My time in the shop has me believing that old school carburetors teach more than fuel injection.

Fixing a carb by ear and sight gives you instincts that computer diagnostics can't replace!

3 comments

3 Comments

You really learn how air and fuel work together when you're turning mixture screws by hand. Watching how the engine responds to tiny changes builds a gut feeling for combustion that a scan tool just gives you as a number. It forces you to understand the whole system, not just follow a trouble code path.

wesley8851mo ago

But isn't it true that many newer cars don't even have mixture screws you can adjust by hand? The computer manages fuel mix based on sensor data, so you often need a scan tool to see the full picture. Trying to turn screws without that info can actually throw off the engine's programmed settings. That hands-on feel is cool for older engines, but with modern ones, you gotta blend both methods to really get it.

leelewis1mo ago

Hear that new cars lack mixture screws? That's unbelievable. On my old bike, I adjusted the mix by ear. Now you need a computer to do basic checks. When that computer glitches, you're stranded. They've removed the driver's control over the engine.