72 Dart 225ci
She's been sitting up for a couple years during a restore. Compression test is 130lbs on all cylinders. Put carb kit in just for good measure. I took it out on the road and blew it out (without a windshield....wow) and it runs excellent. The first few times it blew all sort of light colored smoke and then cleared up. Now....it is blowing a black smoke even at idle. Not real dense smoke, just enough to see. Reving it with your hand over the pipe, gives you a black palm. Should this clear up after running it more? Any ideas appreciated.......Gary

Could be any number of things. Could be the float in the carburetor is set to high. The idle mixture screw be out to far, causing the carb to run rich on the idle circut, or you could still be blowing crap out of the engine, though I kind of doubt that. Replace the crank breather and PCV valve also since its been sitting awhile.

I did have to monkey around with the float level...it's a long story. Where can I get the specs on the level? My kit gave instructions, but failed to provide the measuring stick. Need to know the distance from fuel level to housing body. Next.....I have played with the mix screw (I assume it's the one way down near bottom of carb) and it will not idle anywhere other than one quarter turn out. I will follow your advice and get a new PCV. Any ideas. Thanks much....Gary

Ick. My guess is, the kit alone didnt do it for you. I would take the carb apart and get the housings cleaned again. See if you have an engine shop nearby thatll put it in a washer with an agitator.

It could be poorly seating valves as well, though with comp test at 130...

Your carb idle mixture screw should be a lot more forgiving than that. You could be overcompensating for another problem, like late valve timing or ignition problems. If your engine's been sitting that long, it's generally a good idea to replace all eventual wear items and perform a tuneup, and set your valves. Try that, and then start troubleshooting.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Is the choke working properly?
Did the choke flap completly open after warm-up?
DD

D'oh! *smacks forehead*

_________________
I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.