Quote Dad
"...pump it once and then hold it about 3/4 open for a bit.."

but wouldn't that flood it ?

You might check for worn driveshaft U-joints.

Hi Friends,
Excuse my barging into the discussion which is usually spent just
lurking,reading,learning, admiring posts,questions,problems solutions and
such things posted after a long day at the office.

Being an avid chevy owner, a fool at times with my spending, one
knowledgeable ex mechanic turned firefighter friend to guide me with his
knowledge,the calm to guide me to think and with a dogged detrimination to
do it myself, I beg forgiveness in mudding the waters to what appears to be
a simple question with some already knowledgable answers and solutions.

Now before I begin, alittle about me.While not really of interest to many, I
have welding as my fortay,the welding makes me the bucks to do the car
thing.

This means I've funded a small education with lots of car magazine tech
articals and owned a lot of cars over the years,all GM's for the most part.
Most had Q-jets 4 bbls..and mostly I've kept them running. Part of my fleet
includes a 95 and 85 C4 hence my vette fetish.

If I had followed the commercial for MCI, I would be still smarter,richer,
still married and have more of a social life...but I don't,so I have some
experiences working on cars instead.
But I'm no mechanic.I'm here to learn.And I like to share.

A properly set up carb, even a Q-Jet should be practically trouble fee if
all is working well. But anyone whoever took a carb apart  learns 3 things,
maybe 4, and possible 5 from the experience.

1) To find the number off the Q Jet carb, you'll have to scrape through the
gunk hiding the stamped number location located on the dr. side back corner
of the carb,usually requiring an old tooth brush dipped in carb clearner for
scrubbing and a mirror and flash light to read the number.That number is
needed to purchase a carb kits loaded with gaskets, an accellerator
pump,needle and seat, maybe a small ball bearing, a couple of springs,some
misc this and that with a 4 to 10 page set of instructions. You will have
left overs...really. The carb kits are some what universal.

2) Did I mention you need to soak all parts in carb cleaner, buy a gal..
Rubber Gloves,keep the tooth brush handy. No open flames and lots of
ventilation for working, and especially a clean spacey work area to step by
painful step, lay out all the parts and pieces. Becareful, yes that ball
bearing does belong in the carb.  Tools needed  for re and re are rather
simple really.  A socket,extention and wratchet, a tubing wrench or two,
maybe an open and box end wrenches,screw drivers,flat amd philips, pin
punch, pen and tape to mark any vacume line locations and you about good to
go. Oh yea,maybe a bandaid or two and a few profanities may be called for.
Newer Q Jets, usually have metric bolts, and torx screws. Screws located top
and bottom of the carb. Did I mention the need for a compressed air supply?

3) Once you read the instruction, you realize what a mistake you made in
thinking you could do this with just a few simple tools because it is more
complicated then that, and it really is to do it properly. Now I don't say
this to scare any guys like me from doing this. No guts no glory. You learn
nothing by your successes only by your failures, go for it. At the least you
can do a freshing up of the carb.Just becareful in taking it apart.Don't
bend any linkages, forget any parts, replace the float while your at it, and
take your time.  Alot of time the accellerator pump is not doing it's job,
gaskets may be leaking, and let not forget the biggest area of Q Jet
complaints,vacume leaks from the wearing of the throttle shaft.The latter is
a pain to repair.

4) Was the carb really the problem?

5) Was paying someone to fix it really that much of an expense?

The original post mentions a few things, new/recent engine up grade being
one.Not driving the car much being the other.Happens 3 out of 5 times. Any
owner of a GM with a Q Jet usually has there own way of starting, regardless
of what the factory tells us. Why...? My guess,age of the carb,wear and
adjustment play a factor, and lets not forget the weather.
A lot of things could effect the operation of a properly set carb if the
rebuilt engine was upgraded, cam specs,compression ratios,ignition timing,
would all have an effect on operational performance.Including starting.
Maybe it was crap gas.A semi plugged fuel filter? Leaking carb plugs? Was
any work done to the carb since the up grade? Was this a problem recently or
before?  How about the choke element if it's bi metallic,the linkage rod or
the adjustment if it electric? Lets not forget any temp/vac sensors for
polution control systems.

On that note, my skills at diagnostic work need work, but I'm a heck of a re
and re man.
Keep up the good work men. I perfer EFI.
Noel