my truck cranks over well after implementing Nate's recommendations on the ground and hot wire sizes and getting a new battery. But after setting for a couple of weeks, it tends to flood when i try to start it with the choke out and 3 pumps on the pedal. If i leave it for a few minutes after flooding it, it starts. Is there an easy way to crank it after it sits for a while?
Starting I suspect on this one all trucks have their own personality On my truck, 2 pumps with both the choke and throttle out about a half an inch and it starts right up. If your flooding, I'd start with full choke and the throttle out some. Nate of course would be the expert on this one!
It Varies Does your truck have an electric fuel pump ? . If so , only pump it once or twice and use less , if any choke . You need to experiment to see what your particular truck likes ~ certainly if it's really flooding out , use less or no choke ~ maybe the hand throttle or a steasdy foot on the throttle will suffice . The usual thing after setting for over three weeks is runnning out of fuel from the carby's bowl supply evaporating , not flooding , this is why I asked if you have an electric fuel pump (I do) .
about that electric fuel pump... I really don't like the "dribble" of fuel that I see in the filter that is coming out of my stock-style double action pump. Was wondering if I can leave the original pump in place to utilize the vacuum for the wipers, block off the fuel inlet and outlet on it and run an electric pump. What electric pump do you use and where did you mount it? If I must remove the neato-looking glass bowl pump, where can I get a plate to block off the pump mount at the block? Other issue with the glass bowl pump is that I have a fuel leak at the glass bowl gasket as well. This is the second pump I have put on the engine and I still don't like that the filter doesn't fill with fuel while the engine is running. Really, fuel just dribbles into the filter never going more than halfway up. Filter is mounted horizontal so I can see the "dribble" as the engine is running. I remember fuel filters being full of fuel. First project in over 20 years, so haven't had an inline transparent filter to look at in a while till this project. Andy
Electric Fuel Pumps Well ; There's the right way then there's how 95 % of the E - pumps I see coming into the shop , interestingly , both seem to work but done correctly they last longer and have less hot weather troubles . So , which pump to use ? I'm using the square Facet (brand) pump that is noisy and makes a nasty chattering sound , most FLAPS carry it , either under the Facet name or the house brand , it mounts with two tabs and has two wires coming out of it so the GMC and LBC folks with posative ground can use it too . You're supposed to mount it as close to the fuel tank as possable and as low down too , level with the bottom of the fuel tank is perfect , mine is on the frame rail just before it ducks underneath the passenger side of the cab floor , this makes it self priming . There should be NO FILTER before the pump ! . ever ! if you think you know otherwise , go back and re read this last paragraph . You *MUST* check the siphon before fitting any new pump , mechanical or electric , the fuel MUST gush out of the pump's inlet hose in a stream as big around as the inner diameter of the hose or pipe , if it runs out of the open pipe end an immediately makes a 90° turn down , the siphon is restricted , it should stream out in a cascade like a stream of bat's pi$$..... (sorry) . if you don't check the siphon or think the E pump will compensate for reduced fuel flow , I have a surprise for you ..... You should connect the E pump inline with the mechanical pump but if the glass bowl is leaking , go buy a new gasket , AC and WIX (NAPA) still carry them , you may have to buy a new filter kit that contains a paper element . Or , Chevs Of The 40's always carries the gasket . It is CTITICAL to get an E-pump that's rated for only 2 or 3 PSI , many shops will try to sell you the 4 ~ 7 pound one and this _will_ cause you inumerable grief , adding a pressure regulator isn't the correct answer as it will reduce fuel flow when you're on the highway and cause lean runing , fuel starvation , overheating , vapor locking , I could go on but you get the picture . Air bubbles in the fuel filter are O.K. ! it needn't be full all the time , I know many worry about this but it's fine , really it is ~ you can bleed it out by un hooking the outlet end and turning it upwards , operating the pump or engine untill all the air is burped out and then re-connecting it , this might catch your truck on fire so it's up to you..... Did I forget anything here ? SWMBO is hollering at me for no particular reason so my attention is split right now BTW : if you're near any Pick-A-Part junkyard , I see these $35.00 Facet typ fuel pumps alll the time on greasy old VW's and work trucks , look for the 3" square gold box with hoses on it , buried underneath grease.... Autozone and Kragen also carry E pumps rated for 3 PSI but they're always out of stock ,ask them and they'll order you an extra one on thier stock order , no extra charge and arrives in less than one week . it sahould come with an assortment of hose nipples etc. , if you use Teflon tape on the threads , be *very* carweful not to use too much as any in the fuel flow , will wind up in your carby and give you fits with flooding etc.
O.K. Then ; We're still dealing with : does it actually flood or is it runing out of fuel from an empty float bowl ? . _you_ have to discern this , remove the plugs as soon as it dies , are they fluffy black ? of whiteish / grey on color around the center electrode ? .
Nate, i don't have a float bowl. The plugs were fluffy black a while back before i adjusted the carb. the shop it was in had the fuel set super rich. in fact, it leaves soft black soot when it comes out the tailpipe. it's better since i adjusted it, but i still have some after each trip. After trying to start it, if i leave it sit for 10 minutes it fire up on the first turn. Usually, it starts fairly easily if i crank it every week or 2. Thanks, PUT-PUT
!! The float bowl is the part of the carby where the gasoline sits , in it is also the float and inlet valve , commonly called the float valve . ALL carbys have float bowls . (O.K. , O.K. , except the old Bendix constant demand carbys but who the hell even remembers those apart fron the 15 guys in the world who have 100 % correctly restored 1968 Harley-Davidson Sportsters..) At this point it is clear you need a better mechanic as carbys are really easy to screw up , the black sooty tailpipe tells me the float was prolly caught slightly on the gasket as the last person assembled it , this is*very* common on this design of carby and the result is : float to high and the engine runs rich all the time in spite of the adjustment needle you fiddle with . I don't know what to tell you , if you're anywhere near Boca Raton , maybe Larry Karoke can help you , he's a veteran old Chevy truck guy who has a most excellent site : Billybob's chronicals . Maybe another 'Bolter on this list is near you and will offer to help or can steer you to a competent shop , I was brought up in the day of carbys so it is difficult for me to Ken how to - day's ' mechanics' cannot simply look at it and say ' oh , I see ~ this needs to be bent a tiny bit like so ' , then fix it and have you on your way in 10 minutes.... Sigh .
Nate, my apologies, i was thinking of the settlement bowl near the fuel pump. I had just read another thread that was talking about the fuel pump. I know about the float bowl and the brass floats, needle and little tab that usually has to be bend to get the "adjustment". I'm no where near Boca Raton. I"m in NW FL. But I have done carbs in the past and have rebuilt them in yesteryear. got to go. Catch you later.
Nate, i have been into the carb to replace the "pump" that squirts gas into the throat when you mash the throttle. I didn't try to adjust the float. That was a while back. I also have the shop manual for the truck and have reviewed the carb writeup. It is better now in terms of the smut on the tailpipe, but as you say, it should be clean. thanks,
Cool First thing : Adjust the two float arms so the floats are paralell , then adjust the tab out a _tiny_ bit , now , re-assemble paying sharp attention to the float not getting caught on the lip of the float bowl as you assemble it whilst holding the fast idle lever against it's spring etc. , etc. ~ it's fiddly but do - able with some patience , I rarely take the carby off the engine to service it . Remember too : that spring loaded brass plunger thing inside ? is your power valve and it's critical that when you twirl it in situ , the tip doesn't wobble off center , and that the little ball bearing it depresses , fits well and that the plunger slides up and down easily , I often find them all scratched up and sticky , simply polish using brass polish and you'll notice the improvement right away . Lastly there is supposed to be a tiny spring that pushes the ball bearing into it's seat as the plunger retracts from engine vacuum , it's often gone missing .
Nate, today i went out to start the truck. it was hard to crank. i looked down at the instruments while cranking and noted that the fuel guage was slowly moving toward empty during the cranking. Took a couple of turns of the switch to get it to read right and stay up. Once the guage stayed, the truck started on the first turn. the switch is probably 16 yrs old, but has little wear on it. Could be corrosion. What's the best option, replacement or repair? it still needs to have the float adjustment though. Thanks for your help! I'll adjust it as soon as i get time. Put-put
Bad Ign. Switch Well ; If it's dead anyways , no harm in removing it and trying to _gently_ bend back the little tabs that hold it to-gether just enough so you can wriggle out the plate and then wipe it all clean , use Ether to rinse off all the old grease then _polish_ the contacts (never , EVER file/scrape/sand electrical contacts !) , smear with some grease and re-assemble . most switches can be brought back to life with careful cleaning & greasing . The metal part is pot metal so it'll crack very easily .
