[keithhm]

Good Morning,

On my 33 I have a mechanical fuelI pump replaced twice but never failed. I had an in-line fuel filter (The ones you can clean made of copper beads) and as soon as I reach 1/2 tank the car is going to eventually stall and die without fuel.

I usually open up the filter - use carb spray and away we go however this is too much of a hassle especially it ifs raining.

I used a regular in line fuel filter - same thing although I couldn't see anything wrong in the filter.

Now I bought a Performance Fuel Filter for Carbs & Fuel Injection, I re coordinated the fuel lines to get fuel the right way however I am still worried that it will still happen. Here in Malta we have bad fuel and old Fuel Stations so rust and dust and sand is found pretty easily but I could never get my hand around why a piece of debris could lock the filter so much.

Is there something I am missing ? A debris in a full paper element shouldn't affect pressure that much or even starvation. I heard about vacuum locks but I don't know where to start as fuel is not my thing really.

Any help is appreciated.

Regards,

Keith

 

[LoneWolf33]

Hi,

Is the breather valve of the fuel tank working properly?
If depression accumulates in the tank as the fuel level drops,
at a certain point the fuel pump won't be able to overcome
the depression. So it might not related to the debris.

 

[keithhm]

Good Afternoon,

Thanks for the tip, where is the valve exactly ? Can I access it without removing the tank ?

Thanks Again & Regards,

Keith

 

[LoneWolf33]

Well the location of the valve is depends on the fuel supply version of the engine.
If your car originally had fuel injection, the breather valve located in the trunk at
the LH side, behind the carpet, connected to a "T" fitting next to a carbon filter box. (*)
Otherwise the valve is laying on the top of the fuel tank, and the tank need to be
lowered to gain access to the valve.

(*) In this case the situation is a bit complicated, because there is (was) a fuel
vapor recycling as well with an ECU controlled solenoid in the front-left wheel bay.
So this must be downgraded / converted too, to fit the current carb. setup

 

[keithhm]

Good Evening,

My car is fully carburetor-ed and has all the Carburetor parts rather than the EFI models so its like a 17 Carburetor Model but 16V

I thought that the valve would be there but I cannot check it to see if its ok or not as I never took down the tank.

Is there any other way to check ?

Also when the car used to die on me I used to open the filter and start it up again and worked for a few but the lower the fuel the worse it gets so I see the signs now even as sometimes there was no debris.

If is happens to me again and I open the fuel cap would that help ? or could it be that the fuel cap isn't venting ?

This issue has been with me since I bought the car (10 years almost).

Let me know what you think,

Regards,

Keith

 

[LoneWolf33]

If is happens to me again and I open the fuel cap would that help ? or could it be that the fuel cap isn't venting ?

Yes, and if you hear hissing noise, as the air rushes in through the fuel filler neck,
that confirms the problem is breather related.

The fuel cap is designed to provide air tight sealing to prevent fuel spillage in case of
an accident, and to keep fuel fumes inside.
Pressure compensation is done thru the breather valve and the related hoses.

 

[keithhm]

I understand, so basically whenever I was opening the fuel filter I was letting air in back into the tank, problem is to get to the valve and makes even more sense when the fuel tank was full it was running much better. I need to find a quick solution for the time being and not one that means leaving the fuel tap open !!

Thanks & Regards,

Keith

 

[johnpm1967]

I understand, so basically whenever I was opening the fuel filter I was letting air in back into the tank, problem is to get to the valve and makes even more sense when the fuel tank was full it was running much better. I need to find a quick solution for the time being and not one that means leaving the fuel tap open !!

Thanks & Regards,

Keith

You may well be able to access the valve by jacking the car up on stands and then taking the left rear wheel off.
Normally this is a green pipe.

 

[gritsop]

can you check the internals of the fuel tank for rust particles? There should be a filter on the lower part of the fuel sender which should be able to catch most of the particles.

 

[keithhm]

Good Morning,

Thanks for the tip on the green pipe, I'll check it out, as for the tank I had it cleaned once and that mesh/filter inside was replaced but I dont have the tools to get the tank lowered to access it.

Again Thanks for the help, Appreciate it.

Regards,

Keith