Zenith chokes - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Mark V · #1 10-03-2002, 10:39 PM

While I was fixing my fuel pump I thought I'd tackle the chokes. It had become a bear to cold start lately but runs like a champ warm. I bumped up the fast idle to about 2200 and the car would start and idle cold just fine. If I hit the throttle though it comes off the fast idle and dies out quickly. Restart and I can't get it to hold idle. I'm way too tired to baby the throttle to see what it does when warm now.

Any one have any thoughts on how to proceed? I don't have a good procedure for the choke settings I am way past trusting Haynes on this car and the Zenith manual doesn't apear to get me there either. I need some real world experience on this one.

TIA
Mark

gmask · #2 10-04-2002, 02:23 PM

I have been doing a lot of fiddling with mine and discovered that one of the springs in the choke was broken. The zenith manual on jaimekop.com says to remove the fast idle screw on the rear carb.

I think I'm currently in the same boat as you which is that I have gottent he car to where it will start and idle cold but once it has gotten to temperature I have to give it gas to keep it from stalling... which makes getting the carbs in synce a real PITA!

Anyway I had put a spare choke from an older set of zeniths on it and I don't think it is working as well as I had hoped. I'll be watching this thread and working on my car this week.

Here's my car anecdote for the month.. I have been driving the "parts" car (old rusty) for the last several months while working on the other one. The previous owner had stripped the number two sparkplug sleeve which I fixed with a thread repair kit.

I was driving somewhere yesterday and all of the sudden I saw a puff of smoke from under the hood and the sound of a machine gun going off. I thought for sure the engine was now trashed and I pulled over. Low and behold the thread kit had given way and the plug was hanging by the cable.

I couldn't get it to stay in so I just drove the car several blocks to the nearest Autozone. I can assure that since it was during rush hour that I got plenty of stares as I drove my Sherman tank for a quick fix. I got another thread repair kit and was back on the road in about half and hour.. I have no idea if this spark plug is ever going to come out again but this car's next stop is the junkyard unless somebody takes it off my hands once I'm done with it.

Moral of the story is to carry a toolkit with you at all times and various types of glue for those in a pinch type situations.

ctaylor738 · #3 10-04-2002, 08:07 PM

Sounds to me like you were previously idling on the fast idle stop and when you adjusted it, that changed. Look and see if the front throttle lever is up against the stop at the front of the front carb. If it is not, adjust the stop it to your desired idle speed.

Mark V · #4 10-04-2002, 10:41 PM

Ok, but I adjusted the fast idle up not down. I'll have to look tomorrow after the rain passes but I thought the idle was adjusted with the linkages on the rear of each carb.

ctaylor738 · #5 10-05-2002, 09:52 AM

NO! Those are used to sync the carbs, not adjust the idle speed.

Mark V · #6 10-05-2002, 10:06 AM

All the info I've seen, I have never pulled that tidbit out of the mix, not sure why but I can be daft at times. Thanks. If, hypothetically, someone had used the links to get the idle speed... how might that someone's vehicle perform?

Thanks,
Mark

ctaylor738 · #7 10-05-2002, 01:57 PM

It would be random, depending on how close to perfectly synchronized the carbs ended up after the adjustment.

It might be spot on, but the hypothetical person should at least take a 24" piece of heater hose and "ear sync" the hypothetical carbs.