# I'm a Lucky Bastard Tonight! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 16, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018 "2017-10-16T04:19:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018/1 "2017-10-16T04:19:03Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018/2 "2017-10-16T06:36:20Z")
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. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018/3 "2017-10-16T13:11:17Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018/4 "2017-10-16T14:01:45Z")
Good on ya for getting lucky last night! 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? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018/5 "2017-10-16T18:27:21Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > 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. > > Dennis '71 BMW e10. Well, I drive it like a race car. 😉 And, yeah. Those jets would be worth a metric butt-load today! > [@LSLGuy](#): > > If there was a little ball bearing there was almost certainly an even littler coil spring. Do you have that part too? > > Good luck. No spring! Thank goodness… > [@somepumpkin](#): > > Good on ya for getting lucky last night! > > Wouldn’t it be nice if they were as simple as motorcycle carbs? Thanks! It’s been a while since I’ve gotten lucky. 😉 These carbs seem overly complex to me, but I’m a hack, so what do I know? It’s all voodoo to me… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018/6 "2017-10-16T18:58:54Z")
Ever taken that magnet fishing? ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018/7 "2017-10-16T20:14:51Z")
Dodged a bullet there! I, too, know the feeling of dismay when a part drops; tink, tink, tink, silence… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018/8 "2017-10-17T16:17:59Z")
Got lucky again! 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! How I missed it is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-lucky-bastard-tonight/799018/9 "2017-10-19T03:42:58Z")
After a careful draining, did the best drop of solder I’ve ever done! Fixed!