NEW OEM Carb vs. Zenith VN Rebuilt on BC144engine on B414

[SillyQuestions]

Hi, Long time lurker, first time post. Thanks to all of you who have helped in the past and not known it.

I have a B414 petrol (Zenith VN carb) with poor idle, skipping and running very rich. Gas in the oil. I used a basic rebuild kit, but the carb still seems to be dumping gas into the system. I think it has to do with the accelerator pump/piston on the carb and the kit didn't seem to have a part to re-seat that or the retainer for that gasket which is worn and no longer seats properly. I am giving serious thought to buying either a professional rebuilt carb (275$) or the new OEM replacement carb from this site (Carburetor - DOWNDRAFT Part Number 1429N on this site (IHS377 on others), 500$) which sure seems a lot simpler design than the original zenith. Has anyone tried a direct replacement with this new carb and if it works better than the original zenith design I might go that way? The original fuel system has a metal fuel line from the lift pump ending with a banjo fitting to the existing Zenith. This new carb just has a 5/16 barb and in a different location. Can I just clip the banjo fitting end off the metal line and attach 2 or 3" of rubber fuel line from the end of the existing metal line to make it to the 5/16 hose barb on the carb. The fuel inlet on the new carb is just re positioned farther away enough that I don't think the existing line will reach it. Will there be a size mismatch there trying to go from a metal fuel line to a 5/16 hose?

Any experience in this would be appreciated. I'm not a mechanic but just need to get this thing running well again. and while it costs more the new carb style sure looks like it is a lot simpler (less to go wrong). THanks

 

[jimg.allentown]

Poor idle and running rich can be attributed to the carburetor. Skipping is a different thing. A compression test would be a good start, check plugs and wires, dwell, and timing.

Even though you put a rebuild kit into the carburetor, did you make all of the adjustments? Needle and seat, float level, metering rod adjustment, and mixture screws?????
Also, check to see that your float actually floats in gasoline. A favorite on old carbs is a saturated or leaky float. Even with everything adjusted to spec, your carb would be continually flooding the engine from too much fuel in the bowl.

You can investigate some more, do some diagnostics, or just take the expen$ive way out.....