vt65

out for a run 2 weeks ago, outside temp was 85 deg F and sunny/hot, drove 35 miles and out of the blue the engine looses power and feels like it's running out of fuel, I feathered the gas and she came back to life and drove another 10 miles or so no problem. Stopped for lunch, started back up fine and drove about 20 miles and it started again, this time she stalled. 1 of the guys in our group said to try pouring water on the fuel pump, fuel lines didn't feel overly hot but after 5 mins she started back up again and ran fine for another 25 miles or so then she started losing power again, this time was able to feather the gas pedal and she came back to life and we made it home. The next day I took it out and beat on it and had no problems, drove it about 20 miles. Then last Monday, anther hot humid day and we took it for a cruise over to the next town, coming home we were coming up a long hill and I pushed the pedal down enough to load the engine and she started starving for fuel again but feathered it back to life and made it home fine, had the car for 3 years and this has never happened before,,,,any ideas? The hottest temp I could find on the fuel system was 185 deg F on the outlet of the fuel pump....

62Jeff

How hot were the fuel bowls?

Kerrmudgeon

Sounds to me like a clogged pickup/fuel line or a pump on it's way out. Check the out put pressure at the carb. Have you used any fuel system cleaner in it ever? Could be the crappy gas nowadays clogging up the carb, pickup, or pump.

vt65

hmmm...didn't touch them, my breather hangs down over the carb, next time i'll remove the breather and take a reading, I see where you are going with that...

MikeM

Loosen the gas cap and try again.

Check the filter in the tank, inline between pump and carb and in the carb inlets.

vt65

no I haven't, maybe a pressure gauge on the fuel line wouldn't hurt...Holley was new about 4000 miles ago

Bluestripe67

What type of gas are you running? Anything with ethonal? I think your gas is boiling, vapor lock.. Dennis

vt65

Mike I checked the filters in the carb and they are clean, don't run an inline filter, now how to check the in tank filter?

vt65

running 93 Octane and yes I believe we are getting 30% ethanol now...wonder if octane booster would help ??

vt65

good idea, i'll try that...

vt65

thanks for the tips guys, a few good ideas to try...I have ordered some gas line insulation from summits just in case but my fuel line routing isn't really that close to the headers

tuxnharley

Had symptoms like that one time on a GM sbc in an '87 Firebird. Turned out the pivot rod for the pump lever arm had worn an oblong shape in its mounting holes in the pump body. The pump still functioned, pressure was good, but volume was intermittently reduced when the rod shifted around.Drove me crazy trying to figure it out, tried everything else - filter, carb cleaning, tank pick up sock, etc. Finally gave up and pulled the pump out of desperation, and saw the problem!

Kerrmudgeon

You should run Shell premium. It's ethanol free in Canada. It's the only gas I use in my old cars

vt65

thanks tux...another 1 for the list!

vt65

no shell around here Mudge, how crazy is that? We are Esso dominated in this area due to the refinery at Nanticoke I guess

Mike Ward

No gas in Canada has more that 10% ethanol, excepting E85 which is in specially marked pumps so it's not accidentally pumped into non-flex fuel cars.

Octane booster will have no effect on vapour lock, if that's what the issue is.

If all the ideas so far don't make any difference, might want to look into a weak ignition coil or bad points/condenser.

vt65

BTW this is a listing of stations in the US and Can. that have Ethanol free gasoline if you already haven't got it: http://pure-gas.org/ According to the list there are only 60 ethanol free stations in Ontario

MikeM

One way to check it is to stick your hand down in the tank and feel of it. Another way is to unhook the line going to the pump and let the gas siphon out of the rubber hose, if it comes out in a steady stream, your tank sock is okay.

vt65

thanks Mike, I'm running a MSD system but i do recall reading lately about some coils getting hot and acting up

vt65

thanks Mike, 1 person reco'd blowing back to the tank from the inlet line to the pump, is this wise? Of course I would remove the gas cap first