triumphs
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: TR4 out of gas, now won't run

To: Paulwillou@aol.com, Triumph Mailing List <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: TR4 out of gas, now won't run
From: Steven Newell <steven@cravetechnology.com>
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 11:20:58 -0600
References: <2b.49c6a1f.2630f9cf@aol.com>
Paul wrote:

  "DCO tried to see how far he could go before running out of gas.  I was less
  than a block from my favorite station - I didn't make it. ...After, putting in
a gallon
  of gas and using the priming lever on the stock fuel pump, the car still won't
go.
  It starts, but dies immediately...."

  "Are my carburetors clogged?  Or maybe just the fuel lines.  Any other
  suggestions?  If it is the carbs, do I have to rebuild or is there a simple
  method of unclogging?"

D'oh! For my "new" TR4, I've tried to follow the rule of many a dad, and drive
off the top 1/2 of the tank. So far, so good. But when I ran my '47 Willys CJ2A
out of gas, it never ran right as long as I owned it! Worth noting that it had
been for sale and I sold it shortly after, so I never really spent much time on
it. <g>

Like our TR4's, the jeep had a glass bowl with a sediment screen, though the 
bowl
was on top, and the screen on the bottom, not a great design. When I ran it dry,
I sucked through a bit of crap -- into the sediment bowl -- which was tough to
clean out on the trail. Anyway, the problem with the CJ2A was that the sediment
bowl gasket wouldn't seal after I cleaned it, and it was sucking in air -- so 
the
fuel didn't make it to the carbs. Duct tape helped to get me home. Once I got
home I couldn't find a correct gasket to replace the old one. You can find them
for a TR4, but I believe you only get one or two uses out of each gasket, then 
it
won't seal. The fellow who bought it put on the electric fuel pump that I should
have, and that did the job.

If you didn't use a new gasket, or didn't get a good seal, something like this
*could* be contributing to your problem, and you should certainly check fuel 
flow
to the carbs to confirm. Before rebuilding them. BTW I rebuilt the CJ2A carb
thinking that was a contributing factor, and though it wasn't, the carb sure
looked pretty after.

--
Steven Newell
Denver, CO -- if I knew I'd move to Colorado, I'd have kept that jeep. :-(


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>