Just installed a rebuilt carb this spring and everything has been running really good. I was at a car show today and when I left I could smell gas pretty strong so I pulled over and gas was leaking pretty bad at the fuel inlet on the carb (pooling in my intake manifold). I pulled into a parking lot and got lucky that a guy that lived near the lot had the wrenches I needed to tighten the inlet to the carb even more. I know the treads on the carb are good along with the inlet fitting, it also has a new gasket. I would not have considered it loose but I did get about a 1/8" turn on the inlet and it stopped leaking. Why it started to leak after 3 months I don't know, it was not even dripping prior to today. Is there a better gasket that I can use if it starts to drip or leak again? It currently has one of those thin fiber gaskets.
Probably just a fluke. Stuff like that happens all the time. Do you have a metal fuel line going to the carb? Make sure it isn't stressed or pulling on the fitting in any way or touching the engine. The vibrations could have made it work loose. Just keep an eye on it is all.
I hope it was a fluke, it sucks having to worry about gas leaking. I do have a metal fuel line running to the carb. and I will check to see if it is in a "relaxed" position. I will carry a set of wrenches with me now
Always a good idea to carry spare tools. With my Regal during it's first few thousand miles with the new 350 (Buick of course) I carried around my derpy Harbor Freight jackstands and jack, 239pc craftsman tool set, two jugs of water and a 5qt jug of oil, and some other stuffs. Yep, just keep an eye on it. Sometimes when the line is removed from the fitting, it can take the fitting with it and loosen it. Maybe that's what happened. Who knows, here's hoping it won't happen again.
there are a few styles of gasket out there for the 7/8"-20 threaded filter housing thin fiber one and thin metal one , both crush and seal well when the threads and sealing surface are in good condition. I have doubled up on the fiber one with good results as well. then there is a 1/8" thick nylon "problem solver" gasket. Its not something you torque all the way down. it will split if you do that. but the soft nylon seals really well and makes up for some filter housing misalignment in the case of helicoil repairs. you just tighten it "tight enough". this one can also help seal rough mating surfaces.
There is a nylon seal that goes on the end of the filter housing at the end of the threads also. Over the years I have seen many missing and then someone cranks the hell out of the filter housing to try to stop the leaking. This is in addition to the above mentioned gaskets that go where the hex portion of the filter housing is .
The thin nylon seal on the end of the threads is on the 1"-20 threaded filter housings only. The earlier 7/8"-20 threaded housings only used the seal that slips over the threads. I believe Rochester switched from 7/8" to 1" for 1972 in terms of Buick quadrajets.
