Fuel Problem

[Wadada]

Hey Gang,

85 Auto 4WD wagon with around 60k miles. It was stalling going slow around corners in town and going up hills (mostly when my wife was driving, of course!) over the winter. I replaced the fuel filter, and that seemed to fix it, but now it's sputtering a bit sometimes when taking off at a stoplight and sometimes when coasting around 15-20mph then stepping on the gas. Might call it a "flat-spot" in acceleration? A couple nights ago it stalled on a hill. Any ideas where to start? I'm not sure when the last time it had a tuneup was...it's my dad's car he's been loaning us (though he just offered to sell it to me for $300!).

Any help would be great!

[irowiki]

Has the car sat for any length of time? How bad was the fuel filter? Check your current fuel filter.

When it stalls can you idle it for a bit and it'll take back off?

I'm having similar problems on my 83 and I think the fuel tank pickup strainer is plugged. May be rust in my tank.

A tuneup might be a good idea if it was never done, new distributor cap, rotor, plug wires, plugs and not too expensive. Rockauto will be your friend!

For $300 I'd take it!

[xirdneh]

maybe some of that stuff got in the carb
might be a little water in the carb (flat spot on acceleration)

[Petros]

sounds like a deal!

More information would be useful, but It might just need new spark plugs and wires. A slow or weak idle will cause that kind of behavior in an auto trans, once tuned up you might adjust the idle speed up a little bit too.

Also, check for vacuum leaks (there are lots of threads on this topic, also see the FAQ thread), a vac leak will make it behave this way too. Verify the AAP is not leaking fuel into the intake system (simple check, pull the vac hose off and look for fuel, if so cap it off at both ends, it will not affect the way it drives after it warms up, it is only needed for cold running).

Good luck.

[dlb]

ditto on checking the current fuel filter. you might have a rusty tank that is crudding the filters up in short order. solution is to replace the tank or refurbish it with POR15 or some similar product. removing the tank is easy.

also, check the float bowl of the carb. with the car parked on level ground, remove the air filter housing and look at the sight glass on the front of the carb. the fuel level should be between the two points on the glass. it sounds like your fuel level might be too low.