Air Horn Gasket question

[DV657172]

Rebuilt my original Quadrajet (#7041264) on a basically stock 71 GTO 400  using Cliff's SR Rebuild kit

Car idles fine in my shop although it hasnt been down the road since the rebuild. It ran ok previous to the rebuild but I figured it was due for a rebuild. Carb was previously rebuilt in 1993 for a previous owner by The Carburetor Shop out of Ontario, CA.

Question - The airhorn gasket has what appears to be a layer of fuel on the top of it all around the gasket on the outside of the carb? I dont have much experience with rebuilding carbs, is this normal or what might be the issue if not?

[novadude]

I would say that the airhorn gasket getting slightly wet / damp is normal.  It seems like this always happens with every carb I've built.  Curious to hear if others have the same experience.

[Brian B.]

Mine always seem to wick fuel.  Especially the portion near my accelerator pump.

[quadrajam]

Same here.

[von]

Mine wick fuel too but if it gets to the point it comes out the accelerator pump hole there's a bigger problem. Then it could be poor seal between the needle seat and carb body, needle to seat leak, wrong float level, too much fuel pump pressure (BTDT), bad float, or needle clip incorrectly installed.

[DV657172]

Thanks for all the replies and education.

I dont have any fuel coming from accelerator pump hole but as Brian and quadrajam reported mine also has the most wicking of fuel nearest the accelerator pump.

[Brian B.]

I probably notice it more near the accelerator pump because that is where "excess" gasket material sticks out under the airhorn.  Its akin to a small square tab of gasket hanging out.

[Cliff Ruggles]

If you bought my kit the main body to airhorn gasket for that carb is .015" thicker and made of a superior material that doesn't "wick".  If you are seeing fuel between the long hold down bolts and center front airhorn screw the airhorn is going to be warped slightly more than the main casting and not clamping the gasket sufficiently.

My cure for that here is to simply run the front of the airhorn gently across my bench mounted belt sander for a couple of seconds to make it just a tad flatter than the main casting.  This will cure that issue 99.999 times out of 100 vs going to extensive efforts to "unwarp" the main casting and airhorn for a better fit.

I see folks advise the "unwarping" move a lot, but it is simply not necessary for most of these builds.......FWIW

[DV657172]

Thanks Cliff for the reply.

Yes the rebuild was your kit (SR Rebuild Kit). The wicking however is around the entire gasket, just to a larger degree near the accelerator pump although as mentioned previously that may just be due to being more noticeable given more gasket exposure outide of the airhorn.