Thanks for the advice, Trevor. I pulled the fuel pump, took it apart,
soaked it in carb cleaner, and reinstalled it. The next thing you know,
I've got fuel all over the inside of the engine compartment! Usually I
would think that was a bad thing, but in this case, it showed the fuel
pump was working again.
I hooked the fuel line back up to the carbs, doused the throats with
more carb cleaner, and the engine started on the second try!
Apparently, my two-year old gas will still burn. Thanks again to
everyone on the list. You guys definitely steered me the right way.
As a footnote, as soon as I got the engine started, I was ready to take
a spin around the neighborhood. In the 10 minutes I let it idle though,
one of the radiator hoses blew and started spraying coolant all over the
place! I ordered a new set of hoses from TRF (summer sale and free
shipping at this point), but it's hard waiting for them to arrive when
the sun is shining.
Trevor Boicey wrote:
>
> Kevin Brown wrote:
> > 2. Old (2 year) gas was almost surely dried to varnish in fuel system
> > and is clogging carbs, fuel pump, lines, etc.
>
> Two year gas is old enough to varnish and screw up your
> carbs, but it at least should burn.
>
> Sometimes the gas in old cars is so old that it really
> just doesn't want to start even though everything is fine. It's
> like it's not flammable enough anymore!
>
> > I pulled the fuel line to the carb and cranked the starter. Nothing
> > came out, totally dry. I pulled the opposite end which connects to the
> > fuel pump and ensured that the line was not clogged. I pulled the fuel
> > line which leads into the fuel pump (from the filter). If I bent it
> > towards the ground, plenty of fuel came flooding out, but if I left it
> > in its standard position, nothing came out. I don't know if that's
> > normal or not. Can the fuel pump do its job if there is some air in the
> > line?
>
> Yes, it can suck a little so it can suck the air through and then
> get to some fuel.
>
> Sounds like a fuel pump problem. Either the diaphragm is leaking
> or the one-way valves aren't working.
>
> This might be able to be made to work again without parts. Strip
> the fuel pump (as you did) and soak everything in carb cleaner
> and inspect.
>
> If it's just hardened gas in the valve or something, just a good
> soak will get it going again. No parts needed, often.
>
> --
> Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
> Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
> ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
> This is not a cheque.
--
Kevin Brown (510) 885-4007
Department of Math & CS kbrown@csuhayward.edu
California State University Hayward www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~kbrown
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