Any ideas?

peewee2you

peewee2you

Well-known member
Went for a drive,parked in driveway, started later and parked it in the garage went to start it 4days later wouldn't start, I didn't smell any gas,figured not getting any fuel. I took gas cap loose, then putnit back on thinkin maybe vapor lock, still nothing. Thought I shouldn't' be out of gas haven't driven much but filled a 2 gallon gas can and dumped in tank anyway. Tried to start again nada, nothing? Pulled air cleaner poured qtr cup worth in hit the button started right up. So take it to gas station takes 6 gallons,so had plenty of gas the whole time. Been starting fine last 5 times. Now I bring this up because it happen ever so often, same scenario? What gives.
 
carb is draining its self or the fuel is being boiled out of carb from excessive heat, next time you shut motor down look down carb and see if any gas is dripping down into the carb , what carb are you running, does it have a power valve, it may be blown letting fuel drain from carb into intake manifold
 
I'm wondering if ignition was actually firing at plugs during the times of no start? You could have an intermittent lose connection or possibly dirty ignition switch contacts. If it does this again check for fire at plugs.
 
if you have a hole if the fuel line before the pump the engine wont run at all, all the pump will do is suck air, its possible that the disk in the pump that stops fuel from being pumped back into the fuel tank is worn and not holding, letting the fuel drain past it and back to tank
 
The car pictured is a 47 or 48 and should have a fuel pump with a glass sediment bowl. There is no way that the gas can drain back to the tank from the bowl.

The car will run fine but the pump will not prime from the starter, when the bowl gasket has a slight leak. I would check and replace the bowl gasket with a rubberized cork gasket.
 
I've found that the gas with ethanol in it will leave the bowl in a few days. I have two cars and they both do it. One has an Edlebrock carb that is not supposed to be able to leak because of no exits in the bowl.

I put electric pumps on mine to prime the carb, then turn it off.
 
Okay, here is a follow up to this post that I started, wanted to get back to you all, today I took the fuel line from pump to carb loose and hit the iginition button, and no fuel came out, therefore leading me to a bad fuel pump, then I took the glass bowl off and put a container underneath and hit the ignition/starter button and no fuel, again fuel pump, the only thing I haven't checked yet is to see if gas has the ability come up from the tank, however in the past when I put gas in the carb the car would start up and run fine, providing I started it every few days, if it sat for about 4to7 days will not start from no fuel. The only thing that is puzzling to me is that if the float bowl has gas in it would it have sprayed in the carb for start up and then eventually run out from no gas being replaced from fuel pump? For your thoughts as well, $20 rebuild kit, $60 fuel pump, what would you do, I did take fuel pump and took top off and diaphram
looks good, that rubber is thick and pliable, I know it didn't have many miles on it, but can't remember age? only because had car worked on here and there over the years to get it back on the road, until I decided to take matters into my own hands.
 
Peewee - It sounds like you may have a fuel pump problem HOWEVER . . . when you remove the glass bowl you admit lots of air into the system ahead of the pump. No way can the pump work unless the glass bowl seals air tight. I'd also very carefully inspect the flex line between the pump and the tubing going back to the tank. A very, very small air leak here won't show and can cause fits. It may be just the volitile nature of the new gas. Any changes in your fuel - new station? different brand? different grade? FWIW
 
Henry, no I have gone to the same station every time since I have been running it. I did the fuel pump test at carb, before I removed the glass bowl, and the flex line is very new
and was one of the recommended ones on the barn, not aftermarket from one of the Ford shops. But I know anything is possible, I guess now that the fuel pump is off, I buy another or rebuild this one anyway, and see what happens and if I end up at the same spot you probably hear me cussing all the way. I love the ol' cars but flatheads can be just that flatheads... what did you think about shouldn't there have been fuel in the float bowl, from the last time I ran it, and it should have started and then died being fuel pump was no longer replenishing fuel? would the accelerator shot gas into the carb from the float chamber? I haven't taken top of carb off, from the fact that the fuel pump didn't spit and not a drop out of the line at the carb when I hit the starter button. Thanks, Henry
 
Since when you have a problem you can prime the carb with gas and it will start and run, I would not think that it's the fuel pump at all or the engine wouldn't keep running after it started. It does appear that your carburetor bowl is losing the gas. For some months now my garage has been filling with the smell of gas for hours after I parked the car in it after a drive. I searched and searched for a leak somewhere and never found one. Then I saw that the gasket between the upper two parts of the carburetor was damp. That could only be gas boiling out of the bowl and up into the throat of the carb. So, I've started throwing a wet rag around the carburetor bowl every time I park in the garage. That stopped the gas from boiling out of the bowl and smelling up the garage. Your solution may be as simple as that. If it's not that then it's most likely the power valve letting the gas leak out of the bottom of the bowl. Those are the only two ways that bowl can get empty.
A backup electric fuel pump is a great idea for your problem. I have that too but only have to use it when vapor locked.
I really doubt that it's your fuel pump, flex hose, or fuel line since the engine will keep running after you prime the carb.
 
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I have been fighting fuel roble also! my pickup has been hard starting when hot. I had a grose valve in the Stromberg and changed it to a needle and seat. that seemed to cure the trouble. yesterday I had to come home on the hook, Dammit! when I got home I had to put the battery charger on, because I had sucked it dry trying to start my pickup. when I got it home I unhooked the fuel line from the carb and put it into a bottle and watched it fill-up when cranking, it did not fill-up as fast i thought it should have. so with the fuel from the bottle i poured it into the carb and it lit off. so i put the fuel line back on and turned the pickup around, i thought it was going to die in the street, but was able to get it into my shop. so off came the pump, and put on a new one. the pickup seemed to run better. but not great. the next thing i did was take the top off the carb and see what was wrong. i think the float was set to low. started the motor and watched the carb to see what would happen, when i would hold the float up it would run rough and when i pushed it down and the bowel would fill-up it would run smooth as silk. so i set the level a little higher. i have been expecting my pump to go out because i think it is older then me. i have been running it for about 4 years so i cant ask for more. i know that fuel trouble can be a pain in the butt. Pete, don't mess with rebuilding your pump just get one from sac vintage, the one that they have is more then likely like the one that you have. i would bet it is your trouble...Brendan
 
Old Henry, I would agree with that, however when I disconnected the fuel line from carb and hit the button being it's mechanical, gas should have arrived squirting out of the line from carb and into the bottle, but not even a drop appeared, I also never have a smell of gas in that garage where the car is kept, that is what made be believe it was never getting gas when I would go to start it and at times of frustration you know you've hit the gas pedal way more than you should of and for sure it should be flooded, and smell heavy with fumes and yet when I pop'd the hood not odor of any gas going into carb or leaking any where, today when I took the glass bowl off the pump, before removing pump, just that 1/4 cup filled the garage with the gas odor and I left it on my work bench so tomorrow it will most likely smell of gas. Old Henry after I say all this I'm not saying in the end you won't be right, it would just be another one of those times that you'll hear me curse all the way to where your located. You know I am lol right now because I think of all the money I've spent or we spend on these beast what's another $60 bucks, and if that's not it, I'll head in the carb direction even though it was rebuilt and only has about 125 miles on it. Oh and I'd probably end up with a spare fuel pump if I'm wrong. It's one of my sayings, "I'm not broke, but I'm not rich either". When the family says you bought another car, why? I simply say becaure I can, and it doesn't make them any happier, and if they keep it up, I simply say I'll buy another, but then they are quiet, and just shaking their heads. But I agree with your statement that when I put gas down the carb and it runs fine and doesn't die from there on out, it's a mystery to me... in the end I'll be up front and tell the truth when I find the culprit.
 
TomO, I read your thread but although I read it, I ignored the thought of your last statement, that if the sediment bowl, had a slight leak, that the pump would not prime? Can only say that when I first put the glass bowl with new seal and filter I made sure it was good and tight but not overly tight, and it never leaked fuel which would indicate to me that it was tight, but I know air is definitely different than liquid, and now I have it all apart so, I won't know if that was the issue. I'll have to remember and pay attention to that the next time. Because if it was taking in air and wouldn't prime the pump, than that would explain no fuel at carb end when I took the line loose and hit the starter button and no fuel appeared.
 
pw,
On these pumps I take the glass bowl and lay it in the counterbore without
the gasket and determine if it rocks. If it rocks I use a steel cylinder turned to
the correct diameter and known to be flat on its end and carefully clamp the
cylinder into the counterbore to reflatten the face of the c'bore. A little heat applied
assists in the process.
Do not overlook the possibility that the valves could be deteriorating. The
valves should seal sufficiently enough to pull fuel into the pump at cranking speed.
Charlie ny
 
peewee2you said:
TomO, I read your thread but although I read it, I ignored the thought of your last statement, that if the sediment bowl, had a slight leak, that the pump would not prime? Can only say that when I first put the glass bowl with new seal and filter I made sure it was good and tight but not overly tight, and it never leaked fuel which would indicate to me that it was tight, but I know air is definitely different than liquid, and now I have it all apart so, I won't know if that was the issue. I'll have to remember and pay attention to that the next time. Because if it was taking in air and wouldn't prime the pump, than that would explain no fuel at carb end when I took the line loose and hit the starter button and no fuel appeared.
Click to expand...
Did you get my PM offer.??? ken ct.
 
It could also be something as simple as dirt (crud) from the fuel tank getting into the needle valve and screwing it up... We had this happen with the '47 Lincoln I'm working on, I rebuilt the carb and the car fired up, the next day it was starving for fuel. I took the top of the carb off, checked the needle valve for travel and the float, blew out everything with compressed air, put it all back together, primed the pump/carb and everything worked...
 
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