I'm working on a (new to me) super six with a Carter BBD. The guy I bought it from said it was hard starting. I checked it over and noticed there was no fast idle screw. I set that and the next day when I tried to start it, it still took about a minute to start up. I tried to mess with it again today but this time I couldn't start it at all. I noticed there was really no fuel pumping into the carb and hardly any sitting in the fuel filter.

I unhooked the line going to the filter and when I cranked the motor, hardly any fuel came out followed by basically nothing after that. I swapped out fuel pumps with a spare I had and this time even less fuel came out. Isn't a bunch supposed to pump out while turning the motor over?

I'm going to work on it again tomorrow and throw a 3rd pump that I have on it but I have another question. The battery seems like it's getting low because the cranking is getting slower and slower. Plus the starter just seems weaker than other starters I've had on other motors. The motor turns over and sounds a little weird so I'm not sure if its possible the starter/battery or the fact that I've ran into 2 bad fuel pumps in a row. Just throwing it out there to see if anyone has had a situation like this.

Might pull the fuel line at the pump and at the tank and see if you can get something to flow through it...if the vehicle is a 1975+...the fuel line will have an anti-roll over valve about 1/2 way down the line that might need to be checked to see if it stuck or is clogged.

If the line passes, I'd pull the sending unit and see if the pickup tube or the intank filter is clogged...(had that happen when I got my duster...just had to work my way back to the last thing to check...)

If working correctly you should get a nice splash of fuel with each 'pump' of the fuel pump...

-D.Idiot

Hi ESP47, I took a peek in the '78 manual, and according to that a fuel pump should supply 1 quart in 1 minute or less at idle, as far as I know that is the standard for all years.

If you have an opportunity to test fuel pump pressure and suction, this is the recipe from the same manual:

Insert a "T" fitting in fuel line at carburetor. Connect a 6 inch hose (or pipe) between fitting and a gauge. The length of the hose/pipe should not exceed 6 inches. (A drawing shows the gauge 6" above the fuel line near the carb) Start and run engine at idle. The reading should be 3.5 to 5 psi, and remain constant or return very slowly to zero, when engine is stopped. An instant drop to zero indicates a leaky outlet valve.

Vacuum test should be done with the fuel line to the carburetor disconnected. This will allow the carburetor to operate at full capacity, which it must do to prime a dry carburetor. The minimum reading should be at least 10 inches of vacuum at idle, with line to carb disconnected. The vacuum should be present all the time, not alternated by blowback. If there is blowback present, the inlet valve is not seating properly, and a new pump should be installed.

If you replace the fuel pump, loosen the bolts a couple of turns only, and turn the engine over by pulling/pushing on a fan blade while wiggling the pump.
When engine is turned until the pump feels maximum loose, the pump actuating arm is off the cam lobe, and in that position it is easy to fit a new pump, and easy to remove/refit the bolts without putting any strain on them. It si imperative that the actuating arm is riding above the cam lobe, it is possible to install the actuating arm of the pump UNDER the cam lobe by mistake if you are not careful.

You can also have a laugh by reading my story about similar problems this fall.

Olaf.

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Aspenized

Ill bet your hose rubber hose from the tank to the metal fuel line is bad.
Frank

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Scrapple: Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
73 Duster - Race Car
66 Dart Wagon - DD
178" FED
82 D150
All Slant powered

It's possible that you have two faulty fuel pumps, I had 3 bad oil pressure senders in a row. If the third one doesn't work either, you should check out the rest of the fuel line into the tank as D.Idiot suggested. It could be the in-tank filter.

Thanks guys. I'm going to have to wait until the next decent weekend until I can get back on it. Were getting a ton of rain over here and it's not supposed to let up for another week. I'll get out there and make sure the line from the tank to the pump is clear. If that doesn't help I'll try this 3rd pump I have before I start getting into the tank.

DusterIdiot,

I checked under there a bit today and saw what I think might be the anti rollover valve. It's not halfway down the line though, it's right next to the sender on the tank. This is a 78 D100, so the sending unit is sitting up on top of the tank, as well as what I'm assuming might be the anti rollover valve. You can see the thing if you look inbetween the cab and the bed. Is this the valve or something else? Also whats the trick to getting the clamps off the fuel lines? They clamp around the hose and then have some little thing up top that looks like you could stick a small flathead screwdriver in and pry apart. Is this how you loosen them or is there another way? I don't want to break the clamps by forcing it.

It's tough to get up in there and see whats going on. What do you guys think is easier to do. Remove a couple boards from the bed, lift the bed off the chassis a bit or drop the tank?

I installed a '77 tank up under my '68 with a metal bed floor. I have no idea how hard it would be to pull a couple bed boards, but I can drop my tank in ~10 minutes. Hope that helps.

Oh, I have a super slow cranking/hard starting 383 in my '69 D200, but I haven't figured out why either. New fuel pump too.

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With a lot of trucks it's easier to lift the bed off the frame to get to the tank...............

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Took the 4 bolts off that were holding the bed to the frame and jacked up the bed and put it on wooden blocks so I had room to work. Took off the piece that I thought was the anti rollover valve but it just turned out to be some type of pcv valve from the tank to the canister. Either way I cleaned it out and it rattled just fine. Then I blew out all the lines. Nothing but gas and air came out so I don't know if there was a blockage or not. Then I connected everything up, poured some gas in the carb so I didn't kill my battery while cranking. I left the line from the fuel pump to the carb unhooked and after it started for a few seconds with the gas in the carb, I noticed it shot a good amount of fuel out the fuel pump. Connected the line and it fired right up.

There could be a pin hole between pump & tank allowing fuel to drain back to tank when engine is off for a period of time. It could be in metal line, or a poorly tightened fitting on suction side of pump.

If fuel line to tank is empty, engine will fire on what is left in carburetor bowl, stumble until pump can re-prim its self.

Or, none of the above…

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

I really hope that is not the case. I don't want to be tracking down a pin hole on a gas line thats running up on top of the frame. I did replace the 10 inch section of rubber hose where the metal line crosses through the frame and back again right underneath the step on the bed. If there was air getting in, hopefully it was there. Luckily it has a cheap clear plastic fuel filter, so it'll be easy to keep an eye on.

I will say that it was really tough to start before and the choke was working correctly. Yesterday was the first time I fired it up normally since it stopped running over a month ago and it started on the second try this time instead of the fifth or sixth like it was doing before.