The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Engine stalled?!?!

Today I experienced something new! Truck was running great, been driving all morning, stopped for a bit, and while driving to the store, the engine started to run rough 2 Miles from start point. I coasted off the road and she wouldn’t start. (Crank but no pop) thinking I might be out of gas, I filled her up (only 5 gallons would fit in tank). I retried and I fought to keep her running. After about 3-4 minutes of feathering the gas to keep her running, she ran like nothing was wrong. I am stumped! Been running like a old man getting a finger in the butt since and I don’t mean backing into it!

Thoughts? Did I experience what everyone is calling vapor lock?

Chris
1951 3100 with a powerful 216 power plant (insert sarcasm)

Most likely, vapor lock is not your gremlin.

It will be interesting to see other opinions.

More info:
Gas tank was new, new lines/filter - year ago.

Possibility of the float sticking?

Lots of simple reasons, takes time to test. Like Tim said, it's not vapor lock unless you have wrapped your gas line around the exhaust manifold. I will say your day time temps are higher than I thought.

Some possibles:
1. Gas cap not venting
2. Fuel pump
3. Clog in lines, tank pick up, hoses, filters
4. Carb needle valve, float setting
5. Vacuum leak in intake manifold, gasket, hose, tubing, connections/fittings
6. Gas level in tank was too low
7. Loose wire on dizzy, coil, ignition switch or faulty
8. Condenser and/or points
9. Do the easy checks above first, loosen cap, check filters, fill with gas, check vac and wires and report findings
10. Does sound like fuel delivery problem of the type that recovers. I.E. Gas cap, floating debris clog, pump suction. Just a guess. If it gets worse, that's a good thing. Hard to find intermittent.
11. Let's don't do any old man butt jokes.

I’m with bartamos, that comment hits too close to home.

Well, I couldn’t say a rAped ape! :-) FYI, I was a hand puppet once also and your not old.... just experienced!

I am going to start with fuel filter since there is only 12” between bottom of tank and filter. I replaced all fuel lines, tank and fuel pump in the last year. HEI distributed in sept. Gas tank was over 1/2 full. Replaced old gas cap 6 months ago. It has only happened twice today. Kind of weird that this started today when temp was in the 90s. It didn’t do it yesterday with higher temps. Could humidity level have anything to do with it or the extreme rain we had in va last weekend?

I was thinking gas cap first. But is your electric fuel pump acting up?

New gas cap and mechanic fuel pump was installed when I replaced the engine.

Next time it conks out on you, look down the carburetor while opening the throttle sharply to see if the accelerator pump squirts out gas. If it does not, then you know that you have a fuel delivery problem for sure.
If it does squirt fuel, then you may have a coil problem which only shows up when the underhood temps are elevated. Check for spark the next time it conks out.
When I have a fuel delivery issue, I go about it in a systematic manner.
1) Disconnect the fuel line at the at the inlet side of the fuel pump, looking for good fuel flow. Something might be sitting on the end of the pipe inside the tank.
2) If good flow after step 1 above, I do a fuel pump delivery test by removing the fuel line at the carburetor and attach a hose on the end of the hard line, then put the other end of the hose in a 24 ounce Diet Coke bottle (no exceptions unless you are from South Carolina and refer to yourself as a chipmunk, then a Pepsi bottle is acceptable). Then crank the engine with the starter with the ignition off.

I will give that a try!

Interestingly enough, After warming her up, I took Dad for a 1/2 mile ride to the mail box, the only way I could keep her moving to limp her home was to use the choke cable. I assume by this (prior to troubleshooting) that this would probably lean me towards air/fuel mixture problem. Specifically, lack of fuel since using the choke would decrease amount of air going through the carb.

I will keep you informed as to the findings! Thoughts?

Chris

My guess would be clogged carb jets/orifices if pulling the choke helps it run better. That increases vacuum at the venturi so it can suck more fuel thru the openings.

Not sure how it would get clogged. Rebuilt it a year ago when I replaced the fuel lines and tank. There is also a inline filter by the tank. I am going to replace the filter tomorrow and check if fuel is pumping correctly. Once I get to my final location, I will put an inline fuel pressure gauge in which was shipped with all my tools.


Chris

Update: limped the truck home yesterday. Let it cool down overnight, attempted to start it up today. Nothing! A few seconds and she would die. I unhooked the gas, stomped on the starter and got good fuel flow. That should rule out fuel filter and pump. Noticed that my fuel line was touching the radiator hose, so I fixed that.

Other than rebuilding the carb completely, is there another option? Can I reuse the gaskets since I am in Don’s (2ton) country (middle of nowhere Missouri)? Last time I rebuilt it was a year ago at the ODSS homecoming with hotrod Lincoln. Is there an online Rochester B manual that I can’t seem to find?

Chris

Update for 9 July:

Took the carburetor apart, cleaned it all out with carb cleaner (twice). I found a very little sludge in fuel bowl. After it was cleaned, I reassembled everything and cranked it over. She is running like nothing was wrong. Drove 3 miles for test drive, no issues! I will drive farther tomorrow to ensure it is fixed.

Thanks for the help gentlemen!

Chris

I had similar issues with my 235. After replacing the fuel tank, fuel line, and rebuilding the carb, it stalled on a very busy road with a load of lumber from HD. Replaced the fuel pump (which apparently had rust in it), and no more problems.

Chris - hope you have it fixed; but I would do that test drive for about 30 minutes in a circle, so you are not too far from your base.

Jon.

Crud could have come from a bad tank of gas. I had that happen on a truck one time. The paper fuel filter was slam full of what looked like red clay, a LOT of it. Replaced the filter and was back on the road. What kind of filter do you have? Some are better than others, but some impurities are more fine than others and may get by some filters, and then accumulate in bad places in the passages of the carburetor.

Carbking, thanks for your advice on the phone today. I am going to run back and forth in front of my parents house tomorrow after we go fishing in the morning. Hopefully the sediment in the bowl was causing the issue.

Carl, I have an inline fuel filter 12” from the tank. Unsure the brand. I did however purchase a second see through one that I may put just before the carb.

Chris

Drove about 30 minutes up and down back country roads by lake of the ozarks. She is running like she should be. No issues.

Thanks again everyone!
Chris