How many things can make a fuel filter be empty?

[Tom]

88 carborated.

It's not the fuel filter.
It's not the fuel pump.
It's not the fuel screen in the gas tank.
It's not a leak in the fuel line.

It does the same thing with the gas cap loosened or off.

The car will just barely run and idle but it won't run good enough to drive. It dies and won't rev. If I take the fuel line off at the carborater it shoots gas.

I'm thinking about taking the fuel screen off in the fuel tank. The fuel line is tapered at an angle there so that shouldn't be it but I'm running out of things to do.

We should be able to solve this.

[hattie]

I have never taken a festiva carb apart, but It sounds like to me, a float valve, or float, not allowing the carb to be filled up

[Tom]

How would this cause the fuel filter to show empty or almost empty?

[Festy46]

How would this cause the fuel filter to show empty or almost empty?

You probably have the filter installed in a position that is not absolutely vertical in reference to the "in" and "out" fittings. The filter will only fill enough to have gas cover both openings. The "empty" part is an air lock that doesn't hurt anything. I could show you the filter on my car that is installed at about a 45 dgree angle and it is never more than 1/2 full and the car runs perfect.

Moparman is probably right about the float. Look at the left side (as you face the carb) and see if you can see any gas showing in the little sight glass. You should see gas about half way up in the glass if you wiggle the car to get the gas to move. If you don't see any gas, then you have a float valve problem. If you do see gas, locate the secondary barrel shaft on the carb. Start the car and open the primary side by pushing the accelerator enough to allow you to move the secondary side linkage. Move the secondary linkage to make the secondary barrel open. If the car will rev up doing this, then the primary side jet is probably gummed up or plugged with dirt somewhere internally. Either way - no gas in the sight glass, or it will rev up with the secondary means you'll need to take the carb apart.

[WmWatt]

Ah, there is a little arrow on the filtre to show which way to install it.