Hiking some trails over the long weekend - unfortunately the 40 is staying at home. Decided to use its time spent sitting to conduct a highly scientific leak test to identify my hard start issues.
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My quadrajets fuel bowl drains overnight, leading to a LOT of cranking to get it started after it sits.
1. I cranked the truck up and got it idling, fuel bowl filled) then shut it down before it got hot (to prevent the fuel from boiling, if that's the issue)
2. Pinched off the fuel inlet to the carb with vice grips.
So if I come back in 3 days, and the carb is empty, I know my brand new rebuilt quadrajet is leaking (the Welch plugs are epoxied)
If I come back and the bowl is full, I have to assume the fuel line is somehow sucking the gas out of my carb and draining back through the (also brand new) mechanical fuel pump.
I can't seem to get a concensus on whether the mechanical Chevy pumps have integral check valves or not...but if this ends up being the case, I'll probably just install a check valve in the line somewhere to prevent the drain back.
The good news is - no sign of gas in the oil this time...