What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Won't start after a winter's worth or repairs: Eye candy while I wait for parts

well, it has holes, just not the one everyone's talking about. i'll post some pictures if that would help. i'll try getting it back on the truck and playing with it some more. how do you measure the clearance? even with the header off the engine i don't think there's enough room for me to reach the flywheel with the starter attached. i guess i'll pull the exhaust off the passenger side again and see what i can do.

honestly, it seems more likely to me that the fuel pump was the one making the noise. i might go ahead and install the starter and new fuel pump and see if the noise stays before pulling the exhaust and fiddling with the starter.
 
as luck would have it my fuel pump went out today!! go figure.... first thing i checked was the distributor, then remembered this thread, and pulled the hose to check for pumping action.

did anyone ever tell you how much fuel should come out of the hose when cranking? (i.e. how much fuel should come out in x amount of time cranking??) not much came out of mine.....
 
the pump should supply 1/2 pint in 15 seconds.

i personally didn't need this because the air bubbles passing through my clear fuel filter were so easy to see. i just tried to run it from a gas can instead of the tank. Those clear fuel filters are very handy
 
you can also check it with a vacuum gauge hooked up to the tank side. less than 15" Hg, it's bad
 
UPDATES!

well, i got the new fuel pump in. while it doesn't seem to squeal like it did when i'm cranking it, still no more gas enters the filter. maybe less. and it never starts.

so i replaced the rubber fuel and return lines at the pump and under the passenger side door. i also replaced the spring clamps with nice screw-types. after that i cranked it until the battery died, and there's no extra fuel in the filter. i took a video, and it looks like the one i took before.

i checked out the rubber hoses at the tank, and they look much newer than the others i replaced, and they have the screw-type clamps already. the question is what is getting air into my lines?

i'm hesitant to drop the tank, so i want to make sure it's nothing else first. is there any way the carb could be plugged so bad that the air isn't being pushed out of the filter and all of the fuel is being run back to the tank in the return line? when i pulled the rubber sections, both lines had significant amounts of fuel in them. the supply line even siphoned the entire tank dry, and appeared to have no bubbles when it was emptying. how could i check for a plugged carb fuel thingamajig?
 
If you have a fuel sock on your pickup tube it could be plugged up with gunk, or it could be betn over and kinked if the gas tank is dented too.
 
well, the tank looks fine. actually, it's the most undamaged part of the truck at the moment.
 
MassMan said:
well, the tank looks fine. actually, it's the most undamaged part of the truck at the moment.
Click to expand...

Well, disconnect the fuel supply line at the carb and put it in a bucket and crank the engine, it should start squirtng fuel out the hose...be careful, no sparks!
 
ok, so here's what happened. i jumped the truck for a while until i was sure it was all charged up. i then pulled the hose that runs to the carb off the filter and attached a long piece of fuel hose to it and set up a bucket at the other end.

i positioned the filter like it normally sits over the alternator bracket. after cranking the engine for a 10-count, there was maybe a cup of fuel in the bucket, and the filter was still only 1/4 full of gas.

positioning the filter so the output was facing down, i tried again. after a 10-count of cranking the filter was 3/4 full and there was even more gas in the bucket. tipping the filter back up to its normal position, bubbles come out of the line from the pump as the gas drains back down there and settles at 1/4 full again. i ended up with a quart or more of gas in the bucket after three 10-count cranks.

can anyone with a clear fuel filter confirm that it's supposed to be full and not partially like mine? also, it it ok that gas can drain back into the output line from the pump? doesn't that mean that there's air in it?
 
MassMan said:
ok, so here's what happened. i jumped the truck for a while until i was sure it was all charged up. i then pulled the hose that runs to the carb off the filter and attached a long piece of fuel hose to it and set up a bucket at the other end.

i positioned the filter like it normally sits over the alternator bracket. after cranking the engine for a 10-count, there was maybe a cup of fuel in the bucket, and the filter was still only 1/4 full of gas.

positioning the filter so the output was facing down, i tried again. after a 10-count of cranking the filter was 3/4 full and there was even more gas in the bucket. tipping the filter back up to its normal position, bubbles come out of the line from the pump as the gas drains back down there and settles at 1/4 full again. i ended up with a quart or more of gas in the bucket after three 10-count cranks.

can anyone with a clear fuel filter confirm that it's supposed to be full and not partially like mine? also, it it ok that gas can drain back into the output line from the pump? doesn't that mean that there's air in it?
Click to expand...

Well if you pumped a qaurt of fuel in 30 seconds, that's about 30 GPH during cranking, which is 180 lbs/hr, which is enough fuel to supply 360 hp free flow (less than that at 4 psi I am sure). . So with that info I would say you have plenty of fuel to the carb.
 
ok, that's encouraging.

i've got another update. i was playing with the filter some more, and i heard dripping. i pinpointed it to the return outlet of the pump. gas was seeping out from the hose connection. i loosened the hose clamp and fuel started to spray out with some serious pressure. i tightened it back down to a drip. i'm assuming that there shouldn't be loads of pressurized fuel in the return line. this is bad, isn't it...
 
well, i relocated the filter so it always points down. that didn't seem to help. i then took off the return line from the pump, and ran a hose from the pump to a bucket. before i turned it over, i noticed the level had risen to around 1/2 in the filter. i then cranked it, and the filter filled 7/8 and then gas started pumping into the bucket. could i have a blocked or crimped return line?
 
MassMan said:
well, i relocated the filter so it always points down. that didn't seem to help. i then took off the return line from the pump, and ran a hose from the pump to a bucket. before i turned it over, i noticed the level had risen to around 1/2 in the filter. i then cranked it, and the filter filled 7/8 and then gas started pumping into the bucket. could i have a blocked or crimped return line?
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure on this, but even if you do have a blocked return line with the mechanical pump I would think that would just mean all the fuel would be going to the carb. You should have enough fuel at the carb with what you said earlier. The return line is not supposed to be pressurized though, the other end in the tank should be wide open. You can buy a stock pump at the parts store, from say, a 1967 Nova with a 327 in it, and it will not have a return line on it though if you just want to eliminate it, it will bolt on. A mechanical fuel pump doesn't usually need a return line, I was running a differnet pump for several years with no return line.
 
Return side should NOT be pressurized. It should be free flow from the pump to the tank.
 
Do you have the lines switched?.....just an idea. Maybe a good idea to unhook the lines at both ends and blow some air through it to see if it is clogged.

My filter fills up most of the way while running and drains back when not running.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom