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1975 Delta 88 will not crank. It will turn but not completely over. When I spray carb cleaner in the carb or gas in the carb it tries to crank but won't. The vehicle also appears to not have a fuel filter. Any suggestions?
Make sure the battery is fully charged and the end terminals don't have any corrosion. The starter pulls a lot of current from the battery when it's engaged, and any bit of resistance in the cables can make it turn slowly.
I may not be understanding what you are trying to say, though.
Crank = starter spin = engine turn over
I may not be understanding what you are trying to say, though. Crank = starter spin = engine turn over
Good point. Terminology gets tossed around loosely in this kind of situation.
I do not understand how an engine can "turn" but "not completely over." It only turns a little bit? How could that be known?
When an engine "cranks" but does not start, that means that, as Fun71 says, the engine IS turning over, but it's not catching and starting.
So saying an engine "cranks" is the exact same thing as saying the engine "turns over."
So if you turn the key and NOTHING happens (maybe just a "click", but nothing else), that's one thing.
If you turn the key and the engine cranks (turns over, goes "ra ra ra ra ra ra") but doesn't start, that's something different.
If you turn the key and the engine cranks and then starts, that's yet something else, and what you want.
Reading between the lines of your post, it sounds like the engine is cranking but not starting. As many people will tell you, you need three things for an engine to run: spark, fuel, and compression. Can you smell gas after trying to start it? If so, there is apparently gas getting into the carburetor.
How can the car "appear" to have no fuel filter? It either does or it doesn't. It goes in the steel fuel line just in front of the carburetor. You need a flare wrench to remove the fitting at the front of the carb if you don't want to risk rounding the nut. Remove the fitting and the line, and then remove the larger fitting where the line was just attached. The fuel filter is inside that fitting. If there isn't one there, put one in. They're $2.50 at the auto parts store. It looks like this:
It goes inside the fitting pointed at by the red arrow in this image.
Do you know that there is spark? Remove one of the plug wires, stick a screwdriver into the plug boot and hold the shaft of the screwdriver up against something metal (but far from the carburetor) under the hood and have someone turn the key. You should see a spark jumping across the gap from the screwdriver to the metal frame if the electrical is good.
Excuse my loose terminology but the engine cranks and does not start. I did some research online and read that it could be the dist or spark plugs but haven't checked. The battery did have a full charge on it a couple of days ago and I just sat it back in the car without hooking it up but im putting a slow charge on it tonight to make sure the charge is full when I crank it again. Below, is a picture of the carb and the battery and there is no corrosion on the terminals. I said it appeared to not have a fuel filter because I am used to seeing an external fuel filter in a glass or plastic housing in front of the carb and this vehicle doesn't have that.
You did not say that the car has an aftermarket carburetor. It helps to have full information. Unless informed otherwise, the assumption is the car is stock.
Yes, it's possible this car doesn't have a fuel filter unless one was installed somewhere where you can't see it. If you're concerned about fuel flow, you need to look into the carb with someone pumping the pedal to see if any fuel is squirted out of the jets. If there is fuel there, then whether or not a fuel filter is in the line is not relevant to the problem of the car not starting.
The battery connections look fine, but you should also check the other ends of the cables to see how clean and tight they are. But if the car is cranking with a good battery, then the battery connections are not likely the cause, either.
I agree with your research. Assuming fuel and compression are OK (you should make sure the plugs are tight in their cylinders), you need to check that the plugs are getting current.
jaunty75 my apologies and that's why I decided to put a picture up to illustrate what I was seeing. I will check to see if gas is squirting into the jets and try and re-seat each spark plug. Also, what do you mean by checking the other ends of the cables to see how tight they are?
The battery cables have to be connected to something at their other ends. On my '78 Toronado, the negative is attached to a big bolt on the lower right side of the engine towards the front just below the valve cover, and the positive is attached to a terminal on the starter.
Follow each of them to their other ends and make sure the connection in each case is tight and clean. But this is probably not your problem if the engine cranks ok. A bad connection would likely mean that the engine would not crank.
While we're at it, how about a little more background? Is this a recent problem? Did this car run just fine yesterday but today it won't start? Or are you trying to start it after a long sit? Or maybe after some signficant work has been done to it? It's got the aftermarket carb. Is this the first time trying start it with that carb? If it's been a long sit, could animals have gotten to it? Spark plug wires or other electricals possibly chewed on?
With the engine off, look down into the carb while operating the throttle and see if there are 2 solid streams of fuel spraying. Make sure you have power at your HEI batt terminal in both the on and start ignition key positions. If you have a tach connected to the HEI unplug it and try again.
Look at your fuel line at the tank and fuel pump to see if there is an inline filter there. If not install one.
You might wan't to pour a few ounces of fuel into the carb bowel and see if the engine catches (starts). this at least would let you know if it was fuel related or electrical... Just trying to eliminate problems the quickest and easiest ways with out throwing parts and money at it... Tedd
Thank you all for your suggestions. So, I ended up putting on a new fuel pump and my problem was not solved. There is no fuel getting to the carb at all (I even put on a fuel filter between the fuel pump and the carb). I then found out that I had a hole in the gas tank so I need to get that repaired. I was told that could possibly be the issue of why the fuel is not reaching the fuel pump because there is no pressure in the gas tank because of the hole.
The gas tank is vented to atmosphere anyway. There should never be "pressure" in the tank. Check the pickup tube in the tank - the filter sock on the end may be blocked with rust and crud (highly likely if there is a rust hole in the tank). Check the rubber hoses from the tank to the metal lines on the frame - the rubber can crack and leak. Since this is the suction side of the pump, these cracks will cause the pump to suck air instead of fuel. Similarly check the rubber hoses from the frame rail to the pump itself.
I will try checking all of those things out thanks. It appears the previous owner tried to patch the tank with some type of rubber material that fell off. Because when I tried pouring gas into the tank it starting pouring out like a faucet through the hole in it. I was told I could patch it with a kit but that it wouldn't hold up very well.
I will try checking all of those things out thanks. It appears the previous owner tried to patch the tank with some type of rubber material that fell off. Because when I tried pouring gas into the tank it starting pouring out like a faucet through the hole in it. I was told I could patch it with a kit but that it wouldn't hold up very well.
If there is a hole in the tank, the internal rust is MUCH worse than you can see from the outside. There is a high probability that this rust is clogging the pickup screen in the tank. You may want to find a better replacement.
By the way, try priming the carb directly by pouring a small amount of gas directly in the bowl vent tube. If the car starts and runs for a short period of time, the engine is good and the problem is definitely just fuel delivery.
If priming the carb works, then try running a hose from the fuel pump directly into a gas can. This will then eliminate the pump as a problem source.
If your tank is rotted, you should definitely replace it and I would suggest replacing the sending unit while you're at it so you don't have to worry about anything with the tank again. New tanks are available for your car or you can probably find good used ones too. Bigdooly on here has been parting out a number of cars like yours. If you want a used one, maybe he has one for you.
I'm going to order one today. They are pretty pricey though I thought about trying to find one from a salvage yard but was thinking it would be better to get it new. The cheapest I found a gas tank was on partsgeek.com for $147. Also, the guy I purchased the car from told me the engine size was a 454 but it looks more like a 350 to me. How would I be able to tell what engine size it really is? Also, when I ran the VIN it came back saying that the original motor with the vehicle was a 350.
I'm going to order one today. They are pretty pricey though I thought about trying to find one from a salvage yard but was thinking it would be better to get it new. The cheapest I found a gas tank was on partsgeek.com for $147. Also, the guy I purchased the car from told me the engine size was a 454 but it looks more like a 350 to me. How would I be able to tell what engine size it really is? Also, when I ran the VIN it came back saying that the original motor with the vehicle was a 350.
If I remember right a "K" in the VIN means it came with a 350 and a "T" definitely means it came with a 455. As for what's in the car, on the LH head, there will be a number or letter cast into the head near the # 1 spark plug. If it's a #, it's a 350, if it's a letter (J, C, etc.), it's a 455.
The best (and only) way to tell what engine is in the car today is to look at the BLOCK casting number. By the way, the intake manifold in your carb photo above APPEARS to be an Edelbrock Performer RPM, which would mean the engine is a 350.
May 16th, 2017, 11:41 AM
