Scott1953 Posted August 21, 2011 Report Posted August 21, 2011 Hi all, I have a 53 Dodge Coronet D46 four door with the original 230 6cylinder. The problem started one day suddenly after about a 10 mile drive. I stopped at the river to fish for a little while and it wouldn't start. Determined that there was no fuel at the pump inlet. towed it home and rebuilt the fuel pump. re-installed it and once primed it ran fine. Took it for a few jaunts around town and on the freeway over the course of a few days and it started and ran fine. Today I started it up, drove across town and washed it off and drove back home. Shut it down for a minute and went to start it up and it wouldn't run. Again, no fuel in the line at the fuel pump, no fuel shooting into carb throat etc. Took off pump, put a hose into a gas tank and pumped by hand, it shot fuel out like crazy. Put pump back on, pressurized line through tank until fuel came out the line up by pump and then put that line onto the pump. Cranked car with outlet line off pump and no fuel came out the pump. I'm thinking the cam that actuates the pump is worn out. is that likely? also tried running the car with a short fuel line in a gas can to no avail. any ideas? thanks, Scott Quote
desoto1939 Posted August 21, 2011 Report Posted August 21, 2011 Qustion: 1. How old is the fuel pump? If the pump is very old and has not been rebuilt there might be a problem with the diaphram. The older pumps are not able to handle the new gas. 2. Did you rebuild the pump with a NOS fuel pump kit. The old rubber will not work witht he new gas. 3. Was there any sediment in the glass bowel at the bottom of the fuel pump. 4. Do you have an inline gas filter onthe car this could be cloged. These are all just points to check. Rich Hartung Quote
Scott1953 Posted August 21, 2011 Author Report Posted August 21, 2011 Thanks for the replies. To answer some of the questions: The fuel pump was rebuilt within the last couple weeks using a kit from 'Then and Now'. So it has a diaphragm that's compatible with todays fuels. This pump sits right on top of the frame cross member and therefore doesn't have a glass bowl. There is a screen in the bottom underneath a metal cover. I checked that today and it was clean. It was replaced when the rebuild happened a couple weeks ago. I've followed the line all the way and can't find a filter. One thing i noticed is that there is a little bit of 'free play' at the beginning of the pump stroke before it gets harder to push the lever and actually moves the diaphragm. Scott Quote
BeBop138 Posted August 22, 2011 Report Posted August 22, 2011 Wasn`t there an issue with the small rubber hose from the tank line just before the fuel pump pinching off when it got hot. I had a problem with two stock pumps that would do the same as yours---I went electric and re-routed my fuel line and have had no issues since---hope you solve your problem......Lee Quote
Scott1953 Posted August 22, 2011 Author Report Posted August 22, 2011 Shel, I did blow back through the line to the tank. The air bubbled up in the tank but that may have just dislodged some 'crud' that was over the pick up. I've not ruled out the tank being a problem but due to the fact that I can't get it to pick up fuel even out of a gas can, I am not sure that the tank is the problem. I put a fitting in the inlet side of the pump and attached a fresh, new 3 foot piece of fuel line and put the end into a gas can and tried cranking the car and even pouring gas down the carb to get it to light off. It only ran as much the gas I put in the carb. I think I've narrowed it down to the pump's operation on the car (the pump itself is good and pumps when operated by hand) and the possibility that something in the carb is not allowing fuel in after awhile. I will replace that short piece of flexible line to eliminate the sucking shut possiblitiy. Thanks, Scott Quote
greg g Posted August 22, 2011 Report Posted August 22, 2011 (edited) Some of the new needle and seats have been giving problems lately. Assure your is clean and not sticking closed when the float drops. Some one had an issue wherein the little clip that retains the float pivot pin was either not incorrectly or left out. This caused the float to jam in the closed position. Did you do the standard flow test for the fuel pump??? Disconnect the lie at the carb and direct the flow into a suitable container. A 16 or 20 ounce clear beverage container workd well. Pull the coil wire, and have an assistant crank the engine withthe starter, whily you observe and count the fule pulses coming from the pump. You should have 8 + ounces of fuel from 12 strokes of the pump. Also when you confirm flow, you should then see what kind of pressure your pump is developing. You should have at least 5lbs, and no more than 7. Edited August 22, 2011 by greg g Quote
Scott1953 Posted August 22, 2011 Author Report Posted August 22, 2011 Did you do the standard flow test for the fuel pump???Disconnect the lie at the carb and direct the flow into a suitable container. A 16 or 20 ounce clear beverage container workd well. Pull the coil wire, and have an assistant crank the engine withthe starter, whily you observe and count the fule pulses coming from the pump. You should have 8 + ounces of fuel from 12 strokes of the pump. Also when you confirm flow, you should then see what kind of pressure your pump is developing. You should have at least 5lbs, and no more than 7. removed line from the outlet side of pump. cranked car without removing the coil wire and I did not get anything out of the outlet side of the pump. I wonder if I put the lever arm assembly in upside down? right now I've got the lever arm under the cam lobe. What if I flipped it over so that instead of pulling up on the diaphragm rod it pushed down? I don't think that is correct but I'm running out of ideas. How would I check the lobe to see if it's in spec? Pull the cam? Scott Quote
greg g Posted August 22, 2011 Report Posted August 22, 2011 YOu can insert a something like a dowel into the fuel pump hole and have some one turn the engin over while you hold it against the cam to see how much movement you get. When you did the rebuild did you get the check valve balls in correctly?? Does you pump look like this? Quote
Scott1953 Posted August 22, 2011 Author Report Posted August 22, 2011 Greg, No check balls in the rebuild. There is an inlet and outlet valve and I called Then and Now to verify the direction they should be. It is odd because it has run since the rebuild. I ran it out and around town and the freeway a little bit one evening probably did about 15 miles that night. everything was fine. Even tonight I pressurized the tank and got fuel flowing out the fuel line in front of the pump and then hooked up the line to the pump and had everything hooked up and I pressurized the tank again with everything hooked up and put a little sip of gas in the carb and started it and it took off running. It ran for probably 5 to 10 minutes in the driveway. after that time it stuttered several times and I coaxed it through those stutters but I could tell that something wasn't right and then it stuttered again and I couldn't save it. It died and once agian there was no fuel at the pump inlet in the line and none after the pump either. My pump doesn't look like that. I can get the number off it tomorrow if it would help. It is an AC pump but for right now that's all I can tell you. Thanks for the replied everyone. Scott Quote
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