HELP!!! I have a 1982 Ford F150 XLT in mint condition. She has a 302 2barrel in her for heart. The problem is for the last couple of months I can't even get her out of the driveway. I am a decent mechanic as I grew up with my father owning his own shop and we also had a farm. When you have those two combinations you learn alot about such things. This problem however has me boggled.

I keep losing the gas to the carb. I have dropped both tanks and throughly cleaned them out. I have used a compressor to blow out all the metal lines and replaced then rubber lines, all fuel filters, replaced the mechanical fuel pump. I have even regaged the needle, seat, and the float settings. But I keep losing the fuel before the carb. Any ideas what I might be overlooking? It seems as long as I let her idel she will idel just fine. However with in a few feet of leaving the driveway she looses her fuel and dies as well as not restarting. If I let her sit overnight and try her again the next day, again she idels like a charm till I try driving her.

Any ideas or suggestions anyone can send my way would be greatly appreciated. I am bald to begin with but this is causing me to pull out what hair i have left. I have worked on many vehicles in my time but never one as stubborn as this one is being.

Thanks,
Steven

 

does it happen in both tanks? If not, maybe the pickup tube? Otherwise, try changing the fuel pump. Do you have too much oil?

 

yes both tanks and i have replaced the fuel pump, just last weekend. I also soaked both pickup tubes in B12 over night before putting the tanks back up. Thanks for the reply. Any more thoughts?

 

Too much oil? I don't think so but what would that have to do with the gas not getting to the carb? Sorry forgot to ask that in my first reply back to you. This is something I have not considered with this issue though so if you can explain to me why this would affect it. Either way, I will make sure in the morning but I very much doubt I am overfull on my oil. At this point however, I will entertain and try anything.

 

Have you tried to draw gas from a gas can right into the fuel pump?

 

tank valve stuck between tanks. had this happen once in 20 years, but it can happen. bypass the valve and see what happens. the can before the pump is a good idea, will tell you if it is a bad pump orsome thing between the pump and tank.

 

almost forgot, had a fuel pump ecentric come loose on the cam once. that was a pita!

jim

 

Tell me why you believe it to be a fuel problem.
From what I read, could be engine electrical or a carb that needs help.

 

It sounds like he took the fuel line off the carb and cranked and nothing came out. If the diaphragm inside them fails, it can pump all the gas into the crankcase. So, check your oil so as not to damage your engine. You'll see it too high and/or be able to smell gas in there. The bottom bolt could even be a little loose, not allowing it to pump... It may have come off the eccentric, as mentioned. I don't know where you are, but it could even be a frozen line. this happened to me this year.

As far as the diagnosing goes, pumping off the can either focuses you on the front half or back half of the system. If it's the front, I mentioned some stuff, as have others. For the back, if you take an air compressor with low pressure, you should be able to blow through the line and hear it bubbling in the tank. If not, check for a kinked line or the selector valve. an air leak anywhere in the line will do this also. Any small pinhole will get you. Let us know.

 

I have already bypassed the valve and tried running just one tank and that has not taken care of it either.

I have already used the compressor to blow through all the metal lines. I have also determined it is a fuel problem because I have taken the line off at the carb when it does this and there is no pressure.

All of these are good ideas except I have tried all of these already. All except the one that they guys says the eccentric may have come off. When I replaced the pump trying to solve this issue, I could not find a way to even see this item. I know it is up in there a ways since the shaft for the pump is about 5 inches long. Any thoughts on how to verify this would be helpful.

Last but not least, about the frozen line issue, I do live in Texas so we don't get much of that problem here. Thanks though.

 

Two possibilities come to mind. First may be that when putting the pump on the arm went under the eccentric, this has happened to me in the past. Second thing is it kinda reminds me of the old vapor lock days. Could be that when you had it all apart an air bubble got into the system. You might try putting a hand pump on the fuel line after the pump and pull a good flow of fuel through it then hook the line back up. I know it may be reaching but I have seen it happen, a bubble will let small amount of fuel through to idle but then catches in the pump when you try and drive. After sitting awhile the bublle will migrate back down the line to a low spot.

 

The reason I said to hook a hose to the inlet of the fuel pump and the other end of the hose into a gas can,would if the truck starts,and revs up from idle,then it would give you an idea that it was in the delivery system,if it starts but then only idles as it does now,then you have narrowed your problem down to the pump or eccentric.

 

Does your truck have a "T" type device in the line before the carb? The fuel line will come out of the pump and may go to this "T". The fuel line would look like it runs through and a line will come out of the "T" and go back to the tank!

If it has this, I would bypass it to rule it out. Ford used this on 460's to prevent vapor locking and it can cause this problem if it fails! It being a 302 it should not have one installed but who knows!

 

Thanks to everyone that submitted ideas for me. Someone said that there might be a pin whole in the metal lines and this got me thinking. What I did today was to replace all the lines with brand new from tank pickup tube right up to the carborater. It now appears the problem is fixed. Of course I will still need to do more driving it till I build my trust in her back up. But I did find a some badly rusted area on the metal lines when I replaced them. So I think that was the issue of her sucking air.

Once again thank you to everyone that submitted ideas. I really do appreciate it and if I have any more issues with this problem I will post another thread.