Keith Jones

My 67 olds 442 won't start after sitting for awhile. The car still has a mechanical pump with a Edelbrock carb. I can pour gas into the carb to get it running but the engine stops after the gas runs out. I still have to keep priming like this untill it runs on its own.
I'm thinking the pump is bleeding down but I don't want to replace the pump untill i'm sure.
Any suggestions ?
Thanks

rustyroger

Possibly you have a split fuel line that is allowing air to be sucked into the line upstream of the pump, only a tiny one, otherwise you would never get gas to the pump.
But prime suspect is a bad valve in the pump.

Roger.

Sugar Bear

Check for split hose as mentioned, it is quite possible.

A shutoff valve designed for use with gasoline temporarily installed between the fuel pump and the carb would help isolate/diagnose. Run the car, shutoff the car then immediately shutoff the valve. After the car sits for a while see if it starts. Starts = leak down between carb and tank. No start = Leakdown in carb.

Confirm the valve being used does not leak and position it away from excessive heat.

Good luck!!!

jmcghee

The fuel line can be bad even if it is not split. Fuel vapors and or air can pass thru old line. Especially if the line is not ethanol resistant. Rubber lines to clarify.

joe_padavano

I'll echo the possibility of deteriorated rubber hoses. Be sure to check both the hose from the fuel pump to the frame hard line, and the hose from the tank sending unit to the hard line. I've found it's usually that latter one that is the problem.

Koda

Also bear in mind that the fuel bowl in a quadrajet is quite vented, and the ethanol laced gasoline of today can and will evaporate. The way to properly start a car that will not start well after sitting for weeks is to fill the fuel bowl via the vent. It's easier to toss gas down the bore, but the fuel bowl method will keep the car running.

Please do a couple of start tests. Go drive the car in the morning. Then go start it about noon ( a couple hours later). It should start with 25% depression of the accelerator and held there. And it should start "click....WHOOOOOOOM!" as in immediately. Go drive it.

The next AM, depress the gas once fully to set the choke, then hold pedal at like 25% again. It should start "crank, crank WHOOOOOM!" as in almost immediately.

Check again a few days later, then like a week later. If it starts hard a week out, then you possibly have fuel evaporation to blame, but if it starts hard the next AM, that's another problem.

I have a quadrajet in good shape that, when not driving the car, it takes 7 seconds to start it to fill the bowl.

D. Yaros

My 62 D88 routinely requires filling the fuel bowl via the vent tube in order to start easily after a long sitting. It would/does start easily if fired up daily.