Fuel smell, car wont stay running, rough idle, sputtering

[Jeffs89festiva]

89 carbuereted. New plugs and plug wires, so this is not a issue. The car stumbles, now it won't start, when it finally starts after awhile it idles rough, if I don't give it fuel it dies, high odor of fuel smell, kind of acts like it's flooded. I let it sit for hours and retried again and got the same result it started after forcing fuel to it but it dies if you dont give fuel to it. Going through the possible scenarios, fuel filter, fuel pump, distributor/cap and rotor, carbuertor, oxygen sensor. Any help would be great

[TominMO]

Cam timing, ignition timing, clogged cat, check those too.

[Advancedynamix]

A bad mechanical fuel pump will often cause a fuel odor on a carbureted vehicle. Also, check your fuel lines for damage. If the return line is clogged it will flood the carburetor and cause the problems your having as well. Also, a gummed up or worn out carburetor will act like this if the float valve isn't working properly.

[Jeffs89festiva]

That's what I'm thinking. I'm almost 100% positive that it's a fuel related issue.

[Greywolf]

I GUARANTEE you that it's fuel related. Nothing else acts like that...

To begin, I would change the fuel filter just because!

The next step is to read the fuel pressure with a gauge, and if it's good consider rebuilding the carb with a kit that includes a float bowl needle and seat.

There can also be a problem with the float becoming unsealed and 'sinking', so if you can find a float for a reasonable price it might pay off to swap it out now rather than later.

Eliminate the possible causes right off the bat, and you will have a reliable fuel system into the future.


I also don't know how true it is of the Festiva 1.3L and other engines, but often a failed mechanical pump will allow gas to flow into the crank case - so that is another thing to get right on top of!!! If your oil smells and feels like it has gas in it, the pump needs to be replaced and the oil completely drained out to prevent serious damage.


* Fourth of July is exciting enough without having a fuel/air explosion light off in your engine block. Even if THAT doesn't happen, the gas will strip the bearing material out of every bearing in that engine because it is an excellent solvent...

Therefore if your oil level is a helluvva lot higher than it should be and smells like pump gas, you have a bad pump my friend

[Jeffs89festiva]

Finally got around to fixing this, it was the fuel pump, I replaced the fuel filter as well. Took about 30 minutes total

[Jeffs89festiva]

Well it fixed it for a week, car just died in middle of road this time. Still a strong fuel smell. Think it might be carburetor problems, I've always had a problem with it. When I start the car it revs really high then I tap fuel to get it back dpwn, then a lot of times it will jump back up, sounds like carburetor problems to me

[FestYboy]

That's the choke step screw. High idle should be no more than 1800 cold with the choke set. If you don't have a tach and vacuum gauge, get them. Also check for vacuum leaks at the carb base.