Tearing my car apart today, including disassembling Weber DCOE’s. Took one all apart (or so I thought) and tipped it up to pour the gas still in the body into a little bottle with the jets and small stuff, when “plop” out comes a little part. Oops!
As I take the other side apart, I find there was a little ball-bearing under this part that went “plop” out onto the outdoor bench. Said tiny ball-bearing went into the dirt and gravel.
Oh shit! I live in BFE, and don’t have a tiny ball-bearing that size handy. (got lots, but none that small. about half the size of a BB)
Shit! Now what?
I happen to have the WORLD’S STONGEST MAGNET, and after pulling it off the work bench with vice-grips, started running it around the dirt and gravel where I thought it might be.
Didn’t even think I found it, but checked the magnet, and THERE IT WAS!
We all get the bear now and then! Not often, but good when it happens.
Ah yes, the dreaded dropped part. I still cannot understand how a shiny chrome part can utterly disappear in very short grass. Now that you magnetized the ball, your mileage should go up 10%
This is the second time you have mentioned the DCOEs, great carbs. Race car of some sort?
Back in the 70s when I was racing I had a tuner’s kit of all sorts of DCOE jets, emulsion tubes, venturies, etc. Probably worth a fortune today.
If there was a little ball bearing there was almost certainly an even littler coil spring. Do you have that part too?
Having an exploded diagram and complete parts list is real valuable for when your disassembly efforts spontaneously explode more than you’d planned.
I do know from bitter experience that carbs in general and Webers in particular contain no optional parts. Carbs can only be assembled two ways: the right way, and some way that might fart but won’t run. Good luck.
I tried a carb rebuild on one of my parent’s GM cars (that I was driving) eons ago. It almost *killed *me getting it all back together. The rebuild kit covered many models, so I ended-up with unused parts, adding to my confusion. I eventually licked it and promised to never open that can of demons ever again. I do need to massage the Autolite on the Falcon in the near future, though. Ugh.
Wouldn’t it be nice if they were as simple as motorcycle carbs?
Went to put these beasts back together, and discovered you have to put the top gasket on first before the floats.
I was pussy-footing with those floats and was so careful, I didn’t realize one was half-full of gas! If not for the gasket issue, I never would have realized that and reassembled them with a bogus float!
Not often, but good when it happens.
And, yeah. Those jets would be worth a metric butt-load today!