Glad I didnt rip the carb off and tear it apart, **OR** Cant leave well enough alone

My 66 has been falling on its face, backfiring, sputtering, kicking and screaming driving down the road last couple days, I figured acc. pump in the carb was bad somehow or the fuel tube was clogged/dirty as this was usually the problem when my old vw's had these symptoms..... so I decide to look at the plug wires and see if maybe i got the wrong firing order after messing around in there....the wires were fine..so I pull the dist cap off and the vaccume line off at the carb and suck thru the tube to check if the Vac. advance is working....well it seemed like I was sucking thru a straw in an empty glass !! and of course the vaccume advance wasnt doing it's thing because there was a huge crack the size of the Grand Canyon in the bottom of the rubber line connected to the dist. that I could not see, I replaced the vaccume hoses and the problem was pretty much fixed!! I even went out and burned a little rubber!! then checked the carb mount bolt to find it a little loose too! so I then decide to check the fuel filter,...the one inside the side of the carb......I find this little copper like stone thing (filter) inspect it and put it all back together and now the threaded inlet that holds that filter in place is leaking like a siv.....is that washer on there a crush type washer? that seals when tightened up? I am thinking/hoping that maybe it has lost its sealing ability and I just need to get a new washer? anybody have any input? Thanx!!

Thanx for the reply Donivan!!

got a new washer (non metal type), installed it.....still leaked, put old washer back in, still leaked, tried both washers together.....still leaked,....tryed again with new washer AND teflon tape, worked...... for a while, still leaking just not as bad, more Teflon tape maybe?

Think I would try a "very light" coat of Copper coat gasket adhesive on the threads and both sides of the gasket, just enough to leave a film on things. Teflon tape can work wonders but works best on tapered pipe threads.

the leak is at the washer where the fitting butts right up against the side of the carb, I can see the fuel leak there when I fire it up and watch there, its flush with carb, no cross thread there, there is a flared fuel line that screws into that fitting but no leak there, I think the threads in the carb have been crosthreaded before cause I can can see bugered threads inside there ,maybe I did it cause it wasnt leaking there before. I can see the fuel is getting past the threads and leaking out at the washer, the teflon tape worked for a couple miles but I saw it leaking a little again right at the washer/. would it be a good idea to try to fill those threads with somethin and run a chaser or tap thru there to re-define those threads? cause the fit is just sloppy...

It would help if you had a picture or a description of the carb.
If this is the standard big inlet fitting for GM carbs, the correct gasket is a small plastic one that fits on the very end, or a coated aluminum one that fits just behind the wrench area. In either case, it must have a flat surface on the carb and the fitting to seal, and both require a fairly high torque. This tends to pull the threads.
Sealing the threads does nothing, since they are standard threads and are not designed to seal liquids. Pipe threads are designed for that.
To fix this properly, either fix the sealing surfaces and install a new washer (if the threads are okay), install a replacement inlet, or replace the carb.
Do a Google search for "quadrajet fuel inlet repair". This applies to a lot of Rochesters, not just the Q-jet.

I do have the big inlet fitting, I think I have the coated aluminum washer, that I cannot find a replacement for. in case I have to replace the carb..... has anyone here had good luck with the holley replacement that is sold on ebay for 190.00

Will try to get pics later

Mine doesnt look like that one, I am pretty sure I have the rochester one, manual choke, manual trans. will try to get pics when i get home later, Thanx sooo much for all the support here, you guys are great!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330430857063&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT I could be wrong but mine sure looks alot like this one

Thanx Donivan, the fitting threads right in straight..no problem, both surfaces on mine do meet flat up against eachother all the way around and still leak there, maybe I am not tightening it enough in fear of cracking the carb there, i am going to try to find some more washers today after work and keep trying!! there is a Grafiti night kinda show here tonite I would love to show up in the van at!! So I am not going to give up!! do you think thats a good deal on that other carb on epay?

I'm gonna try the two copper washer method and crank her down, I cranked her down about as far as I thought it would go without breaking already. we'll see what happens.......

I found and installed a NEW aluminum washer/gasket with the big name on the package and it worked fine, sealed up the leak with no questions asked, the fiber one that came in the carb kit didnt work at all but the NEW aluminum one worked just fine!! I was pulling my hair out and you guys kept me calm!! I REALLY appreciate everyones help and suggestions here!! you guys ROCK!! Thanx again!!

Sorry I didn't see this post earlier !!!!!!! I had the same problem with the carb on my 67. A mechanic friend told me about this stuff and it works GREAT !

Its called HYLOMAR and comes from a company called VALCO CINCINNATI . It's a gasket maker/thread sealant that never hardens,is impervious to most fuels and has a temp range:-60 F - 600 F . It's expensive but it works. A 1.5 oz tube was about $20 with shipping. I couldn't find it locally so I had to order from VALCO. As easy to work with as silicone, just put a little on the threads and it stopped the leak. Still holding after a couple of years.

Thanx Wideload!! thats good to know, I need to drop the tank and replace the fuel line as it is leaking there now, I dig this van and this site!! I have been driving it to work and working on it during lunch breaks....I will need to replace all the fuel line and the rubber brake lines while I am at it, then the this...then the that......then the other.......hmmmm......good thing the BEER store is close!!