Am I missing an important part of my Carburetor?

[chrisruff]

Hello out there in VW Land, this is my first post after lurking for a couple of weeks!
I just bought a 62 Sedan with early 70s Engine, (AE Code Prefix). The engine has some issues that I am working through. It was running HOT and then just quit. I was starting with 0 Tools and Parts so this is a lot of fun beginning from Sratch!

I got out the Idiot's Guide and followed the steps to get it running again. When I inspected the Carburetor, a Solex 34 PICT-3, it seemed to be missing a key part. It doesn't look like it had anything under the Main Jet Cover Plug or Seal. I removed the Plug to clean out the Fuel and debris in the Bowl as the Idiot's Guide suggested. There didn't seem to be the Main Jet or Volume Control Screw, Parts Number 17 and 18 Respectively in the Haynes Manual's eploded view of the Solex 34 Pict-3 Carburetor. Any suggestions, why these would be missing? If they were there, how far into the hole are these things supposed to be?

Thanks in advance for the help! I'm not particularly mechanically inclined but I try like hell and have a good attitude!

[61SNRF]

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=56411
Check out this link found in the FAQ "Sticky's".
It may provide some info.
_________________
-Bruce

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[chrisruff]

There was a great wealth of information on that thread but nothing to confirm that I am actually missing these parts to my carburetor. Thanks for your reply!
Not sure if I can get these parts separately or if I'll just have to buy a whole new carburetor. It seems that the Solex 34 PICT-3 Carb. is a piece of crap that no one likes...

My car, when it was running, didn't want to idle. I had to keep my foot on the accelerator to keep it from stalling. Since I put new spark plugs and spark plug wires on it, it stopped running. I was in the process of doing a major tune-up![/img]

[uncapj]

take the drain bolt off the carb and stick a small flat head screwdriver threw the bolt hole and you should find the jet after a few turns its in there just not next to the bolt its in a little deeper remember the idiots guide was wrote in the 60s and the exloded veiw does not show exactly where it comes out from
if you have the carb out you can look in the bolt hole and see it
_________________
I lack the tools that I have come to learn are imperative to work on a Volkswagen a compression gauge and a timing light.

they say money doesn't buy happiness but it buys car parts and those make me happy

Cars are like the perfect girl always ready and never say no

Current 74 Std Beetle (class 11ish)
Past 67 Baja

[dreadpiraterobert]

Deep behind the drain bolt, there should be a brass jet, which has a big slot for a screwdriver and a hole in the middle. It's positioned such that when you remove the drain bolt, you can easily get to the jet by sticking a screwdriver through the hole.

There should be two slotted screw looking things on the left side of the carburetor (your left when looking from the rear of the car). The larger one is the volume control screw. The smaller one is the mixture screw.

[glutamodo]

You pretty much have to have the carb off to remove that main jet. You can unscrew with the carb mounted on the engine, but it's very hard to remove once you've loosened it - it too far inside the carb. It needs to be shaken out. That is unless you happen to have a screwdriver that fits that slot on the main jet tightly and the jet sticks to it. I've heard of special screwdrivers that fit/grip over the head of the main jet as well, but never seen one.

Talking about this reminded me that I was needing to address something on a 34PICT I have sitting here so while I was doing that, I took this picture and put some labels on it:

[chrisruff]

Thanks for the inside view of the 34 PICT-3 Carb, it really shows what I can't see. I can tell that the Main Jet was in further thatn I thought it might be. I'll have to remove it to inspect it closer. I don't know where my example was made, I can't see a label. It just has 34 PICT-3, Carburetor cast into the left side.

I got this car because it seemed to run well and had a rust free body and chassis. Now it doesn't run at all since I put new spark plugs in. Oh, well...back to the idiot's guide. I'm most likely going to have to over-haul this entire thing.

[glutamodo]

German made carbs will have the VW logo, then SOLEX, 34PICT-3, then Made in W-Germany on the side of the carb.

Carbs made in other countries... well they usually won't have the VW logo, they may some other logo, like BOCAR in Mexico:

Or other non-German carbs:

Then there's carbs like this one, which had stickers which are often long gone, leaving just the stamped logo.

German made SOLEX series carbs have stamped onto them a "modification state number" - usually on the base flange across from the throttle arm. This tells the exact revision of that carb - VW made multiple variations within a carb type series for different applications. These always start with "VW" - aftermarket carbs might have as stamp of some kind there but I don't have any kind of index as to their meaning. But the German ones I have a very detailed list of. Some examples:

-Andy

[chrisruff]

Great pics, so very informative!
My Carburetor looks just one in the pic, unfortunately not German...
Anyways, I'm back to just getting it to start, then I'll have to tune the Carb.

[j.l.godoy]

[dan macmillan]

[chrisruff]

I went back again yesterday and re-checked every spark plug and spark plug wire, they are all properly gapped and installed correctly. The problem might lie with my distributor because there is no spark getting to the plugs. It also looked like a weak, orange, spark coming from the coil. Maybe that is due to be changed as well.
My post was initially about the Carburetor, that has largely been cleared up. The great folks of this forum have given me some very useful info on the Solex 34 PICT-3 Carbuetor. But, I am back to the ignition system at this point. I read that these motors will run even with a faulty Carb in need of adjustment.

Another thing, isn't the Voltage Regulator supposed to be mounted either on the Generator or the Fire Wall? This one is strapped to the Fan Shroud...

[glutamodo]

In 1967, VW went to 12V and they relocated the voltage regualtor from the engine to under the back seat. In 1973 when VW went to an alternator they continued to have an external voltage regulator which was also under the back seat. A year or two later they went to an internally regulated voltage regulator, so nothing under the back seat after then.

You're posting in the late model Forum with a 62 car, so in that instance there won't be any kind of factory wiring or mounting under the rear seat. In that instance it is very common to have the voltage regulator botled to the fan shroud. Wiht that, I would make sure your voltage regulotor had a decidated ground wire from one of the mounting bolts to the small screw on top of the generator housing.

For years on my Baja bug, which is a 61 body on a 66 frame, I had my voltage regulator on the fan shroud.... This is the IMHO, the much more reliable solid-state styel regulator mounted to the shroud. The tube thingy on the generator housing is a noise suppressor for the stereo.

You can sort of see the dedicated ground wire from the screw hoding the noise suppressor, to a V-regulator mounting screw.

Eventually I went and drilled&tapped a hole on my generator housing so I could mount my regulator there. I did this when I changed to a different fan shroud and really didn't want to drill any holes in it if I could help it.
Also, no need for a ground wire if the VR is on the Generator.

[chrisruff]

Thanks for the great info on the Voltage Regulator I'll most likely have to re-wire it because it looks like it was cut and re-attached at one point. One of the wires has since broken and needs to be replaced at any rate. I re-inspected the points aparadus and found that they were indeed correded. I could only tell after watching some English Bloke on youtube adjust them. Good video that was, it showed me how to remove, inspect and adjust them. With that piece of info, I successfully started the car after polishing/filing the points. It ran like crap, some backfiring and the like, but it was alive... I'll install replacement Points this afternoon. Is there a best German Part out there for both Points and Distributor Capacator?
This forum has helped to resurect this cute Bug, I thank you all!

[glutamodo]

I don't think you ever said what model (part number) of distributor you have on there. You'll need to know that to know what parts to get.

Get Bosch parts - don't worry about the country that much, as Bosch has plants all over the world now days.

[Paul Windisch]

Orange spark = bad coil. A set of worn plugs with gaps that are slightly closed up may have been enough for the coil to fire them, but now with good plugs, it won't. Change the coil and see if it starts. You don't want to make too many carb adjustments before you have it running as you may make it more difficult to start.
_________________
*ASE Recertified Master Automotive Tech*

1984 Mexican Beetle
-1914cc
-L3 Heads 35x32 valves 52cc chambers
-0.040" deck for about 9.1:1 Compression
-Engle W110 cam
-CB Super Stock 1.1:1 Rockers
-Stock Heat Exchangers w/ Tri-Mil Muffler
-Dual Weber IDF 40s w/ 26mm venturis
-034 SVDA Distributor

2013 Chevrolet Volt DD
2005 Pontiac Montana SV6

MAHLE Service Solutions
Applications Engineer

[chrisruff]

I installed the new points and it runs about the same, crappy with plenty of back-firing then it stalls. I'll double check my timing adjust procedure, valve adjustments and go on from there. The markings on my Crankshaft Pulley are ambiguous but I don't want to get a Chrome Degree Pulley, they look silly!

[Paul Windisch]

Did you replace the coil yet?
_________________
*ASE Recertified Master Automotive Tech*

1984 Mexican Beetle
-1914cc
-L3 Heads 35x32 valves 52cc chambers
-0.040" deck for about 9.1:1 Compression
-Engle W110 cam
-CB Super Stock 1.1:1 Rockers
-Stock Heat Exchangers w/ Tri-Mil Muffler
-Dual Weber IDF 40s w/ 26mm venturis
-034 SVDA Distributor

2013 Chevrolet Volt DD
2005 Pontiac Montana SV6

MAHLE Service Solutions
Applications Engineer

[chrisruff]

Didn't replace the Coil yet, it is on order! The car ran much better last night when I re-checked and adjusted the timing. It now idles all by itself, it didn't do that before. Along with a new Coil, I need to replace the Distributor Capacitor. This evening, I'll be re-checking the valve adjustments, clean the engine and change the oil. With luck, I'll have this vehicle pressed back into the service by Monday.
Thanks for checking!

[glutamodo]