My Cater Wo seems to tall

[Shalka04]

I just noticed that my air horn is rubbing away some of the paint on the underside of the hood.
That came about because i'm not exactly happy with the way my engine has been running.  So I've begun to investigate carb rebuild kits and noticed that my carb is a WO except the model numbers if that's what you want to call them are 146-249.  Also my carb has a dull aluminum finish and not the gold look that I guess is typical.  My CJ3a is a 1953
I'm using a new air horn from Walcks and the carb to intake gasket with the metal ceter piece.

If i switch out to another carb would that address the rubbing?

-John

[athawk11]

John,

Your Carter sounds like the right one.  Only a few things I can come up with:

The horn isn't pressed all the way home on the Carter...or

The tub mounts aren't thick enough...or

the motor mounts are too large....or

hood is smushed down...

There may be more things to consider, but these are what came to mind.

Tim

[p3ferris]

Or some one put an extra gasket under the carb base

[F Bill]

Just a quick thought... what do your tub and radiatorGRILLE mounts look like? Any chance they have sagged or the rubber pads are crushed to oblivion?

[rocketeer]

Just as a reference.



Larry

[terryb]

hi guys, how important is that air horn to carb rubber seal?  im currently not useing one, should i ? it seems to fit pretty snug now.
thanks to all

[athawk11]

Terry,

The idea is to get the cleanest air from the air cleaner into the carb. �Dirty air will contribute to more internal crud, thus shorter equipment life.

I always try to look back at why the original engineers would have done something. �They always have a reason. �They thought it needed a seal, so they added it to the system.

I have a reproduction like Rocketeer shows in his photo. �Mine is falling apart after just one year. �(Cheap rubber). �You could grab a bicycle tire tube and cut yourself a quick seal that would probably last the life of the Willys.

Tim

[calvinhunt]

I've found an old motorcycle tube to work better.  It stretches enough to fit snugly but not so much that it deteriorates as rubber does when it's stretched or distorted.  

[scoutpilot]

Can you post a picture of the setup?

[athawk11]

Hey Scout. Shalka posted this in November.  He didn't follow up with his issue or resolution.  I would like to see some photos too.

Terry recently revived this thread with the seal question.

[calvinhunt]

Can you post a picture of the setup?

I'm presently in Arizona.  When I get home I'll try to find a photo already taken.  If not, the next time I drive my Jeep I'll try to remember take one to show the motorcycle inner tube seal.  I drive my Jeep once a month during the winter just to keep it limbered up.

[scoutpilot]

Thank you gentlemen. I did not notice the date. Calvin. Yes post a photo of your set up. I'm curious about it.

[calvinhunt]

Tim responded here to an earlier question raised by terryb: How important is the air horn to carb rubber seal?

The Rocketeer posted a couple pics of one.

Terry,

I have a reproduction like Rocketeer shows in his photo. �Mine is falling apart after just one year. �(Cheap rubber). �You could grab a bicycle tire tube and cut yourself a quick seal that would probably last the life of the Willys.

Tim

scoutpilot asked for a photo of how I use a motorcycle tube to seal the air horn. �I took my Jeep out today and that gave me a chance to meet his request. �You can see that I used the motorcycle tube to seal between the crossover tube and the air horn. �It was installed 5 years ago and has not deteriorated at all. �



Another photo with the clamp removed. �Even though this doesn't duplicate the original design in appearance it surely seals better than the cheap rubber ones now available that fall apart in a year or less. �



Where the seal in question goes I used no seal at all. �After installing one of the cheap rubber reproduction seals which didn't last even a year, I studied it out like this. �The air horn fits snugly over the carb. �There are four relief slits in the air horn lip. �Those slits are closed by the carb itself when the air horn is all the way down. Take a look.







With the horn all the way down and a stainless steel worm clamp tightly installed, I believe I have a better seal than can be obtained by the reproduction rubber seal even before it deteriorates.