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M38A1 Carburetor Nightmare

Silver88

New member
3
0
1
Location
Pennsylvania
Ok, so I have a relatively new to me (had it about 2 weeks now) 1955 M38A1 - Initially the carb was a little leaky around the gaskets and fuel lines - tightened everything up a little and most of the leaks stopped but she wasn't running quite right - ended up taking carb off and doing a general quick cleaning without taking too much apart - I found the carb stamped as a Carter YF 938SA - all fine and good went online and ordered the master rebuild kit for a Carter 938SA carb. After the kit arrived and I printed out the technical manual and exploded diagrams and instructions for the Carter YF 938SA we began work on the rebuild. (I have my cousin helping me out with a lot of the work) Once we cracked open the carb really got into it we noticed that the check balls and check weights were completely missing from my carb and the accelerator pump diaphragm and housing looked different than the exploded diagram. After thinking about it and fiddling around a bit we both came to the conclusion that quite possibly the accelerator pump housing/diaphragm was not from the same model carburetor - I pulled out the laptop and started looking and sure enough the part looks like it came out of a carter YFA not a YF. Not sure if they are meant to be interchangeable or not - but it seems like certain parts don't fit or sit quite the way they should with that housing but again not sure.

Anyhow even if i could correct that problem the check balls and weights are still missing. after doing more research it seems like the M38A1 should have had a YS carb not a YF to begin with? So I'm looking to see if i can get a YS - the problem there is that i keep seeing that there is a YS 950 and a YS 950S and I'm not sure what the difference is. and getting a YF or YS isnt super easy, most places want the core and they cost a lot. I've come across that Solex carb which is considerably cheaper and said to fit but I don't know if they are any good or not.

I've only had the jeep two weeks and i've already replaced the handbrake control rod, & handbrake brake shoes, all steering tie rod sockets/ends inner and outer both sides, replaced the speedo cable, fixed the lighting, replaced the ignition coil, rebuilt the distributor with new points, cap, rotor, and condenser, replaced the bad wires inside the distributor, adjusted the clutch (which will need replaced soon it's at the end of its life already), and took the starter apart and cleaned it all because the bendix was sticking, and then spent money on a carb rebuild kit that didn't get me anywhere...so i don't want to fork out big $$$ for a carb. I thought about just trying to find the proper accelerator pump housing/diaphragm and the weights and check balls but out of all the places i've looked so far i couldn't find the accelerator pump housing piece i need, only found just the rod with the diaphragm - and the weights and check balls i could find weren't for the YF 938SA. I'd be happy to keep they YF even it's not the "correct" carb if I could get the right parts for it or something but that Solex carb is tempting.

I'd like to have the "correct " YS carrb but finding one i could afford and knowing if it should be a YS 950 or YS 950S would help. Any suggestions, ideas, opinions, experience are welcome - I am frustrated, when I bought the jeep I knew it would need some stuff and wanted something to tinker with but I wasn't expecting to put so much $$ into it in the first two weeks...*sigh* but that's the nature of the beast i guess. Thanks in advance for the help!
 

chawgleg22

New member
2
0
1
Location
Fort Pierce, Florida
Ok, so I have a relatively new to me (had it about 2 weeks now) 1955 M38A1 - Initially the carb was a little leaky around the gaskets and fuel lines - tightened everything up a little and most of the leaks stopped but she wasn't running quite right - ended up taking carb off and doing a general quick cleaning without taking too much apart - I found the carb stamped as a Carter YF 938SA - all fine and good went online and ordered the master rebuild kit for a Carter 938SA carb. After the kit arrived and I printed out the technical manual and exploded diagrams and instructions for the Carter YF 938SA we began work on the rebuild. (I have my cousin helping me out with a lot of the work) Once we cracked open the carb really got into it we noticed that the check balls and check weights were completely missing from my carb and the accelerator pump diaphragm and housing looked different than the exploded diagram. After thinking about it and fiddling around a bit we both came to the conclusion that quite possibly the accelerator pump housing/diaphragm was not from the same model carburetor - I pulled out the laptop and started looking and sure enough the part looks like it came out of a carter YFA not a YF. Not sure if they are meant to be interchangeable or not - but it seems like certain parts don't fit or sit quite the way they should with that housing but again not sure.

Anyhow even if i could correct that problem the check balls and weights are still missing. after doing more research it seems like the M38A1 should have had a YS carb not a YF to begin with? So I'm looking to see if i can get a YS - the problem there is that i keep seeing that there is a YS 950 and a YS 950S and I'm not sure what the difference is. and getting a YF or YS isnt super easy, most places want the core and they cost a lot. I've come across that Solex carb which is considerably cheaper and said to fit but I don't know if they are any good or not.

I've only had the jeep two weeks and i've already replaced the handbrake control rod, & handbrake brake shoes, all steering tie rod sockets/ends inner and outer both sides, replaced the speedo cable, fixed the lighting, replaced the ignition coil, rebuilt the distributor with new points, cap, rotor, and condenser, replaced the bad wires inside the distributor, adjusted the clutch (which will need replaced soon it's at the end of its life already), and took the starter apart and cleaned it all because the bendix was sticking, and then spent money on a carb rebuild kit that didn't get me anywhere...so i don't want to fork out big $$$ for a carb. I thought about just trying to find the proper accelerator pump housing/diaphragm and the weights and check balls but out of all the places i've looked so far i couldn't find the accelerator pump housing piece i need, only found just the rod with the diaphragm - and the weights and check balls i could find weren't for the YF 938SA. I'd be happy to keep they YF even it's not the "correct" carb if I could get the right parts for it or something but that Solex carb is tempting.

I'd like to have the "correct " YS carrb but finding one i could afford and knowing if it should be a YS 950 or YS 950S would help. Any suggestions, ideas, opinions, experience are welcome - I am frustrated, when I bought the jeep I knew it would need some stuff and wanted something to tinker with but I wasn't expecting to put so much $$ into it in the first two weeks...*sigh* but that's the nature of the beast i guess. Thanks in advance for the help!

I had nothing but trouble with the Solex carbs combined with after-market newer fuel pumps that ran at 8psi to the Carb. I was told that the 134 ci engines were designed and needed to receive fuel at 4psi, so I installed a fuel pressure regulator. It still ran too rich. So, I found an old core for the YS 950 side-draft Carb online. It cost about $275. I then sent it to a rebuild company and got back a freshly rebuilt YS-950 side-draft Carb with a one-year guarantee. It cost $325 (with sending in my core). So, $600 later, it runs right
 
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