The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Stalling

Hey guys need a little advice please. I have a 51 chevy with a 350 v8. Quadrajet 4 barrel. It has been running real well until this weekend I was driving down the road and it stalled and died just like it ran out of gas. It restarted but only went about a block or 2 and died again. I thought out of gas. My son brought me some gas in about hour. Put the gas in and would only start if I poured gas in the carb. But it would only run for a couple of blocks and die. Then I thought fuel pump. Towed it home replaced fuel pump and it started right up. Went to drive and it went about 5 miles and died again. Every time it stalls just like it ran out of gas. Towed home and that is where I am at. Read a lot sounds like it could be a carb or a ignition coil. Motor is mostly stock with a small cam. Still running points because I like the old school thing. I know this isn't much but help would be appreciated. When I was trying to drive it home every time it died I would pour gas in the carb and it would go a little bit but it got to where that wouldn't work. Thanks for reading.

hebert2756,

Welcome to the Stovebolt forum! This post should probably have been posted in the engine category?

Sounds like a fuel delivery problem. Check you fuel filters for any rust, or gunk. Are you getting a squirt from the accelerator pump when you apply throttle? Check your fuel outlet at the tank also.

If that doesn't do it... then go to the ignition and check to see if you are getting spark to the plugs. Could be the coil, points, condenser ballast resistor?

Really need more info to go further.

Tim

As Tim said, a question for the engine shop.

That being said, rusted or gunked up fuel tank allowing crud to float over to the fuel line hook up and suck up tight causing fuel starvation. After sitting for a bit the vacuume releases and it will let fuel past for a while.

Usual suspects:
Inline fuel filter - replace (even if it looks fine, water can make paper filters swell up).
Gas cap - unvented cap on an unvented tank. Vacuum builds up and overcomes the fuel pump.
Fuel pump - said you changed it.
Little filter screen in the inlet fitting of the carb - some carbs have them and most people don't know they are there.
Sticking float valve - sticks in the closed position (especially true with soft seats. Replace.
Debris in the float bowl - happens if no filters between tank and carb.
Debris in the tank - large pieces blocking outlet.
And don't forget vapor lock - but this is winter.
By the time you get to the end of the list it should be running.

Check the small fuel filter at the carb inlet where the fuel line attaches. You'll need a 1" deep socket or a box end wrench with a very thin profile to get a grip on the nut because of limited clearance on some carbs. Snap-On used to sell a special wrench for that job- - - -I've got one stashed away somewhere. Be VERY careful not to cross thread or overtighten the nut, and by all means use a new plastic gasket on it. NEVER USE TEFLON TAPE AS A SEAL!
Jerry

You have a fuel problem if it starts by pouring gas in carb. What kind is hard to say. First eliminate filter as a problem. Take out all inline filters or replace. Address any filter at carb inlet as Jerry and others have said. Then do visual squirt test. Then take off/leave off gas cap. Then test drive awhile and report.

Don't do everything at once. One thing or sequence at a time. May take several days. Otherwise you will not figure it out. You may think that's OK as long as it runs, WRONG! It may be two things, it may be intermittent, it may be a bad new part, you won't learn anything, if it does it again in a week, you have to start all over.
This is proper troubleshooting and all the suggestion above by the guys are good ones. Let us know what you find out before next steps unless you are experienced.

How old is gas tank? Has it been serviced? After above prcedures, next step is flow test at carb, then carb itself. The squirt test will reveal something about both of those issues but not 100%. Also if it runs with gas cap off but not on, that's good news. Easy fix. Hope you did not buy a fancy/non stock fuel pump.

Usually when you pour gas into carb it starts and runs for few seconds. If you are sure it only starts when you do that AND if it goes several blocks, that's a little different than I've seen. It seems to point to intermittent blockage or weak pump. What does choking it with hand or other do for it? If there was no fuel in bowl or no pump pressure at all, it would not go a few blocks. But on the other hand if there was fuel in the bowl it should squirt,(and start) if accelerator pump is OK. CarbKing can correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks guys very much for the help. Sorry I put this in the wrong place. I will learn. My fuel tank is deffinatly building pressure because at one point my wife said she saw fuel dripping and when she screwed the cap off it sprayed her with gas. I just didn't think that would be it. I know that on like a lawnmower where the fuel is gravity feed if the cap does not vent it won't run but I thought with a pump it would overcome that. I sure hope that is it because this is a neat truck to drive.

That is very tell tale info. You won't be the first member who fixed that problem with a new cap. Hope that's it. Let us know.

Thanks again guys. Great forum. I will drive it this weekend with new cap and see if that does it. I need a new cap anyway. I have had carb rebuilt about 6 months ago and replaced filter then. Tank is new factory tank about 2 years old. Fuel pump I put on it is a bone stock mechanical pump. I am hoping the cap is it. Will let you guys know what happens this weekend.

I am paranoid and would not like to be fooled by a bad "new" cap. I would run with no cap, in good weather, to be sure. In the past I have just drilled a 1/16 hole in my cap near center.

Well update on my truck. I have one at a time first I replaced the gas cap. Still problems. Then I replaced the ignition coil. Still problems. The only difference is that when I replaced the coil I went to drive and after about 20 min it started acting up but did not die like before. It almost died and I keep giving it gas and it cleared up an got me home. That puts me looking at the carb now.

Waste of time responding to this one any more!
Jerry

Yep. You got that right Jerry! Can lead a horse to water but can't make 'em drink.

Tim

hebert, you are doing just fine. Re read all the advice. It's all good. Everyone is focusing mostly on fuel delivery. You forgot to observe the squirt down carb throat. Did you drive with cap off to be 100% sure? Hate to keep going if you got the wrong cap or a bad new one. (the wife story makes this important to eliminate). Jim, Jerry, Martin et al have described the fuel problems you may or may not have. After you report good squirt (after it dies), then checked ALL filters per their advice, checked for any kind of vacuum leak and keep testing motor for signs of improvement, we can continue. It takes a little longer for some people who may have a job and family issues, and not a super mechanic, to get to the trouble. Especially with internet advise. Keep going.... but these above tests from Jim, Jerry, Martin, me and reporting results, are absolutely necessary.
The carb is not easy or difficult to rebuild, but we don't need to rush to it yet IMO. Don't be run off from here, this talk is all normal to us. Lot's of good help. I get frustrated myself..you better stay with the post or it looses interest. You were gone for 11 days. For goodness sake make sure you are not out of gas...or real low. Believe it or not, a few times guys have gotten a bad batch of gas with water, and who knows what in it, and motor does what you say. It may still be possible something is wrong with points or condenser or their wires or ground (Jerry knows this stuff) I respectfully ask him to come back in before I put a potato in his Harley's tail pipe.

Who says I ride a Harley?- - - - -I can't afford the new F-150 pickup to haul it around in!

Jerry

Atta boy, Jerry!

I didn't know if you wanted anybody to know you rode a rice burner.

Harleys and hound dawgs- - - -they both like to ride in the back of pickup trucks!
Jerry

How did we get from a request for help on a truck to bashing Harley's?

Gentlemen.

Let's get back to the issue at hand.

Master Sweet has spoken! (Or is that Master Suite? ?).
Sidetracking got underway when dude either got lost in all of the help, or is jumping ahead before thoroughly going through all of the steps of troubleshooting.

I had a similar problem on my Burb for a while. Everything worked great till the truck got fully up to temperature and then it would start dying on me just like you described. Didn't help that it died in the middle of a major intersection when I was taking the wife for a ride for the first time in months. Turned out the carb wasn't bolted down tightly enough. I had rebuilt it and put the nuts back on without lock washers. Over time the nuts worked lose. With the engine cold it would start and run fine. Once it heated up I guess things would losen up and it would suck air in under the carb (massive vacuum leak). After sitting for a while it would start again but start stumbling bad after a little while and would eventually die. I didn't discover the lose carb nuts until I went to remove it to do an internal inspection. I got some lock washers and tightened it back in place and the problem was solved.

You said you rebuilt the carb recently so that got me thinking maybe you have the same problem I did. Won't take but a minute to see if the carb is bolted on tight.

Good luck.

I haven't replied back because of the comment. I am still working on the truck and will figure out what is going on. Sorry I bothered you people but I thought forums were for helping g people and talking about cars. Again sorry for thinking this was a place with nice people.

Herbert, learned several years ago some folks on here just have to be snarky. It's just their nature. You probably have a right to be a bit offended. Sorry if any of my comments bothered you. You gotta have a thick skin to hang around here.

Herbert, You do have to have some thick skin to hang around with this bunch. Don't get offended, you've just been inducted. Snarky...maybe? Some of us are just old, tired and cantankerous. Some of us also get frustrated when we try to help with a problem we have already had, and the one asking either has made up their mind what the problems is, or goes down a completely different avenue. We have a GREAT deal of experience and hard knocks on this forum, but we are all here to help one another.

Tim

You guys didn't give me a chance. I have tried everything you told me to try but still problem. The only electronic part I have not replaced is the condenser. I just don't think it is carb unless it is the choke heating up and going crazy. I plan tomorrow to drive until it acts up and try to see if I have spark so I can decide fuel or electronic.

It is not uncommon in this day and age for a condenser to be bad even if fairly new. They are relatively cheap so try a new one.

Really it still does sound like a fuel problem.

We've got some good Bolters in Texas so if all else fails reach out to the ones closest to you for some facetime.

Above all else hang in there and keep us informed on the success of your fix. It will help others in the same predicament.

Herbert, I am guessing since you are dealing with a Quadrajet that the choke is electric or electro mechanical? Have you checked the choke operation once the engine warms up? I have seen electric chokes installed upside down and would close off instead of opening once the engine got warm. It is really hard to diagnose a problem with posts or over the phone. Take the diagnostic step by step and write down what you have already checked. The process of elimination at this point will be our best bet. From what you describe, the condenser could be the cause, but not likely.

Had an ignition problem on a 1970 Trans Am once. Car would not run. Would start and run then immediately backfire and pop once the engine warmed up then die. Try to start it again and all it would do was turn over. Found out we were getting intermittent spark. Replaced the coil, plug wires and spark plugs. Still the same thing. Replaced the points and condenser. Still the same thing. Had the rotor button off two or there times along with the distributor cap. The distributor cap and rotor were fairly new with only a couple thousand limes on them. Couldn't be the cap or rotor? 1/2 a day later and after it got dark we found the problem. The newer distributor cap had a hairline crack in it. The crack would open up after the engine warmed up and let the spark jump to various grounds... the intake manifold, coil bracket, ground strap bolted to the firewall. Definitely not firing the plugs. A fireworks display under the hood! Replaced the cap and rotor...Voila!! FIXED!! Anyway, hope you get what I saying. Keep at it and give us what you've done and all the info you can. At that point we might be able to throw a few more ideas your way on what to check next. Keep us updated!

Tim

I will post tommorow after I drive it. I am going to replace condenser, rotor and cap also tommorow. Thanks for the advice.

Herbert, the guy who offended you (the guy other than me), can be a little on the short side at times, but he has helped me with many, many issues. I take him with a grain of salt, and it rolls right off. I can tell you this about him, if a fellow Bolter with a problem was anywhere near his vicinity, he would invite him over to take a look at it.
As far as you mentioning that you tried everything that was suggested, we have no way of knowing that, and since you didn't express that until today, we assumed that you may have skipped some steps.
Troubleshooting is a tedious, step by step process of testing each component until you can eliminate each of those components from the suspect list.
I'm glad that you came back to us. We are all brothers, man.
Carl

Any news yet, or any progress with the diagnosis? Having too much fun driving it around town and forgot where you live? Been there, done that...or a least my wife thought so.

Tim

Hebert, everyone keeps calling you Herbert but anyway here is the problem. When you are on a forum and ask for help you have to realize we are not there to see what the test results are. We troubleshoot from our house. Troubleshooting is a STEP BY STEP process. Subsequent steps are determined by results of the previous steps. You have never slowed down. You have never told us the result of any step or observation. You are running around buying parts and complaining about our frustration. This is not the way to get help. It's a way to get confused. You will never know what the problem was. You will never learn how to figure a problem out. We waited 11 days for a response that had no information. We are trying to keep a coherent train of thought about your problem and help you.
You have only given symptoms and that the cap test showed negative. (and we don't know if you tried running without a cap as suggested). You disrespect and ignore other helpers by saying you didn't post because of hurt feelings. Can't be sensitive if you are not doing the necessary tests and reporting results. You are buying parts when someone says it could be this or that. Agreed some things are easier/cheap enough to buy than test. That's not working for you yet. I already asked you to re read and you did not respond to that. I have held back until now but you need to know that it's you, more than anyone, who is at fault. So come back with some answers if you really want help. This is now three weeks long and we still don't know if the freakin carb squirts or if you've checked filters. You say you have tried everything we suggested, but what happened? You are buying ignition parts and don't say if you have checked spark first. What are we supposed to do? give you 20 more ideas? Experienced members, Mechanics and Automotive Instructors, to whom you are speaking, don't do it that way. Let's all man up and get this motor running. We are nice people.
We have learned to ignore "just bought a new.." and "just had it rebuilt". Too many bad parts, too many bad rebuilds and too many people who install incorrectly. So the testing is the same so that we don't miss one of those anomalies. The Stovebolt success rate is probably 100%.

Hey guys sorry it took so long to get back to everyone that helped me. I have been in the hospital but I am out now and doing better. The truck problem wound up being the carb. It had a bad accelerater pump. I have had so much trouble with that quadrajet so I put a new holley 670 and still tuning it but already much better. I really appreciate all the help because this was tough. Thanks again.

Sorry to hear about your hospital stay. Hope everything is alright and you're doing much better.
GREAT... you found the problem. A lot of people will discourage the use of a Holley carburetor. I've found throughout my years of experience that the Holley four barrel carburetors have many parameters to make adjustments and supply the needed fuel and air for optimal tuning. I personally have always had GREAT results with a Holley! PATIENCE is the key and make small adjustments and use a vacuum gauge. Once you get it dialed in with the correct mixture and match it to the VE of the engine it will run like a scalded dog! Good luck and let us know.

Hey Herbert, with all of the "great" advice from all of us "experts" telling you not to open the carburetor up yet, and then knocking you around for not listening to us, YOU found the problem to be what you suspected it to be in the first place.
And then you graciously came back to us to let us know about it without saying nanny nanny boo boo (or something more colorful).
I can tell you this. I am humbled and glad to hear back from someone classier than I know how to be.
Carl