start up on a engine
Asked by jeanette Jul 29, 2008 at 06:56 PM about the 1983 Chevrolet Camaro
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
just finish rebuilding a 350 engine,can't seem to start it,its turns over,it has spark,but the fuel pump is not pumping the gas through the lines, i took the pump out, it is pumping,could it be that i need to try a electric pump or is the cam to short?
5 Answers
This is not something I'm very familiar with and these are probably stupid questions... But did you trying cranking it with the hose off the carb, to eliminate the possibility of blockage past the pump, and to verify the pump is working? Did you check to make sure you were getting fuel to the pump? Since it's a fresh rebuild and the carb looks fresh. Did you either prime the pump and carb or did you crank it to get fuel to the pump? The later can take a good while of cranking. I've been told up to 2 minutes, but I've never seen it take that long Hope I was more of a help than a hindrance.
I would pull the pull the fuel line off the carb and see if you are getting it up to there while cranking. is the belt tight enough? are the lines clogged?
So, if you have not already gotten it running---When we first run an engine with a dry carb we pout a little gas in the carb and get the engine running off of that. Sometimes it seems like they get airlocked, kinda like a diesel will. If you can get the engine running off of a squirt of gas then you know it's only the fuel supply you are having trouble with so you are narrowing down the possible problems. After it runs for a minute or two off of the squirts you give it it should take off on it's own. We have had it take a long time, like 5-10 minutes of running to get it to run on it's own. I'm wondering if the gas might drain all the way back to the tank if the car sits withought a carb or engine for a while, so could have quite a few feet of line with air in them. Otherwise you can just try to let it pump the fuel up but cranking the engine just to get fuel up there, but I would suggest pulling the plugs out to create 0 compression thus not straining the starter (or battery for that matter). As some other people have suggested pull the line off the carb while cranking it. Try a new/different pump if all else fails ( they are easily changed and most times not worth fighting with a crappy one).
i have to buy a electric pump, so it runs of the battery, thanks for the advice guys i'll let u know if it starts
