CRAP....car won't run now

-
G

green67cuda

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2004
Messages
512
Reaction score
0
Location
Alabama
ok...so i have been troubleshooting cooling problems this morning and think i am on the right track.

i went for a drive and when i got out to the 4-lane, i went to go, and the car died....i thought i was out of gas, because i knew i was close.
anyway....car won't start because of heat soak problems, so i get the GF to bring her car and jump the cuda...after i put in 3 gallons of gas.
so i start it and go to take off, and it goes for a few seconds and sputters and dies....jump off again (heat soak)
goes again for a few seconds, but longer because i didn't get on it as hard....dies again (seems to be trying to die, but takes a little bit to be completely dead.....i know it's a fuel problem, because the tach is still firing, and it surges a little while it's trying to die.
happens a couple more times, and i finally try to just idle home....get nearby, and it bogs down again and finally dies....coast to driveway, and look.....
cannot see fuel level in the front bowl at all....secondary bowl is fine.

so i think it's either heat soak (at 70-75 degrees outside????), carburetor too hot, or bad fuel pump.......

anyone know? can a fuel pump just go bad that quick? i never had one just fail instantaneously....

seems like if the carb was too hot, then i'd have had no fuel in the sec bowl either.......but whenever it dies, i can pump it twice and it fires right up.........then eventually dies.

NOW....the only other thing i did besides mess with air flow across the radiator is adjust timing.....i went from 25 initial, 50 total down to 15 initial, 40 total
 
Don't believe your timing has anything to do with your fuel problem.

When it dies pull the fuel line off on the carb side of the pump. Stick it in a coffee can or something and have someone just crank the engine a little see it it pumps fuel out. If it does reconnect and disconnect from the other side of pump. Keep that coffee can ready.
Becarefull if not cloged fuel will flow freely. Be ready to shove it back on.

This should tell you if the problem is before or after the fuel pump.

Did you check your fuel filter and fuel line from pump to carb?

It sounds to me like your fuel pump. and they go just as you described.
 
had a fuel pump die on a dodge van all at once. on a boat ramp of all places.m yes i was loading the boat. there was some pissed off guys waiting.
 
I agree. It sounds like a plugged fuel line/filter, or a bad fuel pump. They normally give some warning but sometimes they just up and quit on you, usually at the worst possible time and in Friday afternoon stop-and-go traffic.
 
I agree I have had fuel pump problems before on other cars and fuel filter! How old is the pump and filter? Do you have the original fuel tank? If so, did you ever check for rust in the tank?
 
hmmmm....maybe not....it sat outside all day, and i just went out to start it......no good.....won't turn over fast enough, then...click

so i jump it, and get it started, but it won't idle.....adjust the timing back to previous, and it'll idle...that's good....

check the fuel bowl....full....rev it to 4K and hold it for 20 sec.....bowl stays full

hmmmmmm
 
you could of had something in your front needle bearing in the carb...didnt you say the front bowl was empty and the back was full??

it may have cleaned itself out.
 
possibly....i need a new fuel filter anyway...it has one of those Russell bronze element ones and it's supposedly good for 300 hp, but i think i'm making a bit more than that
 
could underhood temps cause vapor-lock? the wire loom on the passenger side got melted during this fiasco. it's 4" from the header tube at the closest point......and about 15" of the loom was melted, but no wires.

the fuel line may pass as close along the framerail, so could i have gotten vapor locked there?
 
FYI, all:

this was vapor lock. yes, even in high 70s, low 80s...
the fuel line runs about 2-3" from the header tubes. on the way to the strip tonight, started doing it again, and i felt the line and it was HOT.

had the leaf blower with me, and a few minutes of that cooled her down and got me to the track...no more problems the rest of the night.

time for some insulation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top