64 plymouth valiant will not start

I just picked it up today. I know it was running a year ago. I know it has not run in a year. I siphoned out gas tank, put in new gas. New battery, Starter fluid in carb and it turns over and begins to run but stops. What am I doing wrong? I am forgetting something. Brain has farted out of frustration. Thanks.

 

you need carb cleaner

 

Check to make sure you've got accel pump shot. That will tell you if the float bowl is filling up. How LONG does it run? You may just be running the ether out of it.

 

let's see. air, fuel, spark, timing, compression. do you have that stuff?

 

"begins to run but stops"

Does it quit as soon as you release the key? If so, ballast resistor.

 

It sounds like the carb / fuel line is stopped up .Is it getting fuel to the carb ? If not i'd pull it apart to have a look inside ...

 

that was my guess.....

fill carb bowl and try again...

 

Remove the fuel line from the tank side of the fuel pump. Set your outlet pressure on your compressor to about 15 to 20 lbs. Then apply the air to the fuel line after removing the fuel filler cap. Have some one stand at the filler and listen for bubbles in the tank. Some of these tanks had an oilite filter around the pickup, and they will clog up restricting fuel flow. Once the air reaches the tank, it will clear the filter ad the pickup are of debris.

When you have established that you have a clear line fromt hetank to the pump, check the output from the pump. Seperate the line from the carb, and direct the output into a suitable container. A plastic beverage bottle works well. With the coil wire pulled from the dist, have an ***istant crank the starter. Count the pulses of fuel going into the container. 12 pulses should yield 8 to 10 ounces of fuel. This flow rate indicates the pump is OK. If you get less, check the pump itself many have an internal br*** screen between the suction and pressure side of the pump. If the line was clogged, chances are the screen is also. Check the bolt holding the bottom of the pump chamber on. Some of these are hollowed bolts and may be clogged also. replace any inline filters.

And for the 4 or 5 bucks they cost grab 2 new basllast resisters, put on on and the other in the glove compartment. Don't forget to plug the coil wire back in the dist after you perform the fuel pump test.

 

Run a jumper wire from the + post on the battery to the + post on the coil. That byp***es all kinds of potential problems with ballast resister, bad switch, poor connections, etc. Then if it runs, you have narrowed down the search area. If it doesn't run then, well, keep looking!

 

Does it run long enough to be running off fuel from the fuel system or is it just running off the either? It sounds like it may just be that the gas from the tank has gone bad.Like obsoletezack wrote there are four things a motor needs to run gas,compression,timing and spark. Gas and spark sound like the best bets to start with in your case (and in most cases), since it's running for a short time you seem to have spark.That sounds like a fuel problem to me. The shelf life of gas isn't what it used to be .... my$.02 worth

 

Its prob not the "ballast resistor" or it would not start it would just crank away.......Sounds like a fuel/idle problem to me

 

Change the fuel filter again may be loaded up and blocking the flow but floating clear when it stahls

 

Actually with a bad ballast it will "start" as long as the key is in crank, as soon as you disengage the starter it will die. Had an old Dodge pickup perform that very trick on me years ago.

 

Fuel ine trouble, vacuum leak, did you check for a good spark?

 

Agreed, and why I suggested it. For the old mopars I had, that was always the tell-tale sign. I always kept a spare in the glove box - probably the most important Mopar spare part!

 

My bet is fuel not making it to the carb. Sounds like it is running just on the ether and then dying. Bad line, fuel filter or bad fuel or a combination of the three. How does is sound the short time it is running ?

 

I agree with the above.

If like you stated "it begins to start" meaning that as long as you hold the key in the "start" or "cranking" position the car seem to run, so then you release the key and it dies, 99.9% of the time its the ballast resistor on an old Mopar, at least on Mopars up until 1968. I always carried a spare in the glove box too.

 

Clear the fuel line and change the in line filter,add gas known to be good(new) and take that advice about the ballast too!
I had a 65 Valiant wagon and like Flamed34 I carried a spare in the glove box at all times . Mopars have issues , they make up for them in fun and you just have to learn to work around them and love them anyway.

 

I just thought of something. If this is your first Morpar, do you know about the left and righthand threaded wheel studs? I think they ran those into the mid 60s on Chrysler products

 

thats one of those things you have to find out about first hand.....usually after breaking a couple....

 

Pile of lugnuts? OOPS!

Where's the OP? Did he figure it out?

 

its amazing what you learn with your first mopar.... 63 valiant taught me so much. lefts and rights on the lugs , hey wait, those 64 baracuda spindles are different than a 63 valiant.....v8's weren't factory installed , but....the k member does work with v8 mounts...and the firewall is a tad bit tight on the distributor....just don't hit it with a bfh , because the wiper motor is right behind that spot. and yes...keep a extra ballast resistor in the glove box....

 

Thanks for the tips. I pulled the Fuel filter and it was bone dry. I didnt have but maybe 10 min yesterday to look at it before I had to go to work. If I cant figure it out now I will ask more questions.

 

might check for a hole in the fuel line

 

You can always try the "gas can and hose" trick at the carb, just to see if everything else in working. Be very careful about blowing back through the gas line into the tank. Or from the tank through the gas line. That's a good way to get a couple lungs full of gas. Ask me how I know!

 

Well the fuel lines are good. I pulled it off at the tank end of the pump and blew into it. My ***istant (my daughter) could hear the bubbles. So I ****ed on it and got a mouth full of gas. Breakfast of champions. Still not getting any fuel on the other side of the pump. I went and picked one up and I will throw it on tomorrow morning. As for the ballast resistor i went and bought two to throw in the glove box. Thanks again for the help.

 

are the fuel lines backwards on the pump.....?

 

Ok. Got that figured out. Now when I try to start it, Fresh after a day or so, it wont go unless I put ether in the carb. What do I do now? After its been running for a few min. and after I drive it around, Fires up right away no prob. Just that Initial start, it wont go????

 

check the cfloat level.

 

I had a 51 Plymouth business coupe that did the same thing. Also my 63 buick was the same way as well.