Weber 32/36 is a pain in the butt. Help please?

aheffing · 08-01-2007, 03:38 PM

I have a 77 jeep cj7 with a 258 I6. A few years ago, after realizing that the stock, single barrel carb was absolutely no good, i started to research new carbs. The general consensus of folks seemed to be that the 32/36 was the one for the job. I wish they would have told me how big of a pain it would be!

When i first replaced the original carb the weber made my jeep run so much better (still not perfect) i didnt even think about vaccuum leaks, fuel pressure, jetting, or anything else that could be detrimental to the way my jeep would run in the future. Since then it has only gotten worse, i had a bad exaust leak due to a cracked exhaust manifold and I figured that is why my jeep wasnt running as well as it should, so i put on some headers. The jeep sounded great, but still ran bad. I also had some ignition problems that I figured could be causing a problem with the way it ran. So i replaced the stock distributor with a HEI 62,000 volt and gapped the plugs according to the distributor manufacturer's specs (considerably wider than my jeep manual says to do). Still no improvement in the way my jeep ran! So i spent the $60 and got the jets and also got the fuel pressure regulator, so far, the only jet i have replaced is the primary idle jet, because when i called the weber people they said that is the only one i needed to change. I have also changed the float level to what at least 3 different sources have told me to do. Some improvement, still ran bad. So i advanced the timing, not looking for any particular setting, just seeing what ran the fastest and smoothest. It ended up being quite a bit.

In the past, i have only had problems getting it to idle at the weber baseline settings, and after i got into the gas a little bit while driving it drove great. Now after all my hard work i have the opposite problem, the weber idles OK, (even though i still have to have the idle speed screw turned in way more than the recommended 1 and 1/2 turns in). It even revvs up great when not in gear, but now when you drive it and get into the gas a little it sputters and seems to cut out or miss. Its also fouling plugs pretty consistently and seems to be running rich at some settings and the carb makes a gurgling/slurping sound at some settings.

I would take it in to a shop but nobody around Central Arkansas I have found says they can work on webers.

I know other people have had problems with these carbs, but can anybody help me? i just want my jeep back and running good!

sorry this is so long... heres a list of the stuff i did in case anybody forgot

HEI distributor, Headers(no vaccuum leaks), new plugs, fuel pressure regulator, jets, advanced timing.

Please Help!

**qldit** · 08-01-2007, 10:07 PM

Good Afternoon aheffing, in that you mention you may have had a vacuum leak I would stronly suggest doing a compression check, remove the plugs, check each cylinder and record the pressures, apply a teaspoon of engine oil to each cylinder and repeat the process, compare the pressures for difference and against the suggested proper compression for that engine.
Marked difference in pressures between checks may suggest rings poor, no marked difference but significantly low and spread suggests exhaust valves.

It is common for engines with vacuum leaks to burn exhaust valves due to the combustion imbalance.
(and often crack manifolds)

Do not play with a low compression engine, it will never run properly.

This is a good place to start.

Cheers, qldit.

08-01-2007, 03:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
aheffing Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1 OS: XP	Weber 32/36 is a pain in the butt. Help please? I have a 77 jeep cj7 with a 258 I6. A few years ago, after realizing that the stock, single barrel carb was absolutely no good, i started to research new carbs. The general consensus of folks seemed to be that the 32/36 was the one for the job. I wish they would have told me how big of a pain it would be! When i first replaced the original carb the weber made my jeep run so much better (still not perfect) i didnt even think about vaccuum leaks, fuel pressure, jetting, or anything else that could be detrimental to the way my jeep would run in the future. Since then it has only gotten worse, i had a bad exaust leak due to a cracked exhaust manifold and I figured that is why my jeep wasnt running as well as it should, so i put on some headers. The jeep sounded great, but still ran bad. I also had some ignition problems that I figured could be causing a problem with the way it ran. So i replaced the stock distributor with a HEI 62,000 volt and gapped the plugs according to the distributor manufacturer's specs (considerably wider than my jeep manual says to do). Still no improvement in the way my jeep ran! So i spent the $60 and got the jets and also got the fuel pressure regulator, so far, the only jet i have replaced is the primary idle jet, because when i called the weber people they said that is the only one i needed to change. I have also changed the float level to what at least 3 different sources have told me to do. Some improvement, still ran bad. So i advanced the timing, not looking for any particular setting, just seeing what ran the fastest and smoothest. It ended up being quite a bit. In the past, i have only had problems getting it to idle at the weber baseline settings, and after i got into the gas a little bit while driving it drove great. Now after all my hard work i have the opposite problem, the weber idles OK, (even though i still have to have the idle speed screw turned in way more than the recommended 1 and 1/2 turns in). It even revvs up great when not in gear, but now when you drive it and get into the gas a little it sputters and seems to cut out or miss. Its also fouling plugs pretty consistently and seems to be running rich at some settings and the carb makes a gurgling/slurping sound at some settings. I would take it in to a shop but nobody around Central Arkansas I have found says they can work on webers. I know other people have had problems with these carbs, but can anybody help me? i just want my jeep back and running good! sorry this is so long... heres a list of the stuff i did in case anybody forgot HEI distributor, Headers(no vaccuum leaks), new plugs, fuel pressure regulator, jets, advanced timing. Please Help!

08-01-2007, 10:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
qldit TSF Gearhead Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Brisbane Australia. Posts: 592 OS: All Systems, mainly Linux	Re: Weber 32/36 is a pain in the butt. Help please? Good Afternoon aheffing, in that you mention you may have had a vacuum leak I would stronly suggest doing a compression check, remove the plugs, check each cylinder and record the pressures, apply a teaspoon of engine oil to each cylinder and repeat the process, compare the pressures for difference and against the suggested proper compression for that engine. Marked difference in pressures between checks may suggest rings poor, no marked difference but significantly low and spread suggests exhaust valves. It is common for engines with vacuum leaks to burn exhaust valves due to the combustion imbalance. (and often crack manifolds) Do not play with a low compression engine, it will never run properly. This is a good place to start. Cheers, qldit. Last edited by qldit; 08-01-2007 at 10:09 PM.