Stranded on the side of the road, no fuel delivery.

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fasontales
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My tercel:: 86 sr5
Location: WA

Stranded on the side of the road, no fuel delivery.

Post by fasontales »

I had just started my car up, drove for 15 seconds and it died. When it died it was obvious it ran out of gas. I thought maybe my tank was actually empty so I put some gas in, no good. I poured some gas into the carb and the engine started up just fine, then died. I pulled a hose off the fuel pump and cranked it, no gas. I poured some gas into the carb and ran it for a couple seconds to see if the pump would work then with the engine running, still no gas.

Now I already walked home and left the car on the side of the road, but before I go back is there anything it could be other than a pump?
rocketscience
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My tercel:: 1983 4WD SR5
Location: Tenino, WA

Re: Stranded on the side of the road, no fuel delivery.

Post by rocketscience »

If there is enough gas in the tank for the pickup to suck it up the only other thing would possibly be a restriction like a really clogged fuel filter or pickup screen, especially if the tank is rusty. It would have to be very clogged though.
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ARCHINSTL
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My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
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Re: Stranded on the side of the road, no fuel delivery.

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Welcome to the Club!
First, replace the filter - perhaps it is clogged.
Then-
After towing home, if you have access to a compressor, blow the line from the pump to the tank, after unhooking the line at the tank (a PITA, but ...).
With luck, there is only a clog somewhere in either the filter or a line.
However, as rocketscience states, perhaps the engine bay filter or the one in the tank is clogged with rust.
If so, your options are a new tank or remove it and take it to a specialist shop to have it cleaned and coated i/s.
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splatterdog
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Re: Stranded on the side of the road, no fuel delivery.

Post by splatterdog »

First check for suction at the pump inlet hose nipple while someone cranks the engine. This could be done at the filter too. You can also do a "field" pressure test with a finger over the outlet port too. It won't be a lot of push but you will feel it. If the engine oil has a strong smell of gas that can be from a ruptured pump diagphram. Oil discharge on the firewall from the pump's breather port isn't good either.

If the car is a rustbucket, it could be a broken line at the sender. So far I've only had this on the return line. We ended up pinching the line shut and running the return up to a drilled hole in the gas cap! That was very close to the end of the line for T4 #1..
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
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Re: Stranded on the side of the road, no fuel delivery.

Post by Petros »

any leaks or cracks in the rubber fuel lines up stream of the fuel pump will cause it to suck air instead of fuel. It would not necessarily show up as a leaky fuel line because up stream of the pump the line is in vacuum as the fuel pumps sucks fuel from the tank.

You have already determined it is fuel starvation. A quick and simple diagnostic test on the pump is to run a length of fuel line from the fuel pump (suction side) into a gasoline can. if it will start and run off the fuel can the pump is good, and either inlet is plugged with gunk in the tank, or you have a leaky fuel line, either metal line is rusty, or you have cracked rubber fuel line. There are rubber fuel hoses between the top of the tank to the metal fuel line attached to the underside of the car (this one is out of the weather and usually does not crack and leak), before and behind the fuel filter, and between the fuel pump and the metal fuel line on the fire wall.

It could of course be a bad fuel pump, but the fuel can by pass test will determine if the pump is good. Usually the fuel pumps are very reliable, fortunately replacements are not too costly. If you need a fuel pump, buy a quality one made in Japan.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
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JDNightFox
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My tercel:: toyota
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Re: Stranded on the side of the road, no fuel delivery.

Post by JDNightFox »

I thought my pump was bad because the car wouldn't run without pouring gas in the carb if it sits for several weeks.

I installed an electric fuel pump outside the gas tank and ran on that for a day and felt the mechanical pump kick back on again so I unplugged the electric fuel pump and now it's running fine again on the mechanical pump.

The mechanical pump has "died" about 3 times so far, but now when it does I can just plug the electric pump back in and it will jumpstart it again (and I can use the electric pump to prime the system which is nice)

I bought a second electric pump to do the same thing to my other car but I ended up selling it first. I have the pump still if you want one, it's a low pressure inline pump designed for TBI and carbs. I'd give it to you for cost of shipping.
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