Hey everybody here's my dillema, I was driving my econoline the other day down the freeway and it just died out. Almost like it ran out of gas. We got it pulled over and it would crank but no fire. Now that it's been sitting in my shop and I have had a chance to inspect things, here's what i found. We replaced the fuel filter right out of the gate. No fix. I checked spark and we have spark. We're getting fuel pumping all the way up to the carbs. If I spray starter fluid into the carb it will fire off. Also just for kicks I checked the compression, 120 pounds. What do you guys think?
I think you just answered your own question! You're getting fuel to the carb, and it will fire if you "artificially" inject starting fluid. Gotta be the carb. Needle valve stuck shut?
Also I pulled a carb off my other motor, which I have no idea whether works or not. But either way, it didn't work when I put it on. Also, the motor is a straight 6 170ci.
^^^ why don't more people just go straight to the dryer sheets instead of wasting their time with all this other crap.
I like questions like this, all the troubleshooting is done!! Take the top off that carb and see how much sh*t is accumulated inside. I'd bet alot. There is one other possibility though......bad gas. If the accelerator pump will shoot "gas" then 2 or 3 pumps and it ought to fire briefly on it's own. So if you see a pump stream but it won't fire, it might be the fuel. PS- is this a carb with an inlet filter inside the carb and another filter in the fuel line??? I've helped a lot of guys with clogged inlet filters that assumed the inlet filter wasn't clogged because they believed the larger can filter catches 100% of the debris. Not true. good luck
I would say a rebuild on the carb or just go get a cheap motorcraft replacement at the auto parts store and throw it on... just to see if that was it. If not, you got a spare carb.
sounds like dirt in carb. my ex was always running her pinto dry of fuel so taking off the carb lid and spraying it out usually fixed the issue.
Also I'd check that the distributor hasn't slipped, maybe try advancing it just a little and try again.
Wrap the distributor base with a dryer sheet before inserting onto the block and it won't turn too easily
If it's the Holley 1 bbl, the brass fitting going into the carb has a VERY small orifice and plugs easily. Remove the tube going into the fitting and shine a light in and take a look.
I had an early chevy van that did this...I messed with it and nothing worked. Finally I hooked an air nozzle to the fuel line and back blew out the fuel line. Then flushed and sealed fuel tank! 2 cents
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