Q: Carburetor needs adjustment.

Carburetors are devices that through the use of vacuum, mechanically deliver appropriate fuel amounts to an engine. The carburetor has several circuits each with its components. Some of the circuits use tiny holes to route air and fuel. As you can imagine dirt is a carburetors #1 enemy. Tiny bits of dirt can clog a hole creating a huge problem.

Jets in a carburetor are one of those holes. A jet is a screw with a hole in the middle of it. The size of the hole determines how much fuel will go through it. There is usually a conical shaped needle that sits inside the hole of the jet and that determines how much fuel will be allowed through. So the jets themselves don’t really go bad. But, if some foreign particle gets stuck between the jet and the needle, the fuel will not get through or too much fuel will go by.

If this is the case, the carburetor has to be taken apart, cleaned in acid, and new gaskets, needles, seats, floats, etc will be replaced. It is basically a rebuild. Some carburetors require special tools for adjusting or setting of internal components, so seeking the help of a qualified technician is important.