[DeTomaso] HOLLEY GAS LEAK / Dick Ruzzin

[Dickruzzindesign at aol.com]

I have a gas leak on my Holley double pumper. I have had it for twenty years, 
I think it is a 450.
It was rebuilt when the engine was about 3000 miles ago.
I am just about to take it off the engine.
This symptoms are:

1. The car runs great, smooth idle and lots of power.

2. I have a discoloration and a slight amount of gas leaking out on both 
sides of the base where the throttle shafts emerge. It runs horizontally along the 
carburetor base gasket and then down the manifold. The track is very slight 
but it is visible on both sides.

3. If I rock the accelerator lever I get the gas where the shafts emerge.

It is very slight and I only caught it leaking once when the engine was cold 
and had not been run for a few days. I pumped it more than once to start it 
and it stalled. It then started, I backed out of my garage and luckily stopped 
the car to dust it off. I saw an intermittent trail of gas drops and a puddle 
under the car, three or four teaspoons full. The intake manifold was wet on the 
drivers side, (I did not look at that time at the other side) and I could see 
that gas had puddled there before as the paint has discolored. After it 
dried, a few minutes, I turned the key and the electric fuel pump ran normally, 
there was no leak.

I went for a short ride checking for the leak, none visible.

Apparently the leak occurs when the accelerator pumps are activated. Are the 
throttle shafts worn, can it leak when the accelerator pumps are activated?

What should I look for in terms of repair? Any similar history?

Thanks for the advice,
All the best,
Dick Ruzzin 


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