89 wont start, new filter

[Joshawa91]

i put a new filter in my 89 carby today after she died. still wont start. if i pour a little fuel down the carb she'll fire but only for a second. took line off fuel pump going into carb and nothing, line has suction from filter. has gas (1/2 tank) im at a loss as to what could be causing this. any ideas?

[Joshawa91]

oh, and i changed fuel line to filter with about 6-7".

[drddan]

Pull the fuel line off carb, have someone crank engine and see if fuel comes out the fuel line. No fuel pump bad. Use a can to catch the gas so it dont blow gas over everything

[Joshawa91]

did that, nothing, looked in sight glass, empty. took line from filter to pump off and cranked and had suction, not alot but my understanding is it is only 3 psi.

[Festy46]

Get a small cup of gas and connect a short piece of hose to the suction side of the pump. Stick the other end of the hose in the cup of gas and run the starter. If the pump won't fill the carb from the cup of gas, you very likely have a bad pump.

If it does fill the carb, then your pump is probably ok and the engine probably started. With the carb full of gas, re-connect all your hoses to pump gas out of the car's tank and start the car. There should be enough gas in the carb to keep the engine running long enough to suck gas out of the tank and fill the fuel filter. If you run the carb empty and the engine shuts off, then you probably have a fuel line or tank filter problem. Take the fuel line off where it goes into the filter and take the gas cap off of the tank. Have someone listen back at the tank and blow some low compressed air (20 lb.) back through the gas line to the tank. Listen for a bubbling sound and also for any hissing sound of air leaking out of the fuel line. If you have a leaking gas line, the pump will suck air through the leak hole and you won't get any gas to the carb.

[Joshawa91]

all righty, was thinking of that to. no air compressor so cant do that yet. can i get to strainer from under seat or do i need to drop tank. hoping she stays running.

[Joshawa91]

did that ran for a bit then died. roomy hooked up to steel line and blew into tank and heard bubbles then sucked it up and hooked to carb and it runs. idles a little weird but needs carbed cleaned.

[Joshawa91]

took it for a drive after installing filter in a much easier location. goes and has no problems on hill if i downshift if needed. lags for a second until jets take over if i floor it thinking accelerator pump. and slower accel if floored. thinking a mix of clogged jets and pump. rebuild this weekend.

[Festy46]

You can get to the fuel strainer under the seat without dropping the tank. If you are going to remove the tank cover, make sure to use a sharp phillips screwdriver. It's easy to round out the little screws that hold the cover on if you use a worn screwdriver. What I do is take a screwdriver bit and tap it into each screw with a small hammer before I attempt to loosen the screws.

Check the float level in the sight gauge. It's possible your float level may be too low and maybe your secondary throttle side is not opening so that you have only a one barrel carb instead of two.

[WmWatt]

^^^^ spray WD-40 or some penetrating oil on these tank cover screw heads. For loosening Phillips head screws I like to use the driver which comes with a socket set. Or a grab with a large pair of pliers to prevent rounding out the screw heads. Good luck.

[Joshawa91]

i think im gonna replace tank here soon. was told it has a leak at top somewhere and i can only fill 3/4 she said.