My van is suffering from nasty fuel starvation. Twin DRLA 36s, 2 litre type 4). It did this post resto, and the garage swapped in a facet pump and cleaned the carbs. I suspected over fueling, so put on a CB rotary pump, and got it rolling roaded. All OK until today when on a long up hill (foot to floor) , it just lost power, back fired and eventually cuts out . Pulled over, re primed carbs (the fuel pump is triggered via a relay by the alt sense lead), and off we go. This happened again, and got worse and worse till I got home. I'm thinking its Fuel starvation caused by a ) float levels / needle valves So I'm going to check the float levels on the carbs (and if the needle valves open ok) , or b) pump performance - but it always runs when priming (could the relay be duff? Alt sense trigger not good enough? ) and delivers a steady 3 psi. Could the new fuel pump be ruined as I used a new inline filter, as I read somewhere that in line fuel filters are no good, and should of used use a fuel injection one (any one know of a suitable filter?). or c) not fuel related, and the ignition breaking down either due to extreme dampness today, or the coil is on the way out. Leads / plugs/ dizzy cap are good quality and not to old and I have petronix elec ignition (no points). Any one have any thoughts about the above issue?
The one that got me was a blocked tank outlet. I was hoping it was something easy to mend so tried no end of alternative possibilities before I had to bite the bullet and take the tank out. Where is the filter? It should be between tank and pump - when you break down can you see if it's got fuel in it?
Thanks andyv - nail on the head... First task was to check the obvious - like the filter (replaced less than 500 miles ago - two weeks). I think the cause has been discovered. New filter on. Idle jets checked. Will attempt to drive to work tomorrow. The blockedness of the filter does explain why the van got less and less driveable... So any one got any favouite or recommended fuel filters? Perhaps bigger than he one shown above?
With that much crud over such a short space of time you need to drop the tank and flush it out and have a good look inside dude If someone has cut a fuel sender inspection hatch in your bus at some point then you can drain the tank of fuel Block the outlet and fill with water to the top through the fuel sender hole then unblock the outlet to drain the water Then you can attach some rubber hose to the end of a hoover and suck the crud out of the tank as a temp measure The filling with water is to drive out any petrol vapour as if you suck that through a hoover your going to end up with a fire on your hands Best way is too bite the bullet and drop the engine and pull the tank
Thanks Para, I have got an inspection hatch, that sounds like a cunning plan. Having have the van for 9 years with no issue, I suspect the 10 months of inactivity while being welded and resprayed caused the tank to start shedding crud. I'll monitor the fuel filter and see how I get on, but I suspect you are right, and its engine and tank out time.....
Jeez that's a lot of crud....Had the tank out of ours a couple of weeks back, it was clean as a whistle, how do you get so much crud ?
So was mine when I replaced the fuel gauge sender a few years ago. I think it was a combination of sitting unused and nearly empty for 10 months, and maybe the cap was left off when it was being resprayed ( see the red paint fleck in the the filter)_. I'll run it nearly empty, and have a peep through fuel gauge sender hole.
If your mobile phone has a camera with a flash and it will fit through the sender hole you can use it to look inside the tank Corrosion starts in tanks when there not full of fuel and left for a while as condensation builds up inside them The rule used to be if your storing a vehicle for a long while to keep the tank brimmed to stop this happening However with modern fuel containing bio ethanol it goes off quite quickly and creates a gummy residue
