318 2 bbl carb bottom bushing?

[Dodgerdallas]

66 318 2 bbl carbs throttle shaft is worn in all 3 places throughout,its sucking air like crazy and dripping gas out the side,the cost for a carb shop to fab a new shaft and rebush the body is cost prohibitive,grainger has bushings but there 3/8 OD (maybe too big) and then I dont know if I can press the things in anyway-is there a way to fix this problem in the short term as I have a 440 in the works but I want to drive the dam thing till I get the bread up???

[John_Kunkel]

In most carbs the throttle shaft rides directly in the carburetor base, there are no replaceable bushings. The standard repair procedure is to remove the throttle shafts and ream the shaft bore for replaceable bushings...kits for this purpose are available on e-bay and many other sources.

Doing this at home will usually result in the throttle blade screws snapping off on removal so be prepared to drill/tap the shafts and find replacement screws. In the end it might be cheaper to have it repaired by a pro. I have used:

Carburetors That Work & Throttle Body Repair
3300 Auburn Blvd Ste 5, Sacramento, CA.
Tel: 916-489-7034.

On a side note, if fuel is leaking from the throttle shafts you probably have a problem other than loose shafts.

[Dodgerdallas]

I've got the butterflies out w/o snapping the screws,I'll check eBay for the repair kit,how difficult is it to press the bushings in? Something I can do?

[John_Kunkel]

In most cases you can just pull the bushings into the throttle body with a long bolt/nut....less chance of peening the end of the bushing while trying to drive it in.

[Dodgerdallas]

Thanks I'll try it,everything under the hood is original although it's only a stock 318 I hate changing everything up,I'd like to keep her stock till I get the 440 I'm looking at and then the 318's going in storage just in case...by the way,is 2500.00 for a 440,no exchange,forged crank rebuilt long block,shipping included from Spokane to Dallas a good price?