fuel issue after car sits.

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Exact same thing happens to my Dart after sitting for two weeks. Pump it twice. Crank it over to fill the fuel bowls. Once it tries to fire, pump it again once. Voila!! She starts and runs.

My buddy diagnosed it as "new" gas formulation a long time ago and I have not worried about it since. You just have to know the starting procedure.
 
i still find it hard to believe the fuel evaporates all the way down to the pump in just 1 day or even a few hours? i can see the fuel evaporating from the carb there is more surface area in the bowl but 5/16 line only has a tiny little bit of srface area, on my car the filter will be bone dry. i think everyones cars would be averaging 10-12 mpg if this was the case.
 
Gas sits in the bowl of the carburetor. After a couple days it hasn't evaporated. If you need to prime the carb, I would look for a bad accelerator pump. That's what "primes" the carb when you pump it. Some cars will run ok with a bad accel pump, once they're running. Empty fuel filters, etc., don't matter. When a car starts on the pump shot with what's in the bowl, the fuel pump catches everything up.
 
my car starts fine off the acc pump. always starts off the initial pump. but that runs out and i have to crank it to refill the carb and line.
 
Maybe this poster will respond yet, but don't you just love it when someone asks a question and then doesn't have the decency to update?
 
I ran across this thread a while back and decided to check back to see if the issue was resolved....I too have just started having this issue with my slant ( for the last couple of weeks ).
Previous starting method was pump, pump, crank done.

Current starting method: crank, crank, pump, pump crank, cough, sputter, almost stall... Pumping the pedal before cranking will fire the engine but will immediately stall

Mine is a daily driver so it happens overnight, and goes through a tank every 8-9 days so old gas shouldn't be a problem. I have replaced all of the rubber line in the fuel system with injector line also.

How would one go about testing the check valve in the pump? Could I just take the line off of the carb and blow into it to see if it's allowing pressure back through??

In regards to the "fuel formulation" topic, I've found some interesting reading....
http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/PICS/winterGas/winterGas.html
 
i am really starting to think mine is boiling in the carb. the other day i want to spray out the carb after driving it and when i opened the throttle a big cloud of boiling steamy gas came out of the intake. i checked the heat riser in the manifold and it was froze again. every time i drive the car i soak it in pb blaster but it seems like once it burns the pentrant up, it freezes up again. i really wantot just take it out. i think its doing more harm than good.
 
jamesdart said:
i am really starting to think mine is boiling in the carb. the other day i want to spray out the carb after driving it and when i opened the throttle a big cloud of boiling steamy gas came out of the intake. i checked the heat riser in the manifold and it was froze again. every time i drive the car i soak it in pb blaster but it seems like once it burns the pentrant up, it freezes up again. i really wantot just take it out. i think its doing more harm than good.
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that steamy gas tells me that your gasket is bad and the fuel is draining in the intake. it will start to diesel after a while. take and rebuild the carb for the $16.00 kit at autozone and it fixed my problem. now I go out and pump once and she starts.
 
jamesdart said:
...i soak it in pb blaster but it seems like once it burns the pentrant up, it freezes up again.
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I was told that Manifold Heat Control Valve Solvent (aka Rust Penetrant) is still available from Mopar. Part number 4318039 or 4318039AB. You might see if it is and if it really works.

Where were all of you when I had a thread going about issues with my Carter BBD and its hard starting habits? I was beginning to believe I was nuts, thinking the carb was draining overnight. At least I now know there are several of you experiencing the same problem - I just don't think it's possible to completely "drain" the carburetor through the fuel line.

Stop and think about this for a second...
Assuming a good, tightly seated needle valve, fuel could not exit through the inlet. Furthermore, looking at it closely, the fuel inlet is approximately at the mid-line of the bowl, about 3/8" above its floor. Actually, the bottom of the float is below the lowest level of the inlet's opening. Therefore, if the fuel fills the bowl to a level that raises the float enough to close the needle valve, the top of the fuel, as best I can tell, doesn't even make it up to the inlet level - no siphoning is possible.
 
James, The cloud of fuel is from the pump shot while the engine is off and hot. I've done the fuel line mod and the carb spacer and had to add a heat shield just under the float bowl to get mine from flooding the engine after a hot shut off.
I gave the heat flapper a couple of taps with a hammer on each side to free it up.
I installed a clear filter and will check the level in the carb before first start tomorrow morning just to see if the filter is full and/or the bowl. I expect to see an empty filter and a full bowl.
I plan to check the bowl by removing the fuel line and pushing the needle in with something to see if fuel comes out.
 
Well, I'm at a loss..... I popped the hood this morning before the initial start and the filter was full, so I tried the old starting method ( pump, pump, crank ) and it fired right up within a couple of revolutions....I'll continue to keep an eye on it but I'm more confused now :confused:
 
Ok, well it started it again after the one day of working correctly.
What I found in my case, is that the carb was empty/low and the fuel filter was full. There was no pump shot when looking down into the carb.
It does not appear to be a heat issue, rather a time issue.

The plan is to make up a bench test. With the carb ( without dis-assembly ) on a bench with fuel run to it (gravity feed) and see if it leaks. I'm also prepared to heat the carb body (heat gun/hair dryer) to operating temp to see if that makes a difference. and yes, I'll have the fire extinguisher handy :lol:
 
FASTBACK340 said:
KitCarlson said:
I blame it on the Al Gore gasoline.quote]

We have a politics forum... please don't post stuff like here. We don't want people thinking it's OK to include their political views in diagnosising
a hard start issue.

Trust me, Al Gore has nothing to do with his problem.....
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not to get myself kicked again but i didn't see al gores name in here anywhere?

"I blame it on the modern gasoline. Gas is not what it used to be! I have found a new fuel pump check valves leak after about one month of use. The check valves keep the fuel from going back to the tank. Small leaks let the engine get fuel to run, but do not hold back when parked for long periods.

The low vapor pressure of modern gas forces the fuel back when hot. It also evaporates and goes sour easily. The fuel solvents and ethanol kill seals. I have given up, and just prime an engine with a spray of WD40 in the carb. It has only been about 5 years that this has been a problem for me.?

An i agree on the gas issue. the oxenginated, achohol, low octane fuel @ the pump are not really what our hopped up motors want. i know cold starts @ 40degrees here in Az my slant starts right now after to pumps, not once it warms up tho, only running 15* initail timing.
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ive had this happen a few times one time was the rubber fuel line from tank was old and rotted one time it was the new hose that instaled the hose clamp put holes in the line from tighting to tight what i allways did to figure it out was to park the car in a dry place and put (clean) card bored under the car from front to back on the passenger side were line is and it leaked down over night and wala there it was cant miss it
 
Natalie was pulled from a wrecking yard this past Spring, a new fuel pump, tank and sending unit were installed and the rubber lines and filter replaced. All else is original. I've done nothing to her carb. I start her up once a week, and all it takes is two pumps and a few cranks and she always fires right up. 8)
 
Comparing FI and carb systems is a little like comparing apples and oranges. When I turn the key of a car with FI to the ON position, I often hear a brief buzz. That is an electric fuel pump pressurizing the system. [Note: The fuel system of an FI car is fully pressurized before the starter is engaged.] The car usually starts immediately.

My /6 has a Holley carb on it. The longer I go between drives, the more cranking and pumping I need to do to get it to start. The same is true of the Demon with an AFB, but to a significantly lesser extent. I attribute this to the gasoline and the way it corrupts seals. (There is a seal between the fuel bowl and the throttle body on the Holley, not so on the AFB.)

I have resigned myself to the existence of 10% ethanol in pump gas. IMO, an electric fuel pump compensates for the fuel loss that both carb and FI systems experience. I try to make sure my ignition and fuel systems are performing properly and am thankful for higher amperage batteries than back in the day.
 
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