Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Hello,

Alright, I tried my hand at rebuilding the original Carter WDO carburetor on my 23rd Series Super 8. It ran really well for about a day, but developed a new issue: it now stalls when I come to a stop, or runs rough in the low RPMs as it idles in high or reverse (low isn't working at all at the moment...) - definitely wants to stall then as well. It revs, cruises, and accelerates without too much issue.

I just got the car, and the previous owner hadn't driven the car, so he wasn't sure if this condition existed before I rebuilt the carb. I'm inclined to think I did something wrong with the rebuild.

To me, it sounded like fuel starvation, but the filter before the carb (which I replaced this past Saturday) is full of fuel (it's currently running from a electric fuel pump). Is the engine actually flooding because there's no regulator?

I do know the engine needs a full tune up (at the VERY least) - the spark plugs have a significant amount of carbon build up, oil needs to be changed (I'm seeing some smoke come out of the oil filler pipe when it's hot), wires probably have the same amount of experiences as the spark plugs, etc. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

Check for a vacuum leak.

Does it just stumble or as you come to a stop does it feel like a stick shift car that you forgot to push the clutch in?

In the latter case it could be the direct drive clutch in the trans not releasing as your speed drops. Report back.

Hey everybody! Thankfully, I think for now I figured this one out. I checked for vacuum leaks and tightened any screws in areas that seemed suspect, but the stalling continued. I did some more Googling and found this article that talks about the choke mechanism on the Carter WDO:

carburetor-blog.com/knowledge-base/carter-wdo-choke/.

So this morning, I fiddled around the with choke spring - this seemed to bring it back around. No stalling on my little putzing around the neighborhood!

Idle mixture and speed adjustments may need tweaking.