Carburetor help

Need some input / guidance. 1974 cj6 with inline 6. Vapor recover canisters missing. Was running but not sure where return line from carburetor was going. Has Carter on it. Am i better off to change carburetor type, replace vapor system, or can I just run return line back to tank?

Just a weekend toy, no serious off-roading planned.

Any input / direction is appreciated.

 

I personally don't care for the carter carbs, I've always swapped them out with a Weber. If it runs fine and you don't want to spend a large chunk of change at the moment, I'd suggest leave it for now. I would however suggest adding a vapor canister back in, that way your engine will draw the fuel tank vapors back into the carb when running. It also helps with that gas smell when the jeep is sitting in a garage or enclosed space. I followed the writeup here:

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=106051

 

I ran return line on a 79 back to the tank, ran it like that for about 8yrs, no issues.

 

Vapor recovery is pretty benign, but has nothing to do with the fuel return line.

Vapor recovery only vents the fuel tank and carb float bowl. No liquid fuel should be present. There is a liquid check valve between the fuel tank and the vapor canister to prevent iquid fuel from reaching the canister.

Fuel return usually comes from a third nipple on the fuel filter, not the carburetor.

Read the TSM here - http://oljeep.com/edge_74_tsm.html - fuel tank diagram (fig 4-5) does not show a fuel return line.

 

^^ LOL, that may explain why I never actually seen any gas coming out the line, ran it to the tank just in case, didn't know where else it went.

 

A '79 will be different. My comments only apply to the OP's '74. You need to look at the TSM for 1979 to know whether the '79 should have a fuel return line. Emissions equipment can change a lot from year to year in this era.

 

My CJ5 came with one, I do believe 79 was the year they added the fuel return line to all models.