carter carb> running rich

Jeepenstevo

New member
I have a 90 jeep wrangler 4.2 wiht the carter carb and it is running way to rich. Could someone tell me how to lean it out. It is really sucking down the gas. I am gitting ready to put a motorcrfat 2150 carb on but i need to passs emisions now wiht the carter carb on. any help would be usefull thanks
 

start the jeep up, screw both rich/lean mixture screws all the way in, be easy tho, then back them each out 2 1/2 turns, i have the carter carb also and this is where mine is set, runs great
 
There is only 2 adjustment screws on the thing. low front left and right. You also have a fast idle and choke kick down at the throttle linkage area. My understanding is and I had no luck with adjusting my carter as it was to far gone. Turn in both screws finger tight not with a screw driver to prevent messing up the needles and seats. Then turn em out 3.5 turns start the jeep. Sence the jeep is running now I would for go this step and start here. Turn the needle valves in slowly as you go. Start with the needle on the drivers side why I do not know was just what I was taught. Easy is the key and keep turning till it starts to strugle for fule and or air. Then back it back out .25 of a turn go to the next and do the same thing till you have a good low rpm idle. As I understand it this is the way to get the best out of the POS carter. I am sure there are other ways with vacuume gauges and ect.. but I never had this kind of tools to work with. Give her a try and see what happens can't hurt. Just take a few notes as you go cause you can always put it back where you started if it does not help. You will never be so happy as you will be when you get the MC2150 on and set in. It is a great carb and angles are not a problem anymore. tug
 

If you have a carter for any time at all you will learn! That is the worst thing ever made. Tug
 
Do the YJ carter carbs have tabs over the adjustment screws that need to be removed? I thought I remember my '88 being non-adjustible, until you removed the tabs and made it adjustible.
 

The Carter Carbs were supposed to have limit caps on them from the factory. If yours doesn't have them then it is either a rebuilt one or someone before you took them off. They are easy to take off. My Motorcraft 2150 finally came in the mail yesturday I am putting it on today. A question I still have now is what air cleaner can I put on it. Do I need to get a ford one? I have a simple round hi flow filter on it now but I don't think it is large enough to fit without modifying it. Any Ideas?
 
The break master booster is in the way and the motorcraft has a 5 1/8 inch horn so you will have to get an after market breathr. I bought an elderbrok how ever you spell it and it is a tri angle shaped deal with a oam filter. You can get a 6 inch round K&N but after the carb and the other fixes I went cheap.

I am now working on a coustom breather box and will have it welded up out of aluinim soon designed to fit and run a K&N drop in filter and a intake hose to a home made snorkle much like lady gator made. Thanks to her for the idea.

After I get it made up and it works I will have stoped the weak link to the Motorcraft carb. That being the water danger on the trails.

Let me know if you need help with the vacuume lines as I got mine right after some time of trial and error. tug
 
Hi Jeepenstevo,

I am going to take a different approach to your carb problem.

Your starting post, reduced to the essence, has two clues: (1) "running way to rich" and (2) "it is really sucking down the gas." Clues (1) and (2) are really different ways of expressing the same phenomenon.

The fact that your Jeep is "really sucking down the gas" suggests the carb is malfunctioning at speeds above idle. Unless your Jeep operates all of its running time at idle, mis-adjusted idle mixture screws (within reason) won't make a huge difference in gas mileage. Given also that your BBD has (or did have) idle mixture screw limiters, the idle mixture screws can't be far off the proper setting.

My guess is that your Jeep/carb has problems other than idle mixture screw adjustment. Unfortunately, the possibilities are many. Too many to attempt a long-distance diagnosis without further information.

This is not to contradict the preceding posts, it is to play the odds from a different starting point or perspective. Given that your Jeep has the Carter BBD, with stepper motor adjusted jets, and the associated very complex and failure-prone emissions control systems, my bet is that the fault lies there and not with the idle mixture adjustment.

If it were my Jeep, I would begin the diagnosis by first confirming proper operation of the automatic choke and the computer controlled carb metering needles.

Regards,

Gadget
 

Here is the solution: Throw it in the gutter and go buy another!
That is a POS waiting for a place to stink. Runs bad on the street and worse on the trail.
 
Deep-Sixing the Carter BBD is a great long-term solution, but Jeepenstevo stated that he has to get his Jeep through emissions inspection using the Carter carb.

Gadget
 
Soft Top Hardware

Listen to Gadget he is far more inriched in Jeep Knowledge than I will ever be. All I can do is hit the small part of what i know while he has taught me over and over here at Jeepz. I have a ragged ol carter I will ship to you if you want it but I feel it is shot and most likely not worth thecost of shipping. There is got to be a carb guy in your area some where. Best all around advice I can give is find him and take it to him for a good carb tune up or rebuild. After you pass the inspection take it off clean it good get all the gas out and store it for the next inspection. tug
 

Tug,

Thank you, but I disagree about who is the more "enriched" in terms of Jeep knowledge.

We all have specialized knowledge as regards specific areas of our Jeeps. If you notice, I never touch the suspension-drive train related questions. There is a good reason for that: I have little knowledge to share as regards those topics. So I leave those questions to be answered by those who have the expertise.

I prefer to think that we all learn from each other -- collectively, we add up to one great mechanic.

Who knows? My advice posted above could be completely wrong and your's completely right.

Regards,

Gadget
 
I prefer to think that we all learn from each other -- collectively, we add up to one great mechanic.

I LOVE owning a Jeep, and being able to know people like you guys, makes it that much better.

You guys are wicked cool! :D
 
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