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Another one of those wtf it won't start threads

2K views 17 replies 4 participants last post by  Blade3562 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok so this past week has played hell on my poor little mk1. Temps as low as -20F without windchill! Then Saturday night again some snowy object mixed with road debris attacked my undercarrige and removed my fuel lines.

Since then I replaced the lines, cleaned the spark plugs. New fuel filter will be here today (it's my number one suspect) but now it doesn't run.

Right after I replaced the lines it ran fine! Drove it up to the gas station, filled it up, drove it home parked it in our Non heated garage without a problem. Then Tuesday I went to start it and got nothing just cranked and cranked and cranked slower than normal. I messed around found out my 1 month old battery had a bad cell, replaced it, cranked faster but still no start. I have spark and when spraying starting fluid bam starts like a champ. Pulled the injectors out and got very minimal spray if any. Disconnected the fuel filter inlet and there was so much pressure it was like the Pompeii eruption.

So my question is what would have changed overnight. Could there possibly be water in the gas that froze? Could s bad fuel filter really stop fuel flow to that degree? Or is it the plunger in the distributor finally got gunked up and I have to clean it? Could the fuel pump be producing just not quite enough pressure?

 
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#3 ·
Well I have a feeling it was water. I pushed it into our heated garage yesterday to let it warm up. It would run for 10 seconds then die. I did this about 4 times then tapped the top of the fuel distributor. It ran/idled fine. It's like water was in the gas in the garage(87 octane only has a 90 day shelf life before it starts to separate and water is one of those bi-products) and as a result it just happened to freeze the distributor plunger. I'm going to take it apart and clean it this weekend but I suspect frozen water and not dirt as it has run perfectly for 7 months!
 
#4 ·
Well I followed cabby-Info on the guide to clean the diaphragm no change. What else could it be I can get it to start after like 10 minutes or tapping on the distributor. Am I missing something totally obvious. I have literally tried everything I can think of and its still not running consistently unfortunately.
 
#5 ·
New filter still not running perfectly. If I tap the top of the distributor it's ok. Any ideas? I'm going to try to fully clean the fuel distributor and take the flap contraption out and clean it as well. Really can't figure this out. I'll have to do a fuel pressure test maybe it's just not enough from the fuel pump? This is so annoying!
 
#10 ·
Used some 000. Super fine steel wool and a few minutes of time. The plunger had gotten just enough surface rust that it didn't move smoothly and the 4 subzero days got it to stick somehow? After really cleaning it and soaking it the plunger moved freely easily so I moved on.

If I turn the key and prime it 4 times when the car is cold it fires right up, if it don't it just cranks for enternity. Unless I have a small parasitic fuel pressure loss? The CC test came out perfect at the filter!
 
#11 ·
if you think about it if your fuel distributor plunger had surface rust then you have problems elsewhere, infact probally everywhere

when you change the filter is there any rust in the fuel?


gummy plungers are quite normal for cars that arent driven frequently
makes me think about how many junkyard cars ended up being crushed because of this simple fix


fuel pressure test will tell you if youre leaking fuel after turning off the ignition/engine
it should hold to 30-35psi for several minutes
 
#13 ·
Pump connections seem fine. Injectors don't leak to my knowledge and I replaced the injector seals in October. I am testing the CSV today I have a spare one to test as well. I feel like this is my issue can't be positive but the car will crank and occasionally Fire as the pump comes on then conks and once it finally starts it runs and restarts without a problem!
 
#14 ·
Well it starts and runs and drives again! Only issue is currently some sort of vacuum leak? I'm assuming it is something that was overlooked during the previous owners AC delete. And the connection has no cracked. Looks like tomorrow will be fun. It runs just sounds mega cammed when it's stock lol. But forward progress! CIS is one confusing complicated SOB
 
#16 ·
The CSV sprayed just fine. I did however redo the fuel pump test and its putting out wayyyy to many ccs it has the normal 900ccs at 20 seconds. Since pressure and volume are inverse that leads me that says I don't have enough pressure. Correct? This would also coincide with the fact that the pump has started to run very loudly!

If I have finally found the culprit, what fuel pumps use the OEM setup versus a generic in line? I don't want to muck up all the lines and such I just redid. I had this issue with the blue car I remember searching for ages to find one that fits correctly
 
#18 ·
Finally! I doing my dads CIS fuel pressure test gauge. Pump is fine, so was its check valve but it had a bleed off when we would release the gauge pressure. Turns out the warm up reguulator failed overnight! Just old age. Tore it apart it was crusty and dirty but didn't work threw on my reman'd spare and fired right up. Amazing. Next time I'm testing the pressure system right off the get go!

Thanks Wes!
 
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