Ok, I think I got a particular continuation of my problem that is easily explained.
I pump the gas twice & turn the key. The car starts & then dies. I pump the gas again & the car starts & dies again. The fuel flow from the pump is good, but for some reason the car stalls. I'm figuring this to be my main problem, but don't know what to look at. I previously replaced the pump & filter & wa recently able to drive the car a little ways then the car would act up, but now the first problem has crept up.
Ideas???
Oh boy, not again, eh? What happened to it's running great? Hmmm... when she started acting up again, did you take the carb apart again? See how much more junk is in there from the last time you cleaned it out? (I remember when doing our 57 it took several trials of taking the top off the carb to clean it out....) just a suggestion.. How about fuel pickup? was your car particualrly full of gas before it started acting up on the way home from Carlisle? Do you know if your tanks been taken out before, if so, someone might have changed the fuel pick-up line, and gotten it too high.
Could anyone here expand on vapor-lock?might that be an issue?
well, the car was full before I headed out to Carlisle & also full on the way back. Harley & me had just filled up I think about 50 miles or so when it died on me. It was acting up on me right before the fuel stop when Harley made a rest stop & I took off my passenger side wiper. I shut the car off to get a screwdriver out of the trunk & the car didnt want to start after that. Got it going, but problems got worse after that. Got fuel & it didnt want to start at the gas station.
I thought about vapor lock, but it was pretty cool out today when I couldnt get it to stay running. I am just so confused right now. I'll do what you suggest & take the carb apart again & see what I find. I wish I had another carb to put on it to see what happens, but I don't. I so wish this car was fuel injected since I know those cars perfectly. I might just think about taking a tbi setup & putting it on the car.
As I mentioned in the other thread, keep the car. There is so much involved with the EFI swap it would be much cheaper just to get a new carb. (IF that is the problem).
I would bet that it is just a simple problem. Keep looking and don't get frustrated.
Was there any junk in the filter?
Is your choke working properly?
Do you have a vac. leak?
Is the engine ground strap connected?
Is the ignition timing correct?
Is the gas tank vent plugged?
Will the car run with an aux. gas tank? (like a gas can directly hooked to the carb.)
Did you check the fuel pump for flow and pressure? You said you changed it before and the new one went bad (I think). If so, SOMETHING has caused it to fail. The most likely suspect is rust from the tank. Not to say you need to drop the tank, but the stainer is made to keep the larger chuncks from the lines.
Did you ever drop or look in the tank? You might be able to drain the tank and remove the sending unit/fuel pick-up without dropping the tank.
Did you pull apart the carb.?
Bill
The first time I had the problem I pulled the carb apart. It fixed the problem for all of a block. I pulled the carb apart on the car today & found very little fuel in the bowl & the little "v" shaped piece that screws in under the bowl cover that sprays fuel in the air horn to be plugged. when I move the accelerator linkage I can see fuel coming up through where the check balls are but it was more of a gurgling as opposed to a steady flow. I'm thinking the carb is junk beyond rebuilding, but I'm not too sure.
If there's anything that can be done, somebody please let me know.
What else should I check out?
Got that one piece cleaned out. I soaked it in parts cleaner for a few hours then sprayed it with carb cleaner. Noticed I still couldnt blow through it so I got some window screen & cut one wire off it, & cleared out the debris. I can now blow through it. I'm gonna put the carb back together tomorrow on my lunch break& we'll see what goes on from there.
That part could have caused my whole problem couldnt it?
A carb is just a stationary thing, it can be cleaned and reused. Replacing the carb is totally up to you, if it were me, I would keep cleaning it, or probably drop my tank and do a fuel system rebuild, blow out my lines, clean my tank and filters, and do a fuel pump check. 77turbopinto has a good idea. Hook that thing up to a gas can and see what kind of pressure your getting. And if after all that, your car is still running like crap, I would replace the carb. Do you have a local junkyard? If you could find one off of a ranger or something it might be cheaper to do it that way, or mabye someone on this site could help you out. But the important thing is, like 77turbopinto said, is not to get frustrated with it. Life goes on, you will figure it out. If you don't make that next car show, you'll make the next one. Its all a big learning experiance, and when you finally figure it out, you can have a feeling of accomplishment. Thats what working on your car yourself is all about, and it makes owning the car all the more special to you. Besides that, if something ever does go wrong again, at least you know what you did to remedy the problem the last time, and will have a good idea of where to start, and you can also help others in the same situation. You'll get her fixed, don't worry about that. Just take care of yourself!
Yes, that very well could have been your problem. I hope that there is not more where that crap came from though
I tell ya you guys are great & are right. I do need to be more patient. But it's hard for me since I planned on gassing up my Dodge Omni GLHT for the first time in 2 years & replace the cv axle on it. The problem is it's in front of the Pinto at the bottom of the driveway. I guess that's frustrating me more than anything.
Especially since the GLH had a small engine fire & I got it all fixed up but cant do anything with another dead car behind it.
The same thing happened with my car when I replaced the PCV. I'd yanked the hose from the PCV to the base of the carb loose by accident, and my car did just the same as you describe -- turns over, starts, runs for maybe half a second, immediately dies.
It would run a bit longer if I kept pumping the accelerator pump.
When I put the hose back on the fitting I secured it with a small hose clamp.
While you're checking the other stuff out I'd at least check the vac hoses.
Got the carb back together & started the car. IT started but was rough (always rough though) then died. Stried top retart it only to have it stumble & die. Looked under the hood & there's fuel everywhere. Looked like it was coming out the top of the carb? I'm just gonna replace this carb since something aint right with it. It was the original on the car & the previous owner just informed me they had carb problems before. Something tells me there's just something terribly wrong with that carb, especially since there's no logical explination for the problems I'm having.
I got a rebiuld carb. from NAPA one time and the car ran worse. It was rebuilt wrong; Got another one from them and it was fine. Maybe you can look for a rebuilt one.
Chances are that it is just a small chunk of poo doing it to you. I have found that Honda carb. cleaner is the BEST, it has Methaline Chloride in it (paint remover). You will be AMMAZED at how good it works.
The gaskets can only take so much, you might need new one. I found that coating them with Chap-stic keeps them nice for carb. TWEEKING.
Bill
Chap-stic
Hmmmmm
thanks for the tip
Joe
Quote from: 77turbopinto on June 13, 2006, 02:33:49 PM
I got a rebiuld carb. from NAPA one time and the car ran worse. It was rebuilt wrong; Got another one from them and it was fine. Maybe you can look for a rebuilt one.
Chances are that it is just a small chunk of poo doing it to you. I have found that Honda carb. cleaner is the BEST, it has Methaline Chloride in it (paint remover). You will be AMMAZED at how good it works.
The gaskets can only take so much, you might need new one. I found that coating them with Chap-stic keeps them nice for carb. TWEEKING.
Bill
Yeah, I plan on getting a reman for it. Until I can afford one I'm just gonna go ahead & get a used one so I can get the car running. I don't even care if it's the right carb for the car as long as it bolts up & the car runs well enough to drive the qtr mile to the storage unit.
The car runs now. I got a carb from Pick N Pull from an 87 Ranger. It stalled a lot at idle but rigged up the idle motor & now the car runs. Dunno if I'd trust it to drive far, but it does run.
I still have a good carb,$25.00 plus shipping.Even the hunk o junk its on runs good with it.
In re. your carb. with "gas coming out of the top":
The ONLY way that this can be happening is if the fuel inlet valve (i.e. needle and seat)is not working properly to stop the flow of fuel into the carb.
Most common causes are:
crud getting stuck blocking the needle from fully seating
a float that is set wrong, or one that is too heavy (usually from having a hole and containing fuel)
a worn resiliant needle valve tip, allowing fuel to continually flow past it, instead of being able to stop it when the float rises.
This fuel-over-flowing-the-carb problem is a relatively simple and cheap thing to fix/ replace if necessary and adjust properly, as long as you have the correct float level setting specification for that parrtiucular carb, vehicle and model year, as the specification changes regularly.
P.S. With the Ranger being a doner for that other carb, the odds are fairly strong that the primary and secondary jets are too large for your Pinto as the Ranger is a heavier vehicle, if so, and you don't change them, your fuel mileage will probably be disappointing as it will continually be running on the rich side with no increase in performance.
P.P.S. You might want to track down a LARGER size paper inline fuel filter, one used for a fuel injected Ford, to use in place the standard Pinto fuel filter.
Something that is generally NOT known is that almost all of the fuel injection fuel filters have a finer filtering media to stop smaller stuff that can make it through a standard filter for a carbureted engine. If you think that you're having fun now, consider how much bigger and more expensive to fix problem that the same size crud getting stuck inside fuel injectors and F.I. fuel pressure regulators could be causing.