59ab Help

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fisheasy

Senior Member
Well I am having some issues with my 47. In the last week it has gotten where it spits and sputters going down the road. I dont know which way to turn with it. I changed plugs and that didnt help even though a few looked fried. Anything else I can check? It has a new distributor from where a few months ago the bale broke and messed some things up. Its been running fine though. I noticed when you take the air filter off it will shut off when idling. I did take the filter off and run it and it ran smoother but still not like it was. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks for your help
 
Well, if you take the air cleaner off and the engine shuts down, it must be running very lean. Perhaps some fuel line obstruction? or foreign material in the carburetor? or the flex line breaking down internally and shutting off the fuel flow? Try pulling out the choke when it sputters and see if that helps. If it does, you're starving for fuel. Lots of possibilities that must be eliminated one at a time until you find the culprit. Good luck!
 
might be running lean, not getting enough gas? check the flex line from firewall to fuel pump.
 
Check the out put of the pump by disconnecting line from carb and turn pipe into a gallon can and see if it squirts out in pulses by turning the engine with switch OFF.Could be a lot of things clogged screen,pin hole in flex line.Will see air bubbles in glass bowl,do not use rubber gasket under glass bowl. Report back with what you find.We need more info. ken ct,
 
Sounds like you have an air leak in the line s or fittings some where. Fix that first and we can offer more help. ken ct.
 
Check all the fittings from the tank to the fuel pump like Ken says. You might have a leak path that will pull in air because the line to the tank is on the vacuum side of the pump. Also try removing the gas cap to see if it runs better. The cap may not be venting properly.
 
Seems like the focus of most responses has been the fuel. What about the spark?

Here's where I start the diagnosis of the "spitting and sputtering" problem.

It's either spark or fuel or both. I start with testing the spark to see if that's the problem. How?

I take my timing light and hook it up and put the sensor on the high tension coil wire. Then I tape down the trigger on the light so that it's always on. Then I stick the light on the cowl and shut the hood to hold it in place so I can watch the light while I drive. The light that is reading every spark coming out of the coil should burn steadily all the time. If it blinks when the engine spits and sputters you know it's spark and have to diagnose and fix that first. If not, then you know it's fuel and diagnose and fix that in ways as has already been suggested. But, for me, I like to start with the spark since it's easy to test while driving as I have described.
 
Well I found A spot at the tank that is leaking. Its leaking around the fitting on the line going to fuel pump. The car runs 88% better with the air filter off then on and thats what has me puzzled.
 
Now that you have new plugs and have ran the engine a while check the color of the plugs. If clean and no black spots It's lean. Black soot rich. Do this before anything else. G.M.
 
It would be unlikely to be a spark issue if the condition changes by removing or installing the air filter..that definately points to the air/fuel ratio as the problem.
 
If the gas tank is leaking where the fitting for the fuel line is, that will cause the fuel pump to suck air, not gas. Fix the leak before trying to start the car.
 
Right on Tom,and his air filter is too restrictive,hes starving the carb of air making the mix too rich. Adiquit gas not enough air.ken ct.
 
Well i tightened up the line hopefully the air intrusion is fixed. I found my issue. number 6 plug isnt getting proper fire and number 8 isnt firing at all. The distributor is only a few months old. I bought it off Joe smith in Atlanta where i get a lot of my flathead parts. Whats next I ohmed all the wires to make sure i didnt have a short and didn't
 
fisheasy said:
Well i tightened up the line hopefully the air intrusion is fixed. I found my issue. number 6 plug isnt getting proper fire and number 8 isnt firing at all. The distributor is only a few months old. I bought it off Joe smith in Atlanta where i get a lot of my flathead parts. Whats next I ohmed all the wires to make sure i didnt have a short and didn't
Click to expand...

Do I win a prize for being the lone voice in the wilderness suggesting spark problem? Not fuel? :rolleyes:

I always start with that. It's almost always the problem (except the chronic vapor lock of course.)
 
You definitely get the prize, O.H.

Fisheasy - How does your distributor cap look? Are the terminals cut or arc marked? Is there a crack in the cap? Are the wire connections clean and tight? Is the rotor tight on the distributor shaft? A few things to check that can cause rough running and won't be too expensive to fix.
 
The cap is new and i did look at it but nothing looked out of wack. i didnt check to see if the button was loose. dern helmet head is aggrevating .
 
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