So my 1970 ford rhd postal truck, which doesn't have a working fuel gauge, ran out of gas. I filled up a gas can, added it to the tank and the truck started up no problem. Then I went to the gas station to fill up the tank and it only let me add one gallon!!?? I know sometimes the pumps are gimmicky with these older vehicle but I tried changing the angle of the pump and it still wouldn't work. By the way the smal amount of gas that I was able to coax out of the pump overflowed and ran down the side of the truck, leading me to believe that it IS full. Any ideas guys??

 

plugged pickup tube in tank , or filter

 

Thanks! Can I check this myself? Any how to advice?

 

How do you know it ran out of gas? Maybe the fuel pump or fuel filter gave you some trouble.


I once forgot to change a fuel filter for a long long time, eventually the truck acted like it was running out of gas, and there wasn't any gas in the carburetor. I went and got some gas and the truck started back up, but died a while later...then I found the plugged filter.

 

Open the gas cap and look in with a flashlight and see if you can see to the bottom of tank. Make sure nothing was jammed down the filler neck and now blocking fuel from getting into it. A working gas gauge would be nice. Sounds like you have a clog in the line somewhere preventing fuel to the engine. A plugged fuel filter or pickup tube are the likely causes.

 

i'd bet a deflated football that there's crud /rust in tank .

pull the fuel line under tank (clamp shut first ) then try draining into bucket , if it's slow blow some air into the line , this should back flush line stream should get faster . if so then pull tank and clean the tank out or replace it depending on how bad the rust /crud is

 

I guess I don't know that it ran out of gas, but it stalled and then wouldn't stsrt. When I added a gallon from a gas can it then worked fine. The fuel filter looks brand new and the carb was rebuilt a few months back. Is there another fuel filter besides the one going into the carb?

 

what motor is in this thing? does the fuel pump have a filter? some people put inline filters on and forget that the pump has one.

Just a possible option

 

Is this the line going from where I pump the gas and then to the tank?

What tool should I use to clamp it shut?
Sorry I'm new to all this

 

It's a 1970 ford postal truck. Engine is straight six. I don't know any more specifics than this. Vin number is only six characters long and doesn't privde any more info. There's a filter connected to the carb but not sure if there's one by the fuel pump. Sorry I'm a car novice. How can I tell?

 

it will have a canister on it that looks like this

 

Take pictures of your engine compartment. Take pictures of your fuel pump. Take pictures of your gas tank.
Post your pictures and we can help you better.

 

Thanks for the replies. Will take photos when it's light out again. Quick question though. I took the truck back to the gas station and filled it up more by filling my gas can and then putting this in the tank, and I did this for four gallons, which is much more than I could add with the pump since it kept stopping.

Secondly, the car is idling rough, it has a definite loss of power, is stalling, and just not running well at all.
Could this poor performance from the be connected to this issue with not being able to pump gas into it?

 

the line is the one that goes from bottom of tank to the fuel pump , you can crimp it shut with vise grips (or they sell a special tool ) be prepared to replace that rubber line as no one ever changes it and its hard as a rock .

 

Subscribed... I want to know how this turns out.