Fuel delivery (system) problem. (1 Viewer)

[adamsfly]

First thing first. This is a 1985 FJ60 carbureted and mechanical fuel pump.
So here’s the situation. First a little back history. Truck was stolen in 2017 and recovered in 2018. After getting the car back I spent the last 4-5 years putting it back together. Mostly body and interior repair as mechanically it seemed fine. During this time I would start the car and run it around the block every few months to keep things “lubed.” At the time the fuel gauge did not work and on one occasion the car died as if it ran out of fuel. I added gas and it started right up and drove it home. On to the present. So it’s 95% back together and decided to take it out for a real spin. got about 10 miles from the house and died, like it ran out of fuel. I thought maybe the filter was clogged, even though it looked fine, and replaced it with a piece of tube and car started right up and drove fine. Went to auto parts store, bought a filter, started down the road and a few miles later died. So now I’m really thinking, that’s dangerous. Maybe fuel pump, although in my experience a mechanical pump is either working or not, could be blockage in lines from sitting. I went ahead and replaced the fuel pump and blew out the lines. Took it out for another drive probably 25 to 30 miles with no issues and have been driving it to work several times as well with no issues until last Friday. Leaving work, started up just fine but realized I needed something in the office so I shut it off and when I came back out it wouldn’t start. What the heck!? Waited a couple minutes and started right up. Now my head really hurts. Did some more research and found some threads on the idle cut solenoid ICS. Sounds plausible, and it seems people were grounding the white wire to the carb. Not sure what this does but what the heck I went ahead and did it. Took it out this morning and got a few miles from the house and going up a rather steep grade the car began to buck, this was new, like it was running out of fuel. I stopped and it idled just fine but get it under load and started bucking. Got the car turned around and made it home with no issues. It is now back in the garage and I’m really scratching my head on this. Any help with this situation would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DeepBarney]

First, double check the wiring to the fuel pump, especially any grounds.

If that's all good, check to see if you're getting any codes via the OBD 1 system (you can also put a jumper wire across a pair of terminals in there to manually run the fuel pump bypassing other parts/switches in that circuit that might cause intermittent issues). I'd especially be looking for a code 51 for the TPS as it going faulty can lead to some of the issues you're describing (at least that's my experience with them on other vehicles).

Fuel pressure regulator could also be a culprit.

 

[adamsfly]

First, double check the wiring to the fuel pump, especially any grounds.

If that's all good, check to see if you're getting any codes via the OBD 1 system (you can also put a jumper wire across a pair of terminals in there to manually run the fuel pump bypassing other parts/switches in that circuit that might cause intermittent issues). I'd especially be looking for a code 51 for the TPS as it going faulty can lead to some of the issues you're describing (at least that's my experience with them on other vehicles).

Fuel pressure regulator could also be a culprit.

Thanks for the response. I made a rookie mistake in my posting as I didn't clarify my machine. It is an 85 FJ60 carbureted and mechanical fuel pump.

 

[DeepBarney]

Thanks for the response. I made a rookie mistake in my posting as I didn't clarify my machine. It is an 85 FJ60 carbureted and mechanical fuel pump.

Yeah I missed where you mentioned carb the first time reading your post and assumed it was a 62. Good luck with it.

 

[ChaserFJ60]

Look in your carburetor sight glass when the truck dies, You should see a fuel level in there. If not then the next thing I would check is the mechanical fuel pump.
Disconnect the fuel inlet from the carburetor and have somebody crank your truck while you catch the fuel in a container and examine it for flow. If you're getting good fuel flow then you need a carburetor service as the float is probably stuck. If you dont get fuel flow inspect the lines for clogs, then inspect the fuel pump.

The fuel level sender not working could be another indication of problems, Remove your rear cargo carpet and in the center is a cover plate, Remove the two Phillips screws and then remove the fuel level pump sender, Inspect it and the inside of your gas tank for any heavy corrosion or other contaminates, this may indicate your fuel tank is dirty from sitting and needs a cleaning, Radiator repair shops can service and restore fuel tanks.

 

[adamsfly]

Look in your carburetor sight glass when the truck dies, You should see a fuel level in there. If not then the next thing I would check is the mechanical fuel pump.
Disconnect the fuel inlet from the carburetor and have somebody crank your truck while you catch the fuel in a container and examine it for flow. If you're getting good fuel flow then you need a carburetor service as the float is probably stuck. If you dont get fuel flow inspect the lines for clogs, then inspect the fuel pump.

The fuel level sender not working could be another indication of problems, Remove your rear cargo carpet and in the center is a cover plate, Remove the two Phillips screws and then remove the fuel level pump sender, Inspect it and the inside of your gas tank for any heavy corrosion or other contaminates, this may indicate your fuel tank is dirty from sitting and needs a cleaning, Radiator repair shops can service and restore fuel tanks.

Thanks for the input and excellent suggestions. I was talking with my brother, another motor head, shortly after I posted this and decided at a minimum to have the carburetor serviced as it has 217K miles and it has never been done.

 

[Paullus]

Thanks for the input and excellent suggestions. I was talking with my brother, another motor head, shortly after I posted this and decided at a minimum to have the carburetor serviced as it has 217K miles and it has never been done.

Any progress on fixing your problem with fuel starvation?

 

[mccaleb77]

I'm curious if you figured out the issue because I am having the exact same issue with mine. I rebuilt my carburetor, new fuel pump checked all vacuum lines and still nothing has changed.

 

[adamsfly]

Any progress on fixing your problem with fuel starvation?

I'm curious if you figured out the issue because I am having the exact same issue with mine. I rebuilt my carburetor, new fuel pump checked all vacuum lines and still nothing has changed.

I do believe that I have solved my problem. If you were brave enough to read thru my terribly looooong start of this thread, you would have figured I did everything except clean the tank and rebuild the carburetor. Fortunately for me, after I rebuilt the carb all systems are go!!!!! The screen on the bottom of the needle/seat was about 80% blocked. I've owned this truck for nearly 30 years and it has never run this well. I certainly hope you get yours, mccaleb77, figured out as I know your frustrations.

 

[Paullus]

I do believe that I have solved my problem. If you were brave enough to read thru my terribly looooong start of this thread, you would have figured I did everything except clean the tank and rebuild the carburetor. Fortunately for me, after I rebuilt the carb all systems are go!!!!! The screen on the bottom of the needle/seat was about 80% blocked. I've owned this truck for nearly 30 years and it has never run this well. I certainly hope you get yours, mccaleb77, figured out as I know your frustrations.

Glad you got it figured out and that it is running well. I rebuilt my carb but found some of the keyster replacement parts are junk. The pump plunger boot and rubber gasket thing at the bottom end tore apart almost immediately. The keyster needle valve doesn't have a viton tip like the original one. I also dipped my carb parts in simple green and I probably should have bought and used the gallon of Berryman Chem-Dip. I've ordered the above carb parts from CityRacer (they have a plunger with leather). I'm going to tear down the carb again this weekend and soak it in the Chem-Dip.

 

[Paullus]

Rebuilt my carburetor this past weekend. Found that the needle valve seat was inferior/different than the oem and one you can get from CityRacer. The seat is supposed to have 4 big holes but the keyster kit seat only had 2 microscopic holes. The CityRacer matches the OEM one. Funny thing is I have new spare needle seat, in a tackle box that came in a slightly different keyster kit, and it matches the OEM one.

I decided to run it using gas directly from a fuel can. The engine started up fine and ran fine until I ran out of fuel. The fuel pump worked well but I let the return go to the cruiser's tank so the gallon or so of fuel was used up pretty quickly. The fuel bowl sight glass was full/correct height till the end.

I checked on the cruiser's fuel tank from the upper hatch and pulled out the rusty stuck sender. With a flash light, I noticed lots of rust sitting on the bottom of the tank. I siphoned the gas out from the sender port. The gas is pretty new with a little seafoam in it. It had an orange tint but was pretty clear and the small amount of rust settled quickly. I poured the gas from one bucket to another and noticed it has a green tint on the edge of the nappe (liquid leaving bucket).

Even though very little rust is making its way to the fuel filter, the screen on the needle seat was very clean, I am planning on dropping, cleaning and sealing the fuel tank. The rust may get stirred up while I'm bouncing and turning on the road.

 

[adamsfly]

I wanted to provide an update as it might help someone in the future. After rebuilding the carb I thought my problem was fixed but alas it was not. It ran fine for about a month and then one morning it died just like before and wait ten minutes and started right up. I was saying "it is like a rag floating around and periodically blocking the suction tube." Well, it wasn't a rag but paper. In one of the images you can see the dimple where it was sucked up to the tube. Yes, there is no filter on my suction tube but the replacement does. This explains exactly what has been going on.

 

[kirvesmies]

damn, that's quite the while you were chasing that. curious as to how that got in there. your thinking sounds right as to being the issue. let us know

 

[adamsfly]

damn, that's quite the while you were chasing that. curious as to how that got in there. your thinking sounds right as to being the issue. let us know

Curiosity killed the cat so I began my hypothesis as to how that got in there. There were several pieces of paper, three of those pieces puzzled together spelled out "Attached information". S0........... I'm thinking when the gas tank was replaced, on the recall, this paper somehow ended up in the tank. Even though I had that done probably 25 years ago it's the only thing that makes sense . It's either that or someone really dislikes me.

 

[kirvesmies]

if some one doesn't like you at least it wasn't some much more destructive product they could have stuffed in there. or maybe they were watching all the while to see how insane it would drive you

 

[Paullus]

Super crazy having a piece of paper block your tube. My tank was full of rust and my pick up tube was mostly blocked with rust. Now I ffffdup relining the tank so I have to clean it with acetone. I am going to put it back in bare with a new pick up tube that has a filter.