The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Fuel Pump Problem?

Having some fuel delivery problems in my 52 coupe, I think.

I've got a Holley 2 bbl on the 235 and a foot-cable setup out of a 70 something Buick, working real nice. Gonna put the same setup on the pickup.

Car will run real well for about 10 minutes, then dies. No fuel in the glass fuel filter. Won't start, can't get fuel to the carb, let it sit for a few minutes and she fires right up and runs until hot again.

I tried the ice water on the fuel pump trick and can get it to start right away. Runs a few minutes and dies, no fuel in the filter. Put my hand on the fuel pump and it is cold, so that blew my hot fuel pump theory.


When I say run, I mean drive. It will idle all day, without a problem. If I rev the engine, I can see the fuel level drop in the filter as expected, but never run out. As long as the car is not moving, it will stay running.

Gas Tank is full. The fact that there is no fuel at the filter when i dies that makes me think I have a fuel deliver problem.

The only other thing I can think of is a bad coil???

Ideas anyone?

Chris

Have you taken the steering gear apart to see what is wrong to keep it from adjusting properly? It may be a matter of replacing one or two bearings and you wouldn't need the whole kit.

I would say there is crud in the fuel tank OR the rubber section of fuel line is rotten or it is plain just collapsing internally.If the fuel tank has crud in it,It can run, but it will suck up the crud when the fuel flow increases and cause it to die.once the suction is released, it will run again until you try to step on the throttle requireing more fuel flow from the tank.

I have a few questions about racecarldads post on the steering gear adjustment for a fix!

Chris,

Had a similar problem with my '54 3/4 ton.

Drove me nuts! :mad:

Right after it happened for the fifth time, I was sure that the Gas gauge was lying and that the tabk was empty, so I took off the gas cap to put in more from my 5-gallon can, and when I loosened the cap, I heard this rush of air... going INTO the tank !

The vent in the gas cap wasn't letting air into the tank, so after a few moments operation, enough "vacuum" developed on the tank to prevent any more fuel from getting to the carb.

Try the follwing: remove or at least loosen the gas cap and try running the car, and see what happens.

If the problem persists, then I would begin to suspect either collapsing rubber lines, enough dirt in the system to prevent the fuel-pump valves from functioning properly, or...
the fuel "pick-up" pipe in the tank is restricted with rust (I've seen 'em block-up solid!). Don't know if the car has a
"top-feed" tank or not, but if any part of the plumbing from the tank to the pump is restricted, that can give you grief!

I have taken to putting a disposable Fram fuel filter on the inlet side of the pump, to catch any tank crud before it can screw up the pump or carb.
I also carry a few spare filters in the vehicle in case they plug-up on the road.

Good luck!

Okay, here's what happened.

Fuel tank okay, no crud, fuel line okay, not collapsing.

Fuel pump full of crud. I replaced it, and now I'm not running out of fuel. I opened the old pump up to look at it and it was full of this crusty white lumps, too big to make it out of the pump. I touched them and they crumbled. Any idea what that stuff is?

if you've had the vehicle parked up a while , then the white stuff will be a residue from the old petrol that was left in the system