Bad Fuel Pump? or....

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MoparDart68

MoparDart68

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The dart has been acting up lately, i.e. won't start. The only way to get it started, however, is to pour some gas into the carburetor. The car starts, but runs really rough, it doesn't want to idle correctly without pressing on the gas a bit. After a while I can drive it around the block and it seems fine. However, if the car then sits for a few days, it will not start at all--except when pouring fuel into the bowls.

Now, I've taken the carburetor apart to see if it was dirty, it wasn't. The jets look fine to me. I have also replaced the fuel filter, still didn't fix the problem. Furthermore, I have tested to make sure each cylinder is getting a spark, and they all are.

Does this sound like a bad fuel pump to you, or could it be something else?

-Thanks

1968 Dodge Dart 270
273 engine, 2bbl carb

Edit: I should also add that not much gas is being sprayed into the bowls when priming, only a little bit of fuel as far as I can tell. I know that if the engine is not running, the pressure won't be as high, but it still seemed rather low to me.
 
Have you started with the simple stuff like the fuel filter? Always sucks to start digging into something only to find it was something as simple as that. My Duster just started acting the same way, and my fuel pressure is at 6 PSI (normally 9), so that's the first thing I'm going to check when I get time.
 
Betcha if you start it every day it fires right up with only one push to the floor setting the choke. If so the problem is today fuel. It evaporates.
 
RedFish said:
Betcha if you start it every day it fires right up with only one push to the floor setting the choke. If so the problem is today fuel. It evaporates.
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I've thought of this, but it is not the case. I've let this car sit for months at a time and started it with only one pump. Usually, I can let the car sit for weeks at at time and start it with one pump and 2 tries with the ignition. Now, it is not starting at all, no matter how many times I pump the gas.
 
MoparDart68 said:
I've thought of this, but it is not the case. I've let this car sit for months at a time and started it with only one pump. Usually, I can let the car sit for weeks at at time and start it with one pump and 2 tries with the ignition. Now, it is not starting at all, no matter how many times I pump the gas.
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OK It can be the fuel pump but it can also be a tiny air leak at the rubber line sections and their clamps. The one at the tank is most likely suspect.
 
RedFish said:
OK It can be the fuel pump but it can also be a tiny air leak at the rubber line sections and their clamps. The one at the tank is most likely suspect.
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Agee. This one also happened to me on the Barracuda. Rubber line was dry rotted near the gas tank.
 
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