Holley 600 Puking fuel through the secondary bowl vent!

[Kern Dog]

Could a bad float cause this? Would a bad float allow the bowl to overflow through the boosters and the vent at the top?
I have a 2 year old 600 Vacuum secondary 4 barrel in my 75 Power Wagon 440. It usually runs great but today when I started it after a 3 week rest, it ran rough and wouldn't idle. Fuel was dripping from the secondary boosters and only got worse.

 

[Torkmnstr]

Yes sounds stuck, just overflowing out the vents. Happened to me before after it sat. Pull the bowl and give it some whacks!

 

[lewtot184]

probably a piece of dirt in the needle and seat.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

It could be either a piece of dirt in the needle/seat, damage to the need/seat causing it to hang up or a sunk/stuck float. I had a carb like that many years ago and I would smack the fuel bowl with the back of a screwdriver to make it stop (stuck float). It's an easy fix. If it were me (& assuming you have the basic square bowl 600cfm, single fuel line, with the fuel tube going between the bowls) I'd buy a float, needle/seat, bowl gasket & the little 0-ring for one side of that fuel tube & swap it all out at once....probably $30-$40 and done in an hour.

 

[coloradodave]

X2 on what PurpleBeeper said.

 

[Kern Dog]

I replaced the black float today with a new brass one. What are those black ones made out of? It is some type of plastic or composite. I drilled a hole in it to see if it had gas in it. It smelled like dog **** while I was drilling the hole! Strange.
I may have adjusted the float tang too far. It seems to have lost a bit of power and I can't hear the secondary "roar". No leaks though.

 

[Torkmnstr]

Yea the black is a nitrile one I believe. As for adjusting, an old trick I do is take the bowl off, flip it upside down to mimic a full bowl and then adjust the float down until it's in the middle of the bowl. That way it gets you pretty close and not spilling fuel all over the motor when getting it initially adjusted.