Edelbrock Fuel Pump and Carburetor

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Gandy Dancer

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Hello FABO - I just replaced my stock mechanical fuel pump on my 318 with a mechanical edelbrock pump, which I can see is working great and pumping fuel up through the glass filter which I am using. The problem I am having is that the car is not starting unless I am pour a little squirt of gas into the carburetor to get it started.It will run for a second and then cut off. The carburetor seems not to be pumping the fuel into the carburetor. Has anybody run into this before or does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.
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Thanks!
 
Start by pulling the fuel line off, remove the top of the carb and make sure both floats are set correctly. The needle and seats may be stuck closed. I have nothing good to say about those carbs to be honest.
 
Carburetors don't pump fuel.
The only pump on a carb is the accelerator pump.
All that is needed for the carb to work is fuel in the carb bowls. If there's no fuel coming out the accelerator pump squirters when the throttle is moved, then the bowl is probably low or dry. If some shoots out, then the bowls may or may not by low. Take the top off and see what's going on. Make sure the float is set to specs.

Glass filter looks empty in the photo. Could be just the picture. It should be full of fuel except for a little vapor bubble near the top. That's a lot of fuel hose, and the headers are a possible source of vapor lock on the way to the fuel pump. Winter fuel is more likely to vapor lock when hot than summer fuels.
 
Start at the beginning people...

What was the reason you changed the fuel pump?
Did the car run properly before the pump change?
 
Is that a 5/16 hose barb on 1/8 NPT on the pump's fuel inlet? If so, that's a restriction and mechanical pumps do not perform well with restrictions on the suction side.
 
it's hard to tell from pics, but if that is Teflon tape I'm seeing, you might have some pieces of that in the carb plugging a passage or two. Those in-line filters don't catch all the junk, so don't be surprised if you find junk in the carb.
 
I was able to adjust the floats and test the accelerator pump. I finally have fuel coming out of the accelerator pump into the carburetor itself like it is supposed to do. However the motor still only runs when I pour fresh gas in it. I am going to assume that the fuel that is in the system now is too old, and two of the clues are going to be that the fuel has a strong green tint to it, and the smell is like a stale gas. I am going to try and empty the system out and replace it with fresh gas to see if I can keep it running.

Thanks
 
On the edelbrock that I received, the cap screws they provided were waaay tooo long.
So if you need longer bolts because of the flange thickness, calculate how much is extending past the threads on the inside and towards the chain. Compare what you had, with flange thickness and bolt length, to what you need for the new.
Also, If you go too short, you may strip the threads.
 
How about an update?
Ok - I finally got the combination running. I determined that it was not bad, gas, or the fuel pump. I had to adjust the choke plate on the carburetor to pull the fuel up. However now the problem I encountered yesterday is that she started up, and ran fine, but then after 30 minutes of driving it sounded like the cam dropped of and when it was running sounded like a four cylinder, she would not accelerate, and finally she stalled and would not crank back up. I had not had a chance to get back out there and look at it, but I will try to today. I will begin to diagnose the problem today, and figure out how to permanently adjust the carburetor.
 
Did u run out of gas or crud in the tank got sucked up and plugged passages in the carb or fuel pump or plugged the fuel filter. Kim
 
Bad gas breeds crap in the tank. Probably lost fuel pressure due to stuffed filter or clogged needle seats resulting in flooding. Take carb top off and check inside the fuel bowls and float seats. Next time you go to the parts store, buy an assortment pack of rubber caps: Golf tees stuck in hoses would only get me home in a pinch!
 
Hello FABO - I just replaced my stock mechanical fuel pump on my 318 with a mechanical edelbrock pump, which I can see is working great and pumping fuel up through the glass filter which I am using. The problem I am having is that the car is not starting unless I am pour a little squirt of gas into the carburetor to get it started.It will run for a second and then cut off. The carburetor seems not to be pumping the fuel into the carburetor. Has anybody run into this before or does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.View attachment 1715160373 View attachment 1715160374 View attachment 1715160375 View attachment 1715160376 View attachment 1715160377 View attachment 1715160378 View attachment 1715160379

Thanks!
I had same issues swap out the edelbrock pump for a carter and no more issues. but I think I'm going to swap to a holley because I can't get the thing to idle when it warms up.
 
Wouldn't that be a tuning issue? Or possibly a valve-lash issue?[/QUOTE

Any other ideas other than the two you just mentioned. carb is new and motor was just rebuilt about 6 month.
 
let me get this straight. Engine was rebuilt 6mos ago. Carb is brand new. correct?
What kind of rebuild are you talking about? Stock rebuild? or bigger cam, etc? Please be as specific as possible.
Was engine first started and run-in on this new Edelbrock carb or a different carb?
When you said it "wouldn't crank", do you really mean the starter would turn the engine over (called "cranking"), but engine would not start?
 
While it’s not the cause of the problems, once you do figure out the problem and it’s running, get rid of that rubber fuel line from the filter to the carb. That’s a fire waiting to happen and you wouldn’t want that after it’s running smoothly.......
 
Edelbrocks are somewhat known for a common problem of leaking fuel back out of the bowls into the lines. Why I have no idea, but I have read where a lot of people have that issue. I did with my Edelbrock on my Ford truck. Until I put a fuel check valve in the line just before the carburetor. Dorman 800-194 is a 5/16" check valve and 800-195 is the 3.8". They are not cheap, but mine fixed the problem. I have since switched to a Street Demon, so the valve is now a moot point.
 
While it’s not the cause of the problems, once you do figure out the problem and it’s running, get rid of that rubber fuel line from the filter to the carb. That’s a fire waiting to happen and you wouldn’t want that after it’s running smoothly.......
if that pic of the online filter is the OP's. Then that filter has a bunch of rust in it, and needs cleaning along with the metal fuel lines and tank. See if you can get some speedo cable inside cable and feed it thru your metal lines like a mini roto-rooter. You can chuck it up in variable speed drill if you like. Those inline filters only catch a fraction of the debris, so there has to be some crap in the new carb. If you pop the top of the carb off and see sediment in the bottom of the float bowl, you'll probably have to take the carb apart and blow out all the passages. Be careful, IIRC, there are a couple of check balls you need to be extra careful of.
 
Well everyone - How about I ( I mean my dad) found the problem!! Just as rustycowll69 suggested, the darn fuel filter was clogged just enough to not allow the fuel to flow through! I checked everything else out, and we narrowed it down to the fuel filter. I guess over a period of time the fine particles had gathered enough to stop the flow of fuel.

The explanation for the car starting to sound like a 4 cylinder was that the pistons were getting starved of fuel one by one as the filter was slowly shutting down. I plan on placing a filter before and after the fuel pump, which should help with the filtration process. Also does anyone have a good recommendation for a fuel filter?

With the carburetor adjustment and the correction to the fuel pump, the darn car is actually idling like its supposed to be!

Thanks FABO!
 
as far as fuel filter media, the best I've found are old-school ceramic, or old-school sintered bronze filters. Whatever you go with, you need to drop the fuel tank, remove the sender/ pickup assy, and drop a couple of feet of hot dip galvanized 5/16" or 3/8" chain into the tank and a qt or two of an appropriate solvent, and litterally shake the crap out of it, until it's clean. Rinse, repeat.
Like I think I said before, use the inner cable of speedo cable to "snake" the steel fuel lines.
 
Hello again! I found the culprit. I went all the way through the fuel line, and at the end there was a 3 inch rubber hose. Apparently the inner wall of the hose had come a loose and was working its way toward the fuel pump. It looked like an old piece of electrical tape. I could not believe it. Well at any rate, replaced the fuel line with at a brand new one. Pump and carb are working well.
 
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