures. what's the lowest i can go?

best,

fred

[Joe Flanagan]

Fred,

If what you're referring to is the tiny round filter with the mesh in it, yes, the rebuild kit comes with two new ones. I got my kit from Antique Auto Parts as well. The only drawback was that the diagram they included wasn't very clear and I recommend either taking pictures or somehow noting how your old one is put together before you take it apart. As I said, I rebuilt my pump with their kit and so far it has been working very well.

My manual states that the middle hole in the accelerator linkage is for summer operation. The left one is for high altitude or extremely hot operation. The right hole is for winter operation. So says my manual, anyway.