SB Ford, Killed it by running outta gas?? Help me fix it?

I recently got my F100 "back on the road". Rebuilt engine, with all new parts. 14 gallon stainless fuel tank mounted in the bed with all 3/8" aluminum hard lines and a couple of short sections of stainless braided to allow for ch***is flex/engine torque, and a canister style filter.

The engine has been run in, and I even drove it about 50 miles round trip to work yesterday. Then the fun began.... I ran out of gas about three feet from the gas pump last night. Fueled up, got her fired back up and it ran rough for a few seconds, but then smoothed out and I was on my way. Made it about 1/4 mile and it "ran out" out gas again. Had to crank it over about 5 or 6 times to get fuel back to the carb, but it finally primed up. Drove home and figured I best not run it out of gas again.

This morning, believing all is well, I hopped in the truck and tried to fire it up. Now its not getting any fuel to the carb. I dug out one of those gl***, cheap-y, fuel filters and plumbed it in between the carb and pump in an effort to see if it is actually pumping.... its kinda surging in/at the gl*** filter but it still won't put gas to the carb.

The engine is a Ford 351w with stock fuel pump. Basically a stock build except a swap to a 4 barrrel intake and carb. My (usually incorrect) logic tells me that I wrecked the fuel pump by cranking on it for so long, but it it a brand new unit with less than 100 miles on it. My more logical senses tell me to ask you guys for suggestions of which gremlins I should hunt down next.

Sorry for the long *** novel fellas... but i'm not the best at trouble shooting these kind of things, and it ****s thinking that I wrecked this thing by running out of gas.

 

Swap the pump and see...

 

gas fill cap vented???

 

Put a diffrent F/P on it & see what happens, Also could have **** in the fuel line. There's been a lot of problems with rebuilt F/Ps for early Hemis lately.

 

Test the pump first. A container, and someone to crank it over.

If it does not pump good, then byp*** the gas tank, and use the pump to pull from another container.

 

Pump. And or cap isn't vented. Lippy

 

Eliminate one thing at a time, or it will fix itself and you will be left wondering. Prove the pump works, cap is vented, etc. one at a time.

 

I thought about the cap not being vented and when I got home from work tonight, I opened that ****er up and left it wide open just test. Didn't seem to make much, if any, difference.

Gimme a few minutes, I'll pull the lines, give it another test. and report right back.

 

Okay gonna ask the dumb question. You did remember to put the inner and outer eccentric on the end of the cam? If you only installed the inner you may have worn a flat spot.
But I agree check the cap and make sure your venting is good.

 

The cam eccentrics are in place. I missplaced one during ***embly and it took forever to find it... I remember that day well.

BRB boys...

 

also check the line connections, the pump could be ****ing air. did you blow back through the lines? i have seen the small foil/plastic seals from fuel additives fall into the tanks and cause strange problems.

 

I hate to say it but I installed a cam in a hurry 30 some years back and forgot it. Ate right through the inner eccentric in just a short time. Lesson learned never repeated.

Some thoughts....
- Hose clamps tight
- Hoses good and solid
- Cap vented
- Tank vent line clear
- Pump draws out of a can
- Check psi at carb inlet
- Fuel pump correct for engine
- Restriction in lines
- Needle & seat stuck closed

 

Is the fuel filter on the correct way ?
Did you put on both eccentric's as 1950Effie asked ?
Is it a new, truly new fuel pump ?
Is the fuel line clean, did you clog it with junk from letting it run so low ?
Is there junk at the bottom of the fuel tank clogging the pickup line ?

I would start by attaching a 3 or 4 foot section of fuel line from the pump to a fuel can and see how it runs.
If it runs bad, check the fuel pump and eccentric cam.
If it works good, then you know it's the line and tank.
If you blow fuel back into the fuel line towards the tank, listen for air bubbling back.
If the line is clear, drop the tank.

 

Have you looked at the canister filter on the pump? You apparently had 50 trouble-free miles before running out of gas and refueling. I had one cheap station years ago that filled my tank w/ sand. Must not have had the in-line filter at their pump. By the way, do you have a gas guage?

 

Just pulled the line from the pump to the carb. I don't have a gauge to test actual pressure but it was pumping... a small piss trickle like amount. Then I opened the filler cap wide open to check any change... cranked it for a few more seconds and... nothing. Not a drop. Pump is where you'd expect it and I used a four foot section of line to the front of the truck to a fuel can.

I'm going to pull the filter and see if it has more fuel than earlier when I checked that. While thats off I'll try sending air back throught the system. If there is anything creating a blockage, I suspect it'll be in the back half of the system. Its a pretty simple design, shouldn't take me more than 15 minutes guys.

 

did u try to blow back to tank from fuel pump to check for debris i replaced a fuel pump on my service truck thinkin it was bad worked ok for two weeks then back to square one did this three times dropped tank and found metal delaminateing inside 40 gal tank me and a magnit fixed it did u wash tank be for use ? thanks dt ps it was ford diesel its a tsb repair bulletin

 

I'd change out the pump, a small piss like amount doesn't sound like enough to me. SBC will gush when you crank it. Hopefully you didn't use silicone on any fittings also.

 

Checked through everything once more...

Dropped the filter.... Its plumbed correctly and was clear of debris. The stainless braided line on the RH side in the pic is the feed. The hard aluminum line runs to the pump. Pump to carb is a section of regular OG 3/8" fuel line.




Opened the tank.. Peeked in with a flashlight. Looks clean. Sent some air back to the tank from the filter and from the pump. My neighbor kept an eye on the tank and we were getting air bubble back through.





Its gotta be the pump. It's pumping but only a small amount. I'll grab one from work tomorrow and swap it out when I get home.

 

X2

It can really only be one (or more) of five things:

1) Tank not vented
2) Pump not pumping
3) blockage in line
4) You're out of gas
5) Needle/seat issue

You're on the right track, though. Keep us posted.

You didn't happen to use a teflon tape type sealant on the fittings, did you?

 

pretty sweet lil' fuel tank you got there.

 

It appears that you have your filter mounted on the firewall.... this is really high and must be significantly higher than your fuel level in the tank. If you could ever get it primed again the net positive suction head will balance out and the pump will feed.
However thats really not a good location for multi reasons like heat exposure vapor lock. I'd recommend relocating nearer and beneath the tank

 

so you pour gas down the carb and it runs? if so take the line running from the pump and see what comes out while its running.

 

Good eye, Yellow Dog! You've got a definite point about the filter location. I didn't even notice it in the pic.

 

Never check a fuel tank with a flashlight, you must use a match.


OK.... you know that's ********. X2 on checking if there is one of those foil seals for whatever you add to a tank of fuel. On a frontend loader, it would just stop running, on restart away I would go, only to have it stall later. Pulled the tank, found the foil blocking the inlet. Live and learn.

 

I'm pretty much done with this tonight, although I'll probably end up making some vents in the fuel cap later or in the morning before work. This tank worked as-is in a similar application before I got it, I figured it was good to go.

I've never un-hooked a fuel pump and watched the gas come out, so I'm gonna have to go with you guys when you say its not flowing enough. Now I just have to dig through all these reciepts and hope I can warranty this ****er... err... pumper. Either way I'll throw a new one on tomorrow night when I get home from work.

 

I was thinking about that, and you are absolutely correct. Its pretty high up there. I think what I'll do is bring a pump home with me just in case, but I'm going to by-p*** that filter first and see how well that helps.

 

Nick, I agree with Milwscruffy. Should shoot fuel stronger than most people can whizz, think horse-type streams. You may a dud pump, 'specially if it's an *ahem* "offshore" jobber pump. Seen those die almost right out of the box. I'd be tempted to price up a FoMoCo OE pump, made in the US of A and tougher than a night in a Mexican jail. And you get to feel good while bolting it on knowing you kept the $ at home.

 

i bet there was a chunk of some kinda debris in the line between filter and pump.
it got caught in the check valve in the pump.i would replace with a carter fuel pump.
with pump removed ,you should be able to manually actuate it and it shold squirt gas.
a relatively new pump should move a considerable amount-and make about 6psi.
what you have on there beats the hell outta what that studebaker is running
<<<<<<<<<< damn toilet tank....

 

maybe try running without a filter.

x3 on the high placement of the filter as well. damn you gravity!

 

will it run if you slowly feed gas into the carb? make sure you have a correct fire exstinguisher ready in case things decide to "flame on"!