how hard is it to adjust a carburetor?

on my '83 the engine light comes on sometimes. i ran a code scan and it turns out my engine is running a little rich. the guy i bought the car from almost a year ago told me he had a new carburetor just put on and that it needs to be adjusted. i haven't bothered with it yet. but now i'm looking to solve this problem, so i'm just wondering how hard would it be for me to adjust it on my own?? and how would i do it? i need detailed info. please! thanks!

 

What code did you get?

 

Code 45

according to my HRM(Haynes Repair Manual), this code represents a rich condition. it actually says "rich exhaust" as the description for this code.

for probable causes, it says:

"rich condition caused by restricted air filter, fuel in evaporative charcoal canister or crankcase, malfunctioning carburetor/fuel injector, high fuel pressure, etc.; defective TPS; defective MAP; defective oxygen sensor; defective ECM"

now the guy i bought this car from just had a new carburetor installed a few weeks before i bought it, and he even told me the car was running a little rich and that the carburetor would have to be adjusted

 

im not sure when gm started doing this , but on my 87 q-jet , the mixture screws are sealed in , im not too sure on how to control the rich/lean condition

 

would it make any difference that it is not the factory GM carburetor? it's a holley... i'm not sure exactly what model or whatever but is there any way to adjust holley carburetors?

i don't know, maybe it isn't even the carburetor... all i know is what this guy told me, and that's it needs to be adjusted.

could my car running rich also have something to do with the tuning? what else could it be?

 

Ok do yourself a favor. go pull your aircleaner off and check out your carb. it should have some numbers stamped on it. Take these numbers and compare them to the list at holley's website.
http://holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLine/Pr...FMSC/FMSC.html There is also a technical section there that can tell you exactly how to adjust the carb.

 

It's a Holley? That probably means its not computer controlled. You will NEVER fix the check engine light with that carb. You either need to put a factory computer controlled Quadrajet back in, or remove the computer control.

 

wow, really?