1955 ford station wagon with a V8 302 Engine.

If it pukes out too much coolant, and you can't see any in the tank,
after it cools down, then it is running a little too hot.


If the coolant stays above the core by A LITTLE BIT, consistently,
then it should be alright.


It's the puking out of Too much coolant, that is the killer...










.
 
Thanks Guys for your help with this problem. That video is a good idea for me to test the fuel line and see if the fuel is vapor locking. I will do that test now and will let you know what happened.Also.will find out if its running too hot or not.
Mando
 
I did not have a clear hose to put in line with the fuel pump and the carb.to see if there were any air bubbles after running the engine for 20 or 30 minutes but I did have a glass fuel filter to hook up in the fuel line to the carb.I ran the engine here at the house for 25 minutes and never saw any bubbles at all.I let the engine idle but would ocassionally rev up the engine to make sure it would not stall. It never stalled, had plenty of RPM when reving up the engine.I have an under dash temp.gauge and it did reach 200 degree but never showed any signs of overheating.After I shut off the engine,no coolant leaks anywhere and no coolant spilling out of the radiator.
After I shut the engine off,I tried retarting the engine and it started right up.
So, I think I have this wagon fixed ( at least I hope so.) I guess I won't really know for sure till I get it on the road to be sure.I will do that in a couple of days to find out.
I do have a new coil,new condender,new fuel line from the carb.to the fuel pump,new fuel filter and isolated the fuel line from any heat.
Am I able to post pictures of my 55 wagon here or is there a different area to do that.
Also,I need info on how to post the pixs to this site.
Mando
 
Just a comment here-

Having an engine idle in the shop (especially with the hood open) will not allow the engine to come to full temp (unless there is a flow blockage somewhere).


It is akin to a tech measuring oil pressure drop on a running engine in the shop. Unless the vehicle is driven to allow the engine to fully heat, the results mat be skewed.

On the subject of clear hose, do not use fish tank style. There is hose available rated for gasoline and light pressure to make a test only hookup.

Personally, I have an old GM TBI fuel pressure tester (low pressure) that can be inserted into the supply line.
 
Well,this morning I decided to test run my 55 wagon to see if it would still cutoff while going down the road and after driving 25 minutes,darn thing shut off on me again. It still feels like its running out of gas,so must be vapor lock. I have a new mechanical fuel pump,new coil,new condenser, new fuel filter,and isolated the fuel line from any heat.I can wait for 10 or so minutes and than it will start up again.I kind stayed within a few miles from home so that I would not have to tow it to the house,just waited a little bit till it started again and than drove it home. To me, eighter the fuel pump gets too hot or the carberator is getting to much heat from the intake,causing fuel to vaporize.A long time time ago I put in a spacer between the carb. and the intake but its a metal type spacer which I think is still letting the heat from the intake to get to the carb.or,heat from the engine block is making the fuel pump to run too hot.What do you guys think? I'm getting tired of having this car quit on me on the road,kind of embarrassing. Need some more help.Thanks to all of you here for your kindness.
Mando
 
I have no proof that the phenolic plastic carb spacers work any better than the metal ones but it seems like it should, so I use one.
 
poolplayer1 said:
Well,this morning I decided to test run my 55 wagon to see if it would still cutoff while going down the road and after driving 25 minutes,darn thing shut off on me again. It still feels like its running out of gas,so must be vapor lock. I have a new mechanical fuel pump,new coil,new condenser, new fuel filter,and isolated the fuel line from any heat.I can wait for 10 or so minutes and than it will start up again.I kind stayed within a few miles from home so that I would not have to tow it to the house,just waited a little bit till it started again and than drove it home.

To me, eighter the fuel pump gets too hot or the carberator is getting to much heat from the intake,causing fuel to vaporize.A long time time ago I put in a spacer between the carb. and the intake but its a metal type spacer which I think is still letting the heat from the intake to get to the carb.or,heat from the engine block is making the fuel pump to run too hot.What do you guys think? I'm getting tired of having this car quit on me on the road,kind of embarrassing. Need some more help.Thanks to all of you here for your kindness.


Mando
Click to expand...


...whew ...

You understand the new fuel has a much lower boiling point than the old, correct?

One question. When the car stopped, did you remove the ACL and operate the accelerator pump to check for fuel delivery?

The phenolic spacer below the carb is good, but it works against hot shutdown fuel percolation in the carb mostly. There were available phenolic pump spacers at one time.

How did you insulate the fuel line? Do you have a thermometer to record engine bay heat with hood closed?
 
Thanks guys for your reply. I insulated the fuel line with a heatshield sleeve that I got from summit racing.I don't have a thermometer but will get one soon.I did not check the carb.to see if it was receiving gas cause it was so darn hot in there. I really think the problem is the fuel pump getting too hot and causing the fuel to get vapor lock.
Summit has a phenolic fuel pump insulator that they say will keep the heat away from the pump.Don't know if it will work or not but for the price,I will get one.I'm 99% sure the problem is fuel related and not electrical related but do you think that a weak ignition ballast resistor can cause this problem? There is one mounted right on top of the coil and it reads 2.2 ohms. I would think that if that res.was bad,the engine would not start at all since it feeds the ignition ckt.in the distributor.
Talk to you guys later.
Mando
 
To rule out the ignition or not, I would have a timing light handy for when the engine dies and see if the ignition is firing with that. I have long cables on my timing light, and can actually close the hood on the cables and run them inside the passenger area.
This would at least say yes or no to it being ignition related.


Sal
 
Not to keep harping on the coil but I went thru 4 coils from NAPA to get one that worked. Told them I wanted their best one and they said I was getting their best one. Theirs are China made which explains it all!! I was chasing problems that didn't exist because of cheap China crap.................
 
Thanks 50 ford for your suggestion. I have a question for any of you that can help. This morning as I was going to check the carberator,I removed the air cleaner.This air cleaner has a rubber hose that goes to a breather cap that inserts into the valve cover.As I removed the hose from the small breather,I saw some water come out of that hose.Is this normal? Maybe condensation? Just wondering.Anyway,I'm going to see if I can find out why the engine quits on me after running it for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Mando
 
The water is just probably condensation. I get a little out of mine too on short trips. Good luck as this to be driving you nuts!!
 
Worked on it this morning here at the house.I started off by installing a glass type fuel filter inline with the carb.I than started up the engine and waited till the engine was nice and hot.At first while the engine was cool,the filter was full of gas.After about 15 minutes idling,the fuel in the filter went down to almost nothing.When this happened,i got my water hose and started to water down the fuel pump.As soon as I did this,the filter filled up with gas again.So, the fuel pump is getting too hot,loosing pressure and or causing vapor lock.I ordered a phenolic type fuel pump insulator to see if that my help. They say it will but not sure till I install it.The carb. already has one of this spacers.If this does not work,I guess the only other option I have is to put in a electric fuel pump.Don't want to do this but may have to if I want to correct and get rid of this problem that I have with this wagon.
Thanks for your reply.
Mando
 
I have an electric fuel as a backup but use the mechanical for all my driving. It is mounted at the fuel tank but between the tank and the pump I have a shut off valve then a filter and then the pump.
 
Based on your post #35, I’d be looking at the fuel pump and the line to it. I’ve had vapor lock problems on motor homes, but on long steep grades. Water, oil and trans pushing 230 degrees, and down to 30 mph. Turning on the electric pump typically stopped the vapor lock, so it was just right on the edge. Enough fuel pressure to really matter would have flooded the carb.

It’s hard to argue with water (cooling) on the pump solving the problem, but I don’t think that should be happening. Any chance the fuel line is close to the exhaust when close to the intake side of the pump, and you sprayed some water on it? Water carries away a lot of heat when it evaporates.
 
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Thanks guys for your help.Right now I have the fuel pump out cause I am waiting for the phenolic fuel pump insulator to come in.Should be here tomorrow or Thursday.As soon as I put it altogether,I will take pixs of the engine and the fuel line so that you guys can see how its routed.
Mando
 
Wanted to tell you guys that the fuel pump heat insulator that I had ordered for my 302 that was having vapor lock problems came in late Friday.I installed it this morning,started the engine up and now the carberator is leaking gas.Its leaking from the little accelerator pump that's in front of the carb. This is a 2 barrel carter carb.
I never had any leaks at all,especially from the carb. It just started after I put in the fuel pump insulator.It seems to me that the insulator would cause a lack of fuel and not Too much fuel since the fuel pump lever is father away from the camshaft lobe.
But,it causing the carb. to receive too much fuel. Before I remove the insulator back out,is there anything else that might cause this problem? Man,if it isn't one thing,its another. Just can't get ahead of this wagon. Oh well,shi???????? happens.
Mando
 
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