Whenever I put gas in the tank of my '59 Belair with 235 engine it dies shortly afterwards and does not want to start again. The first time it happened I let it sit for awhile, poured gas in the carb and it started hard but ran without anymore problems. The 2nd time I filled the tank, it made it all the way home but then I went to take the garbege down and it died on my driveway. Nothing I could do would get it to start so I towed it home, replace the plugs condenser and coil and it fired up, but idled differently. I drove it the next day and it made it about 6 miles and died. I tweaked the idle speed, mixture and played with the timing and made it home. Tweaked the idle some more and was able to get it to run just with a bit of a high idle. It ran great for the next 100 miles. Fast forward to today when I filled the tank. Within a half mile it dies. I can pour gas down the carb and get it to start with effort, but it will not run or idle. I had to leave it in a parking lot and walk the rest of the way to work today Is there anything in particular that could be causing this? Why only after getting gas?
Crud in your tank/filter? Tank vent plugged up? Fuel cap vent not working? Carb float needle weeping?
Sounds like some craps got in carb, or tank got crap in it. Unhook your gas line from carb, and use compressed air to blow back through to tank maybe.
Sounds like dirty fuel and crud sitting in the bottom of your tank and when you fill up its stirs it up or your fuel lines are rusted, and its got something stuck in the needle of the carb possibly over fueling or under fueling it. have you got a fuel filter? If so replace it If not I'd put one or two in line. Best thing to do is take the tank out drain it and clean it out with Kero and shine a light in there to see if its got any rust or sludge built up in there. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I am thinking ventilation(cap or vent). You are more likely to get debris in the line/carb with a low tank.
You're stirring up crud in the gas tank when filling. You need to drop the tank, clean it out and slosh it. http://www.streetrodhq.com/shop/detail.lasso?ID=4753&Param=GAS_TANK_SEALER_ALCOHOL_RESISTANT_POR
I had the exact same problem in my 54 ford. I replaced my tank, fuel lines, fuel filter( to a reusable one from napa) and haven't had a problem since. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
When I release the fuel cap there is no audible pressure built up. The PO had a receipt for the fuel tank to be cleaned. The fuel pump itself looks brand new. He had the engine totally gone through by a reputable classic car shop about 2000 miles ago, but it had also sat for a couple years since then. He did mention the car had left him stranded a couple times most likely with this same issue. On my lunch break I will try and limp it to work so I can check all the filters and I will try compressed air from carburator to tank. Thanks! If anyone else has had a similar issue chime in. It just seems wierd it's only after filling the tank.
Do you have a fuel filter before your fuel pump that you can see into? Mine was clear as day how much crap was coming through my lines. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
first thing, try some sea foam. may have water in tank. shucks try 2 cans at once. if that don't fix it, it's probably got to come off, get cleaned.i got a 59 elky been thru this before.knew a guy who had a 39 Chevrolet would run a few miles ,starve for gas. let set, run a few more.same thing. long story short,had a dead mouse in it.would stop up pick up. also change all rubber lines and put good fuel filters on it. good luck
When your car dies, if you look down the carb, does the accelerator pump squirt or is the carb out of gas? If no gas there then pull the fuel line after the pump, check for pressure and volume. If no gas there then pull the line before the pump and see if there is gas available to the pump itself. If not pull the tank, blow the fuel line out from the tank to the pump (from the pump side) and pull the sending unit out of the tank and replace the sock on the pickup tube and the rubber gas line from the sending unit to the hard line on the car. If you have a sediment problem you'll see it anyway when you replace that sock and can deal with that then. My money is on some crud in the tank and a collapsing sock from your description. Al in TN
The liner itself may have came loose and is getting sucked into the fuel line. I would unhook the fuel line at the carb, put a coke bottle on the line, crank the engine, and see if there's anything in the gas.
Todays gas wont last, especially with increasing amounts of ethanol. Not only that, you can have a brand new tank and get a load of water from a single fill up through no fault of your own. Your problem sure sounds like water and/or other contaminants. Personally, I would drop the tank, drain it into a container that you can check for water and debris. Got to let it sit sometimes to see the water bubble on the bottom. Before putting it back together disconnect the line at the carb and blow the line out. Have a rag or someone at the carb end check what comes out. Next step is to drain the carb. Now put a filter and separator in the line and fill with good gas. If you have a separator you can just drain the water out of the rotten government mandated gas. Its only going to get worse so you might as well get prepared in advance.
The air will blow any crap out, and if it goes ok after this, then you know theres crap in there. It wont fix problem for long, but may give you idea on proper fix.
check list use only good fresh gas non oxygenated fuel -only vented gascap ... (a nonvented cap when in use will create a vacuum in the tank .. then draw fuel back out of carb and lines to balance the pressure .. a near full tank has less room for vacuum and pull back fuel even quicker) compression check sparkplug gap checked all fuel line are good any rubber sections replaced fuel pump pressure checked more tha 4-5 psi bad gas cannot be sweetened .. only replaced do not blow thru to your tank as this will blow off your inlet tank filter sock
I wouldn't as it will push any debris and water back into the tank, only to reappear again. This really does sound like the act of putting gas in the tank is mixing water and/or debris with the gas.
K so here's where we are at. I disconnected the fuel line at the fuel pump in and there is a steady stream of gas coming into the fuel pump from the tank. Put it back on. Next I disconnected the fuel hardline at the carb (coming from pump), cleaned out the brass filter. Cranked the engine over and no fuel is present at the carb fitting end while disconnected. Installed filter and reconnected to carb. Next I disconn the hardline fitting at the fuel pump out going to carb. There was a lot of pressure built up here when disconnected. After pressure was relieved there was a fairly steady flow of fuel coming out of the pump. So I figured there must be blockage in the hardline running from pump to carb. I took it off and into the shop at work. I blew compressed air through it and it seemed wide open and clear. I ran some cleaner through it and no residue left on rag. Seems clear as day. So now I don't know what might be the problem. Somehow it seems fuel is not getting from pump to carb, but is showing all the signs it should be. The fuel pump could be bad though still correct? That seems to be the only viable option left to check. I figures from all that pressurized fuel when I disconnected it must mean that it is pumping.
Any chance the fuel coming out after disconnecting the hardline from the pump was just fuel draining from the full line and was the fuel then pouring from the pump or were you cranking it? Pump could be bad or full of debris. Any filter before pump? Also heard of things left in tanks that would occasionally get sucked up on the pickup, plugging it, then fall away when suction fades.
Liquids don't compress. You have to be sucking air in the system somewhere to have that much pressure. It is strange to have pressure at one end of the line and not the other.
Those semi-solid brass carb filters cause a lot of troubles. You may think you cleaned it but it will still block some fuel and plug up again quick. Stirring up crud from the tank will block it quick. The only other possibility would be if you have a soft hose between the fuel pump and tank line that is collapsing. That would not have anything to do with gassing up the car. Most likely dirt in the tank blocking the filter in my opinion.
I had a small ball of solder break loose inside a tank. Never knew when it was going to roll towards the inlet and shut off the gas. Drove me nuts. Still think you should drop the tank and see what comes out.
I will drop the tank this weekend but for now I need to move the car. I cranked it over with the fuel pump out line disconnected and was getting spurting but when everything went back together same deal, no start. I cannot see any filter from tank to pump, but it has pump pressure. Is it possible that it's just not enough pressure to get up the multi-bent hardline to the carb? Napa has a replacement pump for $40 but I done want to swap it only to have the same results less $40.
If it runs fine after it sits for a while, and runs like crap after you fill it up, go and get one of these filters and install it. You will know real fast if there is stuff coming from your tank. These filters also let you replace the filter part, this comes in handy. It's a great way to figure out if it is debris in your tank that's causing to problem. It was my nightmare for about 2 weeks. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Hate those things, had two come apart. Second was on a vehicle just purchased and nearly burned to the ground the next day.
Don't take someones word that the Tank has been cleaned............ Probably Not your problem, but I found a pair of Swim Trunks in tank of '34 Ford years ago ! Let us know what you find wrong, Good Luck. quote: " I hate Pee Dribble."
unless you have super human strength it is nearly impossible to hold your thumb over the fuel line going to the carb ....4-5 lbs of pressure . it will squirt past .. try this in a safe and supervised place if you can hold it tightly closed ...your fuel pump is weak or clogged most older fuel pumps may be tightend up around the diaphram... or can be rebuilt new ones may need to snugged up around the diaphram too
OK after more investigation it does seem to be a supply issue from tank to pump. I can blow air from the pump into the tank and it will flow for awhile but once it has been put back on the pump it stops flowing. Then I'll take the line off and no fuel, then I blow air through to the tank again and fuel pours out of line but eventually stops until I blow again. Looks like I may not be able to limp it home until I fix it right since I'm guessing the blockage is in the tank and not the line.
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