Keep my car from setting me on fire!

[onewhippedpuppy]

My Webers seem to be a ticking bomb, as I was attempting to syncronize them today, I noticed that the shaft that runs through the lower portion of the carb, the one that actuates the throttle valves, is leaking on both sides where it goes in and out of the carb over #1 cylinder. This is the shaft that the throttle linkage acts on, it's leaking right by the bracket where you adjust your idle, and on the other side of the carb as well, where it comes through the other side of the #1 carb body. I hope this makes sense, I wasn't able to find a good pic. What I need to know is, are there gaskets, o-rings, what seals this shaft, and how do I fix it? Once again, my car will sit un-drivable, the pregnant wife is getting grumpy....

[yelcab1]

Worn butterfly shaft, a common problem on webers that are abused (maybe not by you but ...). The cure is a full carburetor rebuild using a new bushing for the shaft. Pierce Manifolds does a good job for about ...$500. Don't drive it unless you have a good fire extinguisher around.

[3.2 CAB]

That is the problem, the bushings on the throttle shaft is worn out. I have never seen the required bushings in any carb kit, foreign or domestic. The only place I have seen them available are at the carb specialized rebuild shops.

[onewhippedpuppy]

So the bushings aren't avaliable seperately, from any source? I really can't afford to do a full rebuild right now. This is the downside to a 911 daily driver, and very well might be the undoing of my 911 ownership . I knew it would require work, but my God, it's spent 2/3 of the time I've owned it broken in the garage. When my wife wants to save our extra money to take time off when she has her baby, and I want to spend it on a carb rebuild, it starts getting hard to justify.

[magilla]

I am in the same boat (not a daily driver though).
You may not be able to afford the rebuild, but can you affford to live without the car until you can? Or because it caught fire and self destructed? Would your wife be happier with the moneyt if you were injured in a car fire? In that light, $500 seems small.
Sorry for the drama, but these are valid questions you need to answer for yourself. Your answers may be different than mine- your choice.
I would hate to see you sell the car, though.

Good luck! I hope it all works out smoothly and easily. Good luck with teh baby. They are a blast!

[cmelecci]

I was in the same situation 2 years ago. Disassembled carbs, removed the bushings (gently), measured id of bore in carb and od of shaft, purchased metric sized bushings(bronze) from local supply shop that would work, fitted to size (lathe) installed and no more problem.
Hope that eases the pain.
Carl

[konish]

Matt,
That sucks, but I'm not sure I totally agree with the logic that $500 is cheap compared to a burned up car or worse, that you would be injured in a fire. Although my wife has NEVER implied anything about my car, I have set a mental limit of how far I'm willing to go to keep it alive...past that and the car goes. Of course it's easy for me to say because the P-Car is my second vehicle (of three), but I worked it so I didn't have to rely on it as prmary transpo. Please know I'm not trying to bust your nuts here...on the contrary I think its comendable that you even brought up the subject of moving on for the time being until another 911 comes into your life. My wife just had our second baby a week ago (little girl) and I know if things had to tighten up around the house, the 911 would be the first thing to go...again just some internet rambling...
R/
Dustin

[yelcab1]

$500 each carb, there are 2 so that is $1000.

Original Weber does not have bushings, the aluminum body acts as a bushing/bearing for the shaft. Once that goes out of specs, the hole is bored out to a bigger size, bushing used, and shaft reused.

That is why you don't find a bushing in any kit.

You can do this yourself if you are reasonably skilled. Just find a bushing that fits the shaft and bore the body to fit the bushing. A machine shop should not charge you too much to drill two equal size holes.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I really can't argue with the $500, Webers aren't exactly as simple as the single barrel Zenith I once rebuilt on a tractor, or even the quadrajet on an old truck I once had, I'm sure it's money well spent, for those that have it that is. I wasn't for once questioning the logic of fixing the problem, that's why my car is sitting in the garage, and that's where it will remain until I get this solved. The problem is that I too have a mental limit, and I've really already passed it. When given the choice of putting extra money in the bank for the birth of your first child, or rebuilding a carb, what would you choose? I knew from the beginning that 911 ownership can be expensive, but I didn't dream it would be $1000 on top of the price of the car after a month. Sorry for the b!tching, it's just something I've been wrestling with these last few days, my own selfish wishes vs. what's good for my family. My wife has been understanding, she knows how much I love the car, but as an accountant she's began to clamp down on the money, and if things keep breaking I'm up a creek. Anyway, so bushings will fix it huh? I assume they need to be a tight fit without restricting movement of the shaft (what all guys are looking for) . Anybody have any more info on this?

[Joe Bob]

Buy some used Zeniths....put the webers up on the shelf.

[yelcab1]

I rebuilt all four webers on the 308GT4 for the cost of the rebuilt kit ($100). No bushings needed because they did not get abused. I was lucky.

if I were in your shoes, I would seriously consider doing this myself. Boring and fitting the bushings will be a little more money but it can be done reasonably by a machine shop that you can find locally. Just drilling two larger holes concentric to the old ones and fit your shaft in there, nice and tight.

I am guessing that you can get it done for ...$250-300 for everything.

[Axis11]

Being new to this 911 game, some of these common pitfalls are new to me.
What defines abuse when referring to webers? Is there a maintaince schedule for the carbs that needs to followed or is it in the linkage adjustment?
In short, what constitutes abuse?
Matt - I hope this doesn't sour you on the pcar, you seem like a resourceful DIY type of guy. An affordable alternative has to be out there somewhere. It's good that your thinking of the whole picture.

-Tim

[onewhippedpuppy]

That's a great question Tim, one I'd like to know the answer to. I just happened to notice my leak when I was syncronizing my carbs, i.e. my face was down in the carbs, I don't know how long it's been going on, or what caused it in the first place. Kind of scary, the nice hot #1 cylinder isn't but a couple of inches from the leak, and I first noticed the wetness from the gas at the base of the intake manifold. What would the wife had said if my car had suddenly burst into flames?

[Bravo]

I have not read all of the posts but I bought a kit last year from Baugm (SP) tools for $50.00 and a local mahine shop said he would do the work for $150.00. The kit included everything you need to do it including the drill bit. This is a good alterantive in my opinion

[Zeke]

I don't think I understand something here. Usually, worn shafts are the source of a vacuum leak. To me, any excess gas should be being sucked in, not leaking out. What else is wrong that is contributing to this? Stuck float? Leaky intake vakve? Maybe some of the carb gurus can enlighten me (and Matt) here.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Dean, I sent you a PM regarding that kit. Milt, I'm kind of clueless here, I just assumed it was the shaft because I could see gas dripping out off of the bottom of the deal where you adjust your idle at the end of the shaft, and on the other side of the throttle body on the shaft by where the accelerator pump attaches to the shaft. Is there anywhere else it could be leaking? I just replaced all the carb to intake and intake to head gaskets when I had my engine out, I cleaned the outside of the carbs with carb cleaner, and when I was syncronizing the carbs yesterday the mixture adjustment screw on the #1 cylinder (where it leaks) didn't seem to make a difference. Maybe that will help?

[yelcab1]

Originally posted by Zeke
, any excess gas should be being sucked in, not leaking out. What else is wrong that is contributing to this? Stuck float? Leaky intake vakve? Maybe some of the carb gurus can enlighten me (and Matt) here.

Electrical engineers will relate to this: electron goes left, while the hole goes right.

In this case, leaking air in is the same as leaking gas out the carb. Creates a lean environment either way.

[piedogger]

I hate to bring this name up but I read on here before MotorMiester (don't kill me) does a really good job at this for cheap. do a search.

[Joe Bob]

Yup, that's the rumor.....heard it as well from a wrench that has sent a few sets down there. Eurometrix is good, pricey and backlogged....

[onewhippedpuppy]