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

Hello friends,
I have pulled my Carter carburetor (Model WCFB) and purchased my carburator kit to rebuild it. Does anyone have any input on doing this? This will be my first time rebuilding a carb in 25 years. Looks like a ton of parts. The problem that I am having is that the car will not start up without spraying starting fluid into the carb first. After it runs and warms up for a while, it will start right back up evertime instantly. When I drive it around it will run very poorly, almost like it is flooding out. It idols great? Just floods out at hi RPM or acceleration. I am guessing rebuilding the carb will fix the problem? If it sits for over a half hour I will need to use the Starting fluid again to get it started. I just purchased the car a few weeks ago and I thought I would rebuild the carb to see if it would start/run better.

Any suggestions or ideas? Has anyone else had this problem?

Also, I just cleaned out the fuel filter ASSY about 10 miles ago. This is the glass type with the Ceramic filter. While removing the carb today I noticed that it has a lot of dirt in the bottom of the glass filter/jar again? Has anyone done the process listed on this extreamly helpfull site yet? It is titled "REPLACING CERAMIC FUEL FILTER WITH PAPER TYPE". I am cosidering doing this but wanted some feedback from someone who has also done this.


Thanks for your valuable time and input, it is greatly appreciated.

Dave in Utah

Without knowing the service history of the vehicle, it could be the thing is just plain gummed up. Done with patience, a rebuild certainly wouldn't hurt anything. A carb from a rusty old field car could be a major challenge, though.

The factory shop manual usually has a pretty good instructions for rebuilding the car, but the supplier also provided consices specification sheets. Use this site's Search feature and the keyword carter to find a collection of Carter carb sheets, including one for the WCFB used on the 1953 Packards.

I found these sheets in my dad's old tool box; he was a mechanic in a Packard dealership in the poswar years. I hope others with similar paper for other carb models will donate a scan to help add to the collection.

If your getting alot of sediment in the filter bowl in such a short amount of run time I would suggest you give your fuel tank a good looking at.Also- It sounds like you may already have a plugged main jet in the carb. You may want to consider having your tank boiled and then installing an in-line filter before the fuel pump until the old varnish clears up.Also -todays fuels evaporate at a much higher rate,I use a fuel treatment(Sta-bil) for all my toys that have carbs.

Thanks for the input. Is it better to clean your gas tank or replace? Has anyone replaced their tank?

Dave in Utah

Hi, I am having a problem with my Carter carb on a '50 Packard. does anyone have a pic of the metering rod area on the 2bbl carb ? It is under a cover near the fuel inlet.
There is a pivot arm that I believe should work the metering rods but on my carb it doesn't. Not sure if something is missing or just setup wrong.

Anyone know where I can get a fuel filter.. clear bowl and element for this vehicle ? I believe they are made by carter but haven't found any in good shape.

Thanks
otgdy

odgy, I found it hard to hold the camera steady in macro mode but I hope this helps.These are pictures of a Carter WDO from my '47 but I think that they are essentially the same.

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Thanks for the pictures !! Mine is definitely put together wrong. Does the spring between the metering rods connect to the actuating arm (CENTER prong on fork) ? If you pull up on the metering rods does the heavy arm move with it or do the metering rods just slide back down on their own ? Thanks again the pics are AWESOME !!

The arm I mentioned earlier is the fork like arm.

OTGDY

OTGDY, If you look close at the first photo you can see that the spring ends wrap around the metering rods on the back side. They do not attach to the prong. The metering rods assembly (rods and piston)moves up and down independent of the fork piece if that is what you mean?.

I think so. Just to clarify...
When you hit the accelerator pedal the linkage rotates and the fork lifts which in turn lifts the metering rods. When you release the accelerator pedal the fork lowers until it hits the two buttons. What I am wondering is when the fork lowers does it force the metering rods back down or does gravity do that? or are they spring loaded. If gravity does it then the metering rods on my carb are stuck in the full open position. If the middle fork is connected to the rods then the spring/connector isn't connected. If they are spring loaded I have more problems than I thought. ;)

Thanks!!!
otgdy

Utah,
If your gas tank is in pretty good shape, I would just clean it. There are some chemicals specifically made to do this. Add some gravel and chemical to the tank and slosh it around. Works pretty well. It is a bit of a PIA getting the gravel out. Don't seal the interior of the tank. The "new" gas has ethenol and it will strip the sealer off and deposit it in your carb. (my other post).
I'll check around and see if I can get the name of the stuff I used.

OTGDY