sullivan_joshua

just ran across this forum, and had to sign up.... i have a 83 c10 longbed 305 and i love it! but thursday, it shut down on me. it acted like it ran out of gas, but had a half tank. sat there a few minutes and after several attempts it started back up... long enough to coast back into my driveway about 3 miles away.as it turns out i'm not getting fuel from my pump to my carb. after checking the line i replaced the fuel pump. still will not start... i am getting fuel to the pump, but its still not getting to the carburetor... any ideas??????

highperf4x4

You didn't say what kind of carb you have.

First thing to do is pull the fuel line "at the carb" and crank the motor to see if it shoots fuel out (try to catch the fuel with something to please the EPA! )

If it shoots the fuel out then the problem is in the carb. Some quadrajets have a corkfilterinside the fuel inlet on the carb. If you unscrew the fitting for the fuel line from the carb you should find it. If this isn't your problem then you may have some trash in the needle/seat (I always recommend a filter between the pump and carb too) Likewise, your float my have developed a hole and need to be replaced. If you pull the carb apart to check this then you might as well replace it all anyway including the accelerator pump and gaskets.

If the fuel line doesn't spit anything out when you crank the motor over then your problem is between the tank and the fuel pump or it could be the camshaft/pump rod.

highperf4x4

Just a thought also, if you recently dumped a bunch of octane booster or fuel system cleaner in the tank it may have opened up a weak spot in the float. I've seen this happen alot in the tank. Someone overloads there fuel with a ton of additives and suddenly their gas gauge quits working!! 99% of the time it's the float on the sending unit developed a hole in a weak spot. It's possible the same thing happened to the float in the carb although it's not as likely.

sullivan_joshua

ok, so here's what i got so far... i have replaced my fuel pump, fuel filter and spark plugs. i'vehave had my carburetor rebuilt and still have problems. i can pour small amounts of gas into the carb. and it runs fine (until that bit of gas is used). i have taken a gas can; ran a hose from it to the fuel pump inlet and the truck runs fine. by doing this, i have eliminated everything in the fuel delivery system except for the main line coming in to the pump from the selector valve (i have 2 tanks), the valve itself, and the 2 tanks. let me also mention, that when i switch between tanks, the problem is not resolved. this would mean that the problem lies with something that is in common with both tanks. i can only gather thus far, that it is the tank selector valve as i have also taken an air compressor and blown through the main line going from the selector valve to the pump. i am stumped!!!!

sullivan_joshua

also, highperf, i have never used any additives in the fuel. tell me more about the camshaft/pump rod possibilities. is there any way i could check this without pulling the engine? i do feel like i would have eliminated that as the problem when i used that external tank, but who knows.............

golfer

I think what he meant by the " camshaft / pump rod " is that mechanism that's on the fuel pump goes inside the block. You said you changed the pump so I doubt that's the problem...thepump is working.
I've haven'thad a problem yet with my 86 C20 dual tanks but I'm thinking the same as you... the selector ( ball ) valve may be plugged.

sullivan_joshua

thats what i thought he meant, about the rod that actuates the arm on the pump... but yes, since it ran well with the external fuel tank,itsobvious the pump is working good. do you think i should remove the valve and visually inspect it to see if it's something thati can fixbefore i go ahead and order another? or should i just go ahead and order it since it is 20+ years old? i've checked around and the best price is $50 and it has to be special ordered. thx