Please help diagnose...

P

pdxgeo

True Classic
So I had the gas tank out and almost completely empty but unfortunately did not swish and clean the sediment inside.

Anyhow whats happening now is car idles fine and runs ok while puttering around on the primary barrel but when i floor it there is hesitation and even stalling.

i was thinking fuel filter and i plan on changing it but should I be looking at the jets in the carb?

i havent experienced this before so not certain what the symptom could point to...

thanks
 
Plugged jets are common

Sounds like you got it, but if the problem crops up again it could be a plugged jet. It's a common problem (at least it has been for me in my 128s) for the jets to get blocked (sometimes just partially) by the smallest debris. As long as you can get the air cleaner lid off and have a screwdriver you won't get stranded by it. Since the jets are fairly deep in the carb it helps to have a pick or small screwdriver or little needle-nose pliers to help grab the jets. Removing the idle jet prior to the main jet gives more room to grab the main jet. Pull the jet out of its emulsion tube or holder and blow back through the jet to clear it. When reinstalling in the carb, if both jets are out, always put the main & emulsion tube in first. The idle jet & holder is smaller and nothing makes a road-side jet cleaning more miserable than getting the damn idle jet & holder stuck in the main jet hole!
 
Courtney, those sound like sage words from someone who has been caught out by this!! I have too... but in the workshop so not so much of a drama.

SteveC
 
Thanks guys. I'm facing the fact that I need to pull the tank again and have it "burned" and blasted out and re lined. I spoke to macs radiator todY about the process and they drill a hole in the tank so they can bead blast the interior. They then line it in some kind of rubbery stuff to prevent rust. Well when I had it out I was feeling around in the filler neck and I pulled out some rubbery coating... just around the inside of the neck which means fuel is now getting under the rubbery crap and it is probably wwhats traveling through the system. Aaaaaaaaaaaah. Macs is saying 2 week lead time. Oh well. Live n learn
 
thanks for that. i think the liner procedure had been done before. there is evidence of a hole that has been plugged and of course the plasticky goo that i pulled out of the neck. Im just guessing that since I broke the bond gas is now getting between the stuff and the tank which is causing instant clogging of the system. I have maybe 1/4 mile on a brand new glass filter and I can see spots in there that are pretty large size. I cant believe the mess I got myself into. Im all about the learning experience but I dont have that much time and I definitely dont have the $$ to have someone else do the whole job. Macs said if there was a previous liner in there theyd have to burn it out before bead blasting the inside. I will ask them about POR 15 instead of that rubbery coating.
 
Got the tank out and to Mac's...

but not before having to siphon and spill about 7+ gallons of gas. I havent ingested gas before, it sucks.

Anyhow, Macs Radiator said the brown stuff was not their liner material and looked like sludge to them. I definitely pulled some kind of coating from inside the filler neck. Could it have been very old coagulated fuel? Tts basically rust colored and had the consistency of a ring of dried latex paint. Sorry about all the questions but I do have another. Now that the tank is going to be clean should I blow out the supply line in case there's crud in there? if so should i put anything into it (kerosene perhaps?) to help clear and clean the inside of the lines?

thanks all
 
Well...

Some old-school "slosh compound" tank liner isn't ethanol resistant. I have some from when I treated my 850 Spider tank 15 years ago that is specifically resistant, so who knows.

Either way I think a quick rinse of the lines with some sort of solvent, even hot water, would be a good idea. If you have the tools, a string pulling a brush or pipe cleaner would be good insurance.

But, it sounds like a liner failure. Not unexpected frankly.
 
If your going to blow out the line, I always do it from the front blowing backwards... have found it works best this way as most crud seems to be at the back (and lower) end...

Methylated spirits is a good solvent...syringe a little into the line, blow and repeat over and over until it comes out clean... wrap a white piece of rag over the low end so you can catch and see the crud.

SteveC
 
You might as well take the top off the carb cuz you probably have some crap in the float bowl as well.
 
Yep, planning to do that when i blow out the lines. Tank probably another week away from being ready.

thanks Chris
 
pdxgeo said:
So I had the gas tank out and almost completely empty but unfortunately did not swish and clean the sediment inside.

Anyhow whats happening now is car idles fine and runs ok while puttering around on the primary barrel but when i floor it there is hesitation and even stalling.

i was thinking fuel filter and i plan on changing it but should I be looking at the jets in the carb?

i havent experienced this before so not certain what the symptom could point to...

thanks
Click to expand...
Odds are the stalling is related to the crappy gas tank. either the fuel filter is clogging or the fuel pump has gunk in it. This is causing the carb bowl to not fill up fast enough when you punch it. I tried to do a quick fix on the gas tank of a Renault I owned in the early 70's. I put some kind of green rubber stuff in that was supposed to seal the tank. I was younger less experienced and impatient then so I know I didn't do it right. The fix worked for a couple of months and then one day the car just died and stopped in the middle of the road. I dinked around with it trying to figure what went wrong and after sitting for a few minutes it started up. I encountered this problem several more times before I got wise and got a new gas tank. The liner was coming loose and would cover the fuel line hole. After sitting the slight vacuum caused by the fuel pump would subside allowing the sealer to settle and I could drive again... for a while.
 
in closing...

you are exactly correct. The "liner" in my tank was old fuel that had turned to varnish and it was peeling away and clogging stuff up. I had Mac's Radiator blast out and properly line the tank and the problem has not re-surfaced. Thank you to all who offered advice.

George
 
hopefully the "liner" they did will last, personally I think the coatings of POR15 or similar are better options since they won't ever fail like old school "liner" often do
 
thats what their liner is or at least what they told me when I asked. i was going to ask them to use por-15 but they said it is very similar. it is blueish in color...
 
"blueish" sounds to me like a traditional liner, you're probably fine but if that's really what it is, then no, it is not like POR15 which is more like super strong-grab like the devil-super thick-impervious to all--- "paint". Almost like JBWeld in a more viscous form.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top