This is a hypothetical question! I'm doing research for a novel. I need to know the basic details of how one goes about replacing a carburettor. What's the most common fault in a carburettor and how would a mechanic go about fixing it? In the book, a father is explaining it to his (as yet unborn!) son.

Thank you.

Richard Stafford, May 2008

THE MOST COMMON FAULT ON CARBS IS DIRT INTHE FUEL.THE INTERNAL DRILLINGS OF ACARB ARE VERY SMALL AND EASILY BLOCKED THIS REQUIRES SYSTEMATIC DISMANTALINGTO ENABLE COMPRESSED AIR TO BE BLOWN BACKWARDS THRU THE DRILLINGS TO CLEAR THE BLOCKAGE PERHAPS AN ANALOGY OF FUNCTION WOULD BE TO COMPARE THE FLOAT CHAMBER (CARB FUEL RESIVOIR) TO A BALLCOCK IN A TOILET CYSSTERN THEY BOTH ENSURE SUFFICIENT RESERVES OF LIQUIDD

A.RAMSAY, May 2008

Curious.....however the most common problem with carburettors (apart from people who know nothing messing with them) Is dirt in the float chamber, causing the thing to flood with petrol, or blocked jets - both of which can be cleaned using a toluene based carb cleaner and compressed air. The carb is a bolted fit onto the inlet manifold, and these bolts are undone to take it off - usually ripping the sealing gasket at the same time. Have fun with the book!

John, May 2008