squirters

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Mitch Covington
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squirters

#1 Post by Mitch Covington »

I'm rebuilding my Solex carbs, and replaced the 'squirters' with new ones. I see in the manual that the stream from them should not hit the sides, but go all the way through unobstructed. Of course, mine hit the sides way up high on the venturi. I suppose it's just a matter of bending them with needle nose pliers? Are there any tips, tricks or pitfalls that I should be aware of?

My old ones rotated easily, but these feel pretty solid... should they rotate at all?

thanks as always.





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Mitch Covington
Asheville, NC
'59 356 Cabriolet
'79 911 SC Targa

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Martin Benade
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Re: squirters

#2 Post by Martin Benade »

Pliers is fine, first rotate to get it close, then bend if needed. Ideally it should aim into the opening between the throttle plate and the bore as it opens.
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Mitch Covington
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Re: squirters

#3 Post by Mitch Covington »

Amazing... 3 minutes from posting my question! I was nervous about rotating them... my old ones were so loose I wondered if they would move on their own. I was hesitant to bend them too, imagined restricting the flow. Thanks Martin!
Mitch Covington
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'59 356 Cabriolet
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John Brooks
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Re: squirters

#4 Post by John Brooks »

Use a small piece of tubing, and long flat pliers to hold the tube, bend them into position, don't twist them to allow any torque to transfer into the zinc. If the tube-zinc seal breaks the won't squirt. The brass tube is malleable bends pretty easy.
John Brooks

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getting pushed around in porsches since 1965

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Re: squirters

#5 Post by Tim Berardelli »

After you position them correctly apply a small amount of 290, self wicking Loctite to the base of the nozzle with a pin. Any leakage at this location can migrate to either the idle air bleed or the high speed enrichment jet.

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Re: squirters

#6 Post by Dick Weiss »

The so-called "squirters" or injection nozzles can be moved to aim at the butterfly plate edges
when they just leave the throat wall; Slight bending of the tube(s) can be done, but there may be
some side-to-side clearance of the tube's block before tightening its screw.
If the nozzle is clogged (from age), it can be "poked out" w/a .013" wire; Otherwise, immerse it
in Stabil for awhile and it'll come out clean--same thing w/the bottom check valve screen.

If the nozzle's ball check is stuck (you can shake it & hear it if it's not), it can be taken apart
carefully--DON'T loose the ball!!! Clean it and the inside the tube, add the ball, and press it together.

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Mitch Covington
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Re: squirters

#7 Post by Mitch Covington »

I now have my squirters asquirtin' unobstructed through the throat of the carb on a table in my basement. Now I'm adjusting the injection quantity with my homemade collection vial. This seems like it should be a straighforward operation, but every question I ever post here yields little tips and tricks and pitfalls, so here goes:

1) the manual says ".45cc in warm season, .65 in cold season". That begs the question what is considered warm/cold? My cold season in Tallahasse is probably the warm season in Minnesota. Surely you don't adjust this quantity twice a year??? I suppose just get it in the middle and you're OK year round?

2) I'm having trouble getting consistent readings. It doesn't seem to matter much when i adjust the nut on the pump rod. I try to be consistent and give it two good strong pumps, wait a few seconds between each pump to let it finish. Though both squirters are usually roughly the same, the reading varies from about 4 to 8 cc without changing the nut. I'm only working on one carb right now... perhaps i should see how the other one acts.

3) Can this operation be done on the bench with the carb top cover off, or should it be done in the car with the carbs all closed up and warmed up? I'm using mineral spirits instead of gas.

thanks as always!
Mitch Covington
Asheville, NC
'59 356 Cabriolet
'79 911 SC Targa

Dick Weiss
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Re: squirters

#8 Post by Dick Weiss »

Hi Mitch, (Are you a FOG member?)

I bench test all carbs on the bench, or sometimes while the engine is in the car--if they weren't rebuilt.
You can adjust the output with the top removed so you can keep the float bowl filled, but my testing is
done w/a fuel pump actuation and a 0-to-5 PSI gage in the testor's output line so the pressure is checked
between 2.5 to 2.8--NOT exceeding 3. PSI!. Injection quantities would be OK w/0,50-0,55cc per 2-strokes from each nozzle and aimed properly as mentioned.

Also, I do use the OEM float gage and adjust the float level to the lower line, and always turn off the
petcock about 1/4 mile before engine shutoff; This keeps the float level low to prevent fuel expansion/overflow from rising heat from the engine.

Dick (Charter member of FOG)

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Mitch Covington
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Re: squirters

#9 Post by Mitch Covington »

Thanks Dick. I do have the float gauge and will move on to that next. Good tidbit on the shutoff level, I would never have considered that.

Not a member of FOG, though seems like I once was but faded away when i let my car sit for a couple of years (paying dearly for that). I don't plan to be in Tallahassee more than another year, will be moving up to the Asheville, NC area... if any local clubs/owners there I would be interested to hear from you.
Mitch Covington
Asheville, NC
'59 356 Cabriolet
'79 911 SC Targa

Geoff Fleming
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Re: squirters

#10 Post by Geoff Fleming »

Just to add some insight into the accelorator pump adjustment...the total volume put out at each of the four nozzles is made with two full open/close strokes of the carb. Sometimes owners will adjust the output with one full stroke and this will inject way too much raw fuel, causing stumbling of the engine from a starting position.
In warmer climates or during warm weather, a bit less volume is best. Cold weather demands a bit more fuel on starting, so the volume can be 'upped' a bit. Better to err on the low side than the high.

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Mitch Covington
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Re: squirters

#11 Post by Mitch Covington »

Thanks Geoff... for sure i've done 2 squirts every time, with good strong pumps each time, waiting a few seconds between pumps to make sure it's finished with the first squirt. I am trying to be consistent with the strength of each pump, but still seems like it's not as consistent as expected.
Mitch Covington
Asheville, NC
'59 356 Cabriolet
'79 911 SC Targa

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John Brooks
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Re: squirters

#12 Post by John Brooks »

Look at the holes in the end where its crimped. I usually run a jet reamer through them down to a sharpie mark so they are the same size. I don't remember the hole size, usually just take the smaller one up in diameter the match the larger one.
John Brooks

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Richard Emerson
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Re: squirters

#13 Post by Richard Emerson »

Can you show a picture of how it looks now?

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