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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Still No Fuel at Start-Up.

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Still No Fuel at Start-Up.     doning 06-15-2012 @ 9:31 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 158 Joined: Nov 2009 Hello. Sad to say I'm still having an issue with no fuel delivery at start-up. Here's a quick summary. 1937 Ford sedan with the 85 HP engine. I replaced the carb with a new Uncle Max Stromberg 97 that I purchsed last fall. Car seems to run just fine with the new carb. I last drove it this past Monday and went to restart today and no start. I gave it one pump and it just turned over. I tried again but still nothing. I removed the air cleaner and moved the accel. rod and all I saw were tiny dripples coming down. No large squirts. For the heck of it I poured some gas into the carb and car started right up. So I'm guessing no fuel in the bowl and for that manner maybe no gas in the line either? I had the same problem with my original carb too. Is this normal having to do this with a car sitting almost all week? When I shut off the car on Monday the operating temp was around 190 - 195. It was a humid 90 deg. day. supereal 06-15-2012 @ 11:47 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 It seems obvious that fuel is not being delivered to the carb. Be sure that there is adequate fuel in the tank to reach the pickup tube. Be sure all connections are tight to prevent air leaks. Blow compressed air thru the line from the firewall to the tank to be certain it is not partially clogged. Determine that the flexible hose at the firewall is not collapsed internally, and the line between the carb and pump isn't fully or partially blocked. If all check out, I'd suspect the pump, itself. Either one of the two valves is leaking, or the diaphragm is cracked. The simplest way to confirm a pump problem is to install a new or different pump. The worst thing that can happen is you will have a spare pump. Check to see that the float needle in the carb isn't sticking, and the level is correct. Some have a rubber tip that is affected by alcohol in the gas. Check to see that the tank cap is vented. Sometimes we find a radiator cap instead of the right one. Heat and humidity shouldn't affect starting an engine that has sat for a week or more. Since you say this is an ongoing problem with both carbs, check all the above. Many of us use an electric booster pump to prefill the carb. It lessens cranking, which may not be fast enough to provide adequate startup fuel. doning 06-15-2012 @ 3:09 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 158 Joined: Nov 2009 Thanks for your reply Super! Do you think that maybe the gas is getting siphoned out of the fuel bowl? I do have a new spare fuel pump. I may have to try it. Also, where would the best spot be to install an electric pump? Where would I connect the power wire to? supereal 06-15-2012 @ 3:26 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Fuel being siphoned out of the carb is a myth. It can't be removed from below the inlet valve, and if it did, the valves in the fuel pump will not let it siphon back to the tank. Electric pumps push fuel better than pulling it, so they need to be as close to the tanks as possible. We connect the power to the pump from the accessory pole on the ignition switch, and run it with a toggle switch under the bottom edge of the dash. We usually use a spring loaded switch so it can't be left on by accident. I run mine until it stops, then hit the accelerator several times. The engine takes off after months of sitting. This message was edited by supereal on 6-15-12 @ 6:39 PM doning 06-15-2012 @ 5:13 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 158 Joined: Nov 2009 Thanks Super. carguy 06-18-2012 @ 10:04 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 167 Joined: Oct 2009 I suffered from this same problem until I replaced my fuel flex line with Robert Shewman's (gadgiteer@aol.com) new flex line with the built in check valve. The problem is, I believe, that the fuel pump looses it's prime and the check valve in the flex line prevents this. Bill Brown '34 Cabriolet jno 06-21-2012 @ 1:35 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 1 Joined: Jun 2012 I was having the same trouble on my '47. Many of the suggestions I tried or was trying. I took you advice and looked at the gas cap. Low and behold, it was actually a radiator cap with no vent creating a vacuum that held the float needle up and caused the car to not have gas. So after pulling both the carburetor and fuel pump and push rod twice to be worked on. A two minute gas cap switch did the trick and the car is stronger than ever. Thanks ford38v8 06-21-2012 @ 5:25 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2795 Joined: Oct 2009 Jno, the gas cap as a cause of fuel delivery problems is many times overlooked or discounted, but is in fact more of a possibility these days than ever before. The new gas being highly volatile, expanding gasses can exit readily, but the resulting vacuum cannot be relieved without a vented cap, and tugs against the fuel pumps futile efforts. Alan

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