so sunday i was driving along and my 50 chevy truck with a 235ci decided to stall out so i figured i ran outta gas (my fuel guage is currently not working mind you) so i filled it up but it wasnt empty but it ran fine anyways. so now yesterday as i was driving on my way to get my dash pinstriped by joe sulpy, my truck started to stall out while doing 60ish. i pulled over, after a few minutes i started up, drove about 100 feet and again started to bog, id put it in neutral and itd idle ok but when in gear it wanted to stall and then it would stall. all they way back home it was the same thing. drive 100 feet, stall out, wait a couple of minutes, start up, drive 100 feet and stall. anyone ever experience this? i ordered a fuel pump and im hoping it will fix it, but i guess any input would help. thanks, dan
got afriend with a 51 chevy sedan running the same 6 as you. he had a problem with stalling and the problem was the fuel was perculating (dont know if i spelled that right) due to engine compartment heat... the solution... clothes pins on the fuel line to act as heat sinks , i know it sounds weird , but it solved his problem.... try the new fuel pump , also check your fuel filter and see if there is a filter in the carb where the fuel line enters, it might be clogged.. good luck with your problem and i hope this advice works
Also check for crud lodged in the needle valve at the bottom of the tank. I remember reading the adventures of a guy who had this problem and it turned out there was a golf ball in the tank which would occasionally roll over top of the hole and shut off fuel supply.
For me, with vapor lock, it takes longer than a few minutes before I can get it to run again. More like 30 minutes. Your problem seems like a restriction in the fuel line. Maybe **** in the tank or fuel filter plugged. If the new fuel pump doesn't fix it, look for a restricted fuel line somewhere. Neal
every time you get low on gas, you'll fill a fuel filter with crud. eventually it will get past. a new fuel tank was one of the best mods I made. up til then I always kept a spare filter.
When was the last time you put fresh fuel in? This fuel is **** & will seperate after a few months of sitting. It clogs filters, jets & the float bowl. Font ask how I know ....
For vapor lock issues check the following: 1. Is the heat riser on the exhaust manifold stuck? 2. Is there a bakelite spacer (about 5/8" thick) between the carb and intake? 3. Is the fuel line making contact with a heater hose?
Are your fuel lines compatible with the ethanol in the fuel? If not, your carb orifices (or is it orifi?) may clog up and exhibit the symptoms like those you describe.
so seems as thought i might have gotten the wrong fuel pump. i currently have a gl*** bowl type fuel pump, so what i got doesnt have a gl*** bowl and the line ports dont line up. second seeing that im fairly new at hotrod ownership, i see that there is alot of stuff which looks like dirt in the bowl. it never occured to me to really check that but yea, i should maybe ***ume that alot of "stuff" inside a gl*** bowl pump is not what i want. and also, the gl*** bowl pump is pump and filter in one? cuz there isnt any sort of inline fuel filter on mine.
The gl*** bowl is a sediment bowl that does catch "some" dirt but you still should put a decent inline filter in the system and preferably between the tank and the fuel pump. A few questions. Have you installed a new gas cap lately? If so, loosen it a bit and see if the truck still stalls. These tanks need a vented cap and it will quit if the cap isn't vented. If that isn't the case and you just got it running I would suspect crud in the tank. They sit for a long time and what gas is left in the tank turns to varnish and the new gas loosens the varnish up and lets it get in the system. Or they sit without a gas cap and dirt and everything else gets in the tank. My 51 Merc's tank even had the broken neck off a coke bottle in it when I cleaned it out. If you swapped pumps and changed the lines around, make sure that you didn't kink a line so that it restricts the flow of fuel. That is real common on rigs that guys have just worked on.
i removed the pump and cleaned out alot of dirt out of the bowl with some carb cleaner. hope thats ok to clean with carb cleaner. i have never changed the gas cap. bought the truck in november and it just started acting up on sunday. hope me cleaning this gl*** bowl out will fix my problem. could it have been just that dirty to cause it to stall out?
Check the heat riser...the funny weight thingy on the exhaust manifold. PB Blast the hell out of it and make shure it is swinging freely and that the spring is working. I had one stick open on a 53 I restored, it was boiling the gas and vapor locking like crazy. The clothespin thing works better with aluminum clothespins when you can find them. Next, pull the top off the carb. and look for fine brown silt....I used to have that problem in my truck and got pretty good at field dressing my Rochester B on the side of the road. A new tank cleared that right up. Your fuel pump probably isn't the problem, I would keep the gl*** bowl one so you can see that fuel is pumping when diagnosing engine problems.
Don't wanna hijack this thread, but my 1955 does the same thing as of Today. Inline gl*** fuel filter between fuel pump and Carb will be empty when I lift the hood after " running out of gas". Wait 2 minutes, start it again, and will idle all day.. filter stays full. Until I try to drive it further. I was getting a few blocks at a time before it all happened again. I finally made it home, but this happened about 5 times. After getting home truck idled in driveway for 20 minutes no problems.
Would the fuel line crossing the heater hose ( zip tied like a dumb*** ) be enough heat to cause vapor lock?
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