I have an `86 Ford Mustang with a Carter YFA feedback carburetor that has experienced repeated failures of mandatory California exhaust emission inspections. The efforts to resolve this problem have been a source of grief for me since the somewhat simple source of the problem eludes the diagnostic capabilities of most mechanics in my experience.

This carburetor has a spacer gasket which either leaks or becomes unseated due to the differences in mechanical strain between the upper and lower halves of the device; this results in extreme variations in how the car idles and how well the smog controls function. A twisting motion of the upper half of the carburetor throws the idle mixture out of whack depending upon the direction and extent of the twist and sometimes breaks the vacuum seals that the gasket must create in order for the emission controls to function properly.

Repair of the problem is not a simple task since it requires that the carburetor be removed from the engine.

Back to Brother Bob's Home Page

Back to the index page (top level)

Copyright © 1997 by Bob Hewitt - All rights reserved