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Fuel question..........


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I've been driving my B-1-D for the past month or so. Probably put a couple of hundred miles on it. I was driving it today and it just quit. After checking it over I realized it might have run out of gas (gas guage doesn't work). I put in 13.25 gallons to fill it up. What size tank do I have? Any ideas. But then later on I drove out to my parents and shut it off for an hour or so. Got back in it and drove about 7 miles and it quit again. After sitting for about a half an hour it started back up. Is it possible this is vapor locking? There wasn't any gas showing in the fuel filter but in the glass bowl just before the fuel pump. Not sure why I have fuel in the glass bowl but not showing up in the fuel filter. Anybody else have this kind of problem?

P.S. It was 85 degree's here today.

48WN

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Gas cap doesn't fit very tight. I did remove it but didn't notice any negative pressure. It isn't until the motor cools down that it will start again. Wierd.

As the motor cools, so does the coil. A weak coil will act the way you describe. Works good when it's cool, then when it gets warm/hot it doesn't work. As soon as it cools off, it will act good again. To double check that, run the engine in the driveway until it quits. As soon as it quits, put some ice in a rag and hold it on the coil to cool it off good. If it's a weak coil, the engine should start up again. Also if it does start right up, it's time to buy a new coil.

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Guest jtw3749c

You could also be picking up something in the tank and blocking the fuel suction tube. After it quits, whatever it is would settle back into the tank until the next time. Just another thought.

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I'm going to try putting on a new fuel filter this weekend and see what happens. Maybe drain a little gas out of the tank through the gas line by the fuel pump.

Also Norm when it quits it doesn't just die. It sputters like it is running out of gas or not getting enough gas. Will a coil act that way too?

Thanx for all your suggestions!

48WN

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I'm going to try putting on a new fuel filter this weekend and see what happens. Maybe drain a little gas out of the tank through the gas line by the fuel pump.

Also Norm when it quits it doesn't just die. It sputters like it is running out of gas or not getting enough gas. Will a coil act that way too?

Thanx for all your suggestions!

48WN

Yes, as the weak coil gets hotter it gets weaker until it just gives out. Then when it cools off, it works fine again.

I'm not saying you don't have a possible fuel problem. It could be that too. However, it sounds more like the coil to me. If you do have dirt/rust in the fuel system, some it would probably show up in the fuel pump bowl. Do you see any dirt/rust in there? At any rate running the test on the coil as I described before only takes about 20 minutes or so and no work. And, it would either prove the coil good or bad.

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Guest 51plymouthod

It could certainly either be trash partially stopping up the fuel system OR a weak coil.

My bet's on the coil. They don't cost that much. Sooner or later, even if it's not the coil, that old one's gonna croak on you. I'd go down to any decent auto parts store in your town and get a new one.

I'm old, fat and a little lazy. Before I'd go to checking the tank, lines, carburetor, fuel pump & bowl(s), I'd try the coil. Easier to do...and if that doesn't fix the problem, then you can do whatever's necessary to clean the trash out of your fuel system.:)

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I'm going to try putting on a new fuel filter this weekend and see what happens. Maybe drain a little gas out of the tank through the gas line by the fuel pump.

Also Norm when it quits it doesn't just die. It sputters like it is running out of gas or not getting enough gas. Will a coil act that way too?

Thanx for all your suggestions!

48WN

In the 1970s I had a 57 VW Beetle for my daily driver. I had a problem where it seemed like it was not getting gas. It would sputter, quit, sputter some more and then die. I'd drift to the side of the road, pull the air cleaner and look down the carb while I twiddled the throttle linkage. I'd see gas from the accelerator pump. Then I'd make sure all the ignition wires were in place and I'd pull a spark plug wire, hold it near the engine while I turned the engine over. And I'd have spark. Spark and gas, it ought to run. So I'd try to start it and it would start and run. I don't know how many times I went through this procedure but it was lots of times. . .

It always felt like it was running out of gas, so I'd check that first.

Finally, I was cleaning up my hands after one such evolution when I noticed wax on my hands. Wax? Where the f was that from? I looked around and finally noticed a hair line crack on the tower of the coil with a some wax seeping out. Got a new coil and the problem went away.

Apparently it took me long enough to check the fuel system that the coil had time to cool off enough to work by the time I got around to checking the ignition.

Sorry for the long post, but yes, a bad coil can seem like a fuel starvation problem.

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Well I bought a new coil and fuel filter this morning. I will start with the coil and see what happens. It can't hurt to have a new one on it anyways. I never thought a coil would let the engine "spit and sputter". The only previous time I had a coil problem the engine just flat out stopped. My reasoning that it was a fuel problem was because there isn't any fuel showing in the fuel filter when the engine died (all 3 times). And the fuel bowl and filter don't show any dirt particals.

Anyways thanx to all for your input. Definetly a big help. I will keep you posted as to what happens next. Hope you all have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

48WN

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One more possibility. What is the condition of the rubber flex line from the frame to the fuel pump? Thes can cause problems like you are experiencing. They will look fine but inside thay can be deteriorated to the point where they will colaps of block under suction. Also there is a fine mesh screen inside the inlet chamber of the fuel pump. This can get clogges by debris from the tank and lines. I had a situation a couple of years ago, the bolt that holds the cover to the fuel pump inlet chamber is a hollow bolt through which the fuel flows. there was a piece of debris lodged in sid the hollow portion that was acting like a flapper valve. Under idle conditions and low speed it was fine to drive, but as speed and fuel flow increased, the piece would change positions stopping the flow.

So after you replace the coil if the problem persists, I might check these items. A while the line is disconnected from the fuel pump, you might want to put some low pressure compressed air back throug the line to the tank. this will clear any sediment that may have gathered near the pick up inthe tank and clear the in tank filter.

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  • 1 month later...

Well it did it again today! I drove the old gal to my family reunion 45 miles away from home. It ran perfect all the way there. When I left I stopped and put some gas in it and then headed home. I made it about 8 miles and it started spit'n and sputter'n then died. Sat for about a half an hour and started it back up. Went about another 6 miles and it quit again. It stopped 4 times in a 30 mile distance! Every time is stopped I would watch the gas boil in the fuel filter. Once it quit bubbling it would start back up again. So the last time it quit we were standing along side the truck and my fiance asked me if I wanted a sandwich (it's been 3 hours since we left the reunion). I took one look at the sandwich wrapped in tin foil and my McGyver instinct kicked in! I wrapped the tin foil around the fuel pump and over to the gas line, started it up and drove it the rest of the way home without any problems! Geez. So does anybody have a pic of what the heat shield looks like? Or have one they want to sell? I think the one I have now (see pic) looks a little tacky!!!

post-315-135853459235_thumb.jpg

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I believe thare is a pattern for the heat shield in the downloads section of the main page of this site. Also leater models 53-59 had a flat metal plate about 3 inches wide that extended toward the front of the car. This flat sheet metal plate extended forward toward the radiater and bolted under the carburetor. This apparently helped keep the fuel in the float bowl cool.

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Don,

This is the perfect photo for a question raised last weekend, while tightning the steering box. Whats that pentangonal (pentistar) do-dad rear of the fuel pump just above the sump? What is it for, I've never seen one on anyother moter.

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