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All right guys I dun goofed


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So my car stopped working awhile ago and I couldn't figure out why, I hadn't really done anything to it since it broke. I think I figured it out now though.

 

I was testing the mpgs and I ran it out of fuel a few times. wouldn't be surprised if there was a lot of sediment in the bottom of the tank that got sucked into the lines.

 

 

Here are the symptoms: it starts really hard, it takes maybe 20 minutes of cranking and it needs help from another car. After it starts, I need to let it idle for a while before it will let me give it any gas, and it dies every few minutes but starts back up all right. Then it will run normally, but every ten minutes or so it will stop letting me give it gas. If it is rolling and I put it in gear to force the engine to turn over it will explode fairly violently and successively from the carb. I can stop on the side of the road and crank it for a minute and give it gas gingerly and it will start working again.

 

All I did to the fuel system so far is take the carb apart and clean it, nothing clogged in it just some silt in the bowl but nothing big enough not to go through the jets it looked like.

 

I am planning on taking the tank out and spraying the inside, what else should I do the get all the lines clean? new fuel filter maybe? and what part of the carb specifically should I look at to clean?

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The outlet for the tank is 1/2" off the tank bottom so it would suck up crap even when the tank is full. Anything in the tank that might be heavy enough to only be stirred up when the tank is low would be caught in the fuel filter... that's what it's there for. Water is heavier than gas and might collect in low areas of the fuel lines. I guess it's possible for it to be sucked along with air from an empty tank and it can get through a filter and into the carb where it will puddle and cover the jets. I've had this happen or had water in the carb from something and it will clear itself if you drive the shit out of it and suck it through. Somewhat like what flatcat suggested... rev it way up and choke off the air with a rag over your hand. You could also carefully pour some methyl hydrate down the carb vent into the fuel bowl. Alcohol mixes with gas and water and is sold as gas line anti-freeze. Once mixed the fuel will draw through easier and clear itself.

 

Last, is sediment present in the carb bowl. Usually it causes no problem as it is well covered by fuel, but when the bowl empties it gets stirred up and may be part blocking a jet. In some cases you can remove the jets and clean them as well as taking the front fuel bowl cover off and physically clean the chamber out, but removing the carb, a job in itself, will be better.

 

I would definitely start with a new filter. They're cheap and easy to do anyway.

 

 

When cold, is the choke on when trying to start it???

When warmed up, is the choke off??? (it's easy for the choke heater wire or idle cut wire to get pulled off any time the air filter is removed.

 

Next time you go to start it OR when it suddenly quits, look at the small glass on the front of the carb. Is gas showing? If yes then the problem is not gas delivery to the carb.

Then...

When cranking and it won't fire pour several teaspoonfuls of gas directly down the carb. It should fire up and demonstrates that the carb is not supplying gas itself.  

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All right today I took the tank off and cleaned it out, cleaned out all the lines, got a new fuel filter on it and took the carb off and apart and cleaned it out with pressurized air (still didn't see anything in it that could bock anything). It is still the same as it was before though.

 

I don't have the choke hooked up right now.

 

It will run for a few minutes without the fuel line hooked up, and the pump is shifting like a gallon a minute, so seems like the problem lies in the carb for sure. Just not sure what to do  about it, I took apart all that I could on the carb and everything looked spiffy. I haven't tried pouring alcohol down it yet.

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Your carb is adjusted to run without the choke. And that will stall out when you give it has. Too rich and timing is off. You need to re-tune the carb idle screws, and ignition timing. Additionally, check your vacuum advance line for leaks, bad seal, or malfunction.

 

Pull choke, tighten your idle jets, then loosen them as you try to start it up. Once you get it started, set your timing as you release your choke. Then set your idle screws again. I'm not the best at describing it. But basically, someone adjusted this to run without a choke. You need to undo that.

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Not enough spark? Weak/fouled plugs?

 

 

Think fuel? Fix ignition. Vice versa.

I was considering it but it will work perfectly until it stops. It can be at 5000rpm after driving for 10 minutes and just give out. I cleaned the plugs as well.

 

The front of the carb has a glass window perhaps with a line or dot on it. You should be able to see the gas level even with this line. IS IT??

Mine doesn't have a glass window but i can disconnect the fuel line and press the throttle and see it squirt out gas a good 10-15 times if that indicates the same thing.

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Your carb is adjusted to run without the choke. And that will stall out when you give it has. Too rich and timing is off. You need to re-tune the carb idle screws, and ignition timing. Additionally, check your vacuum advance line for leaks, bad seal, or malfunction.

 

Pull choke, tighten your idle jets, then loosen them as you try to start it up. Once you get it started, set your timing as you release your choke. Then set your idle screws again. I'm not the best at describing it. But basically, someone adjusted this to run without a choke. You need to undo that.

I wasn't aware that the choke was that important once it was running, I thought it was more for if it started rough.. even without the choke it would start up right away before it broke.

 

It definitely needs tuning, but before whatevers happened to it happened it never missed a beat.

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Mine doesn't have a glass window but i can disconnect the fuel line and press the throttle and see it squirt out gas a good 10-15 times if that indicates the same thing.

 

That would only show that it has gas. I was hoping to find out if the carb is over filling and flooding. Running out of gas may dislodge sediment that is stuck in the needle valve preventing it closing properly. Just one of many possibilities to look at.

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How would you check without a window?

 

If it means anything while I was cleaning it out I put the compresor nozzle on the fuel intake and turned it on and fiddled around with the float, and when I closed it it stopped the air flowing through it.

 

I realized the only screw I haven't taken off is the idle adjustment one maybe something is clogged in there.

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I forgot to mention that directly after I cleaned the carb and the fuel lines, the car fired up normally as soon as gas hit the carb, and ran for about 20 seconds before it died. Then It went back to needing help. I will look closer at the float valve and any other part of the carb I missed and shoot some more compressed air around and drive the hell out of it see if it knocks something loose.

 

I also have my old carb might slap that on for a second see if it fixes everything.

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Okey doke it was broken this morning but seems to have cleared its thoat for now. huzzah?

 

It started working correctly shortly after I made a tin foil gasket to try and get a better seal for my temporary solution here.

 

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i know my craftsmanship is shit.

 

Not sure if its a coincidence or not.

 

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All right update it's still broken, perhaps even more broken. I took the carburetor apart for the fourth time and cleaned out the fuel lines for the seond time and still didn't see anything.

 

t5KSZmH.jpg?1

 

I thought it might have something to do with the ignition but besides the points moving or the plugs getting fouled I can't think of anything that would cause it to break so spontaneously, and both those things are fine.

 

Any other ideas about what could be happening? I took a video of it trying to start, although the real problem is what it does when its running, not as easy to get a video of that though.

 

You can hear it firing fine while the starter is turning it, but its not enough to keep the engine spinning on its own..

 

 

 

 

 

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