Seahag1978 Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 It has heat again! Tim pulled the old dash to install the new one (thank you again Moosens!) and found that the cable housing was sliding back and forth and not letting the cable move enough to open the heater valve. There must have been a funky gauge in the old dash because the temperature gauge reads dead center of the normal range when warmed. He also installed the new seats, and seat belts. Let's go for a ride! Everything's great! Ok, so now she's even prettier than new, and she goes about 6 miles and pitches a hissy fit and stalls at a red light! By the grace of God and pumping the heck out of the gas... I got it running, she stalled a couple more times but it started when I popped the clutch and revved. We made it home. There's no gas getting to the carb. The fuel filter in the engine compartment has only a splash of gas in it. It will run if I rev the engine. Think I need to perform an exorcism? What could be responsible for this new problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I know nothing about Gen 1s but my first guess would be the fuel pump having a hissy. Just keep remembering Mary...Its beautiful and will be running like a champ soon...And maybe it just wanted to annoy Tim alittle more..knowing his feelings towards it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85 Gl Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 blockage in the line, fuel pump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Check out the pump back there. VERY prone to rust back there behind the rear main crossmember. At the very least make sure you can hear operating consistantly and that it isn't leaking. I'd start there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratsrus1 Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Hey 1987 This is Jerry, it's cold out there now sounds like your gas line has water in it or now it would be ice. Get a can of gas antifreeze and dump it in your tank. Your fuel filter will have water in it, may not look like it but it will have water in it replace it. The same thing happen to me last year in my 78 brat that i gave to Pat. Happy motoring Thanks Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 change the fuel filters, then check the oil, then allow to warm up thoroughly, then FLOOR IT for a MINUTE MINIMUM, sure does blow the crap out if it can't do 7,000 rpm, you've got problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 change the fuel filters, then check the oil, then allow to warm up thoroughly, then FLOOR IT for a MINUTE MINIMUM, sure does blow the crap outif it can't do 7,000 rpm, you've got problems The "Italian tune up" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8vega215 Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 my 79 had the same problem as did my 78, i have found that when this happens it is usualy rust in the tank. to inspect pull the fuel sending unit on the fuel tank and peek inside. i had two tanks rust out before i got a good one. if you have rust and you cant replace the tank you can pull the tank and have a radiator shopboil the tank to remove all the loose stuff and runn a fuel filter off of a newer gm car such as a buick regal. it will filter smaller particals than a regular inline filter. if you need a carb i have a rebuilt one that i can sell cheep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Go with the cheapest fix first - get some heet, as Jerry said and see if that does it. HNY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahag1978 Posted January 1, 2005 Author Share Posted January 1, 2005 The temperature here was in the 50's. So no freezing problems. I remember reading in a post a while back that there's a filter near the tank that acts like a sock and sucks up into the line and blocks the fuel flow. When it relaxes again it lets the fuel pass? We'll need to start by finding that filter and changing it out. We pulled the tank this past summer because we thought it was leaking. It was a actually a broken vent hose on the top of the tank that you can't see. The inside was in great shape... no rust. The carb is a new rebuilt with very few miles... Tim thinks it may actually need a different carb. He doesn't have much confidence in this one. Please PM me with your price. On the bright side... I got about 70 miles between breakdowns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 ehhh ok Morgan, the fuel pump on gen 1's is under the hood on the passenger side, not like an EA82. Mary, I would check the connection for not just the fuel pump but also the connection at the external voltage regulator as well and on the alternator. On gen 1 cars, the fuel pump is driven off of the current being put out by the alternator. The only time it will kick on is when the engine is cranking or is running. I know when my alternator went out, it would only run for about 30 seconds before it'd die. So start on the connections, check the VR and the alternator while you're at it. Oh and that box of parts will be shipped in the next couple days. I've been working through the holidays.....stupid Wal-Mart, I swear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahag1978 Posted January 1, 2005 Author Share Posted January 1, 2005 Worked on the Brat today, it started right up like nothing was wrong... last night it took a minute of pumping the gas to get it running. Go figure. I got it wailing for a minute too... no lack of power or hesitation when I rev it. After I took my foot off the gas, it idled for about 5 minutes before it ran down and stalled. I wish something would just completely fail instead of this intermittent business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahag1978 Posted January 1, 2005 Author Share Posted January 1, 2005 ehhh ok Morgan, the fuel pump on gen 1's is under the hood on the passenger side, not like an EA82. Mary, I would check the connection for not just the fuel pump but also the connection at the external voltage regulator as well and on the alternator. On gen 1 cars, the fuel pump is driven off of the current being put out by the alternator. The only time it will kick on is when the engine is cranking or is running. I know when my alternator went out, it would only run for about 30 seconds before it'd die. So start on the connections, check the VR and the alternator while you're at it. Oh and that box of parts will be shipped in the next couple days. I've been working through the holidays.....stupid Wal-Mart, I swear! That's cool Russ... I want to get that wheel restored and in. Right now, I have a horn button wire tied to the steering column. I don't know how long the weather's going to last. T-Shirt weather today. Oh, you got any lenses? I took them all off to clean and re-buff the plastic and found them all to be cracked... the rubber's shot too. I could use some front bezels, at least the passenger's side. There's a small dent in the top. They're the aluminum ones that hold the amber and white lenses in place, need the rubber on the driver's side. Let me know. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I wish something would just completely fail instead of this intermittent business.Old cars are like old people; things start to go intermittently! But lots of TLC helps in both cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Mary, Kinda off topic a hair here..but I should be heading down to Pauls tonight or tomorrow to help pull the interior from the XT for NorthWet.Do you need anything from him I need to remind him about?? And you wil be getting that Brat worked out sooner than you think..then what are you going to do to occupy your time?? humm?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratsrus1 Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Hi 1987 This is Jerry,inside of your brat under the glove box there is 2 or 3 fuses check and see if one of them isn't burnt out. I know one of them has to do with the charging system. I found out the hard way, if that not it then hook up your hot wire to the electric choke wire. That will let you know if the wiring has a brake in it. Hopes this helps you. Thanks Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahag1978 Posted January 1, 2005 Author Share Posted January 1, 2005 Hi 1987 This is Jerry,inside of your brat under the glove box there is 2 or 3 fuses check and see if one of them isn't burnt out. I know one of them has to do with the charging system. I found out the hard way, if that not it then hook up your hot wire to the electric choke wire. That will let you know if the wiring has a brake in it. Hopes this helps you. Thanks Jerry Ahhhh, we did get a spark when installing the new dash and figured something had to have blown somewhere... so we checked all the fuses in the fuse box and the inline fuses under the dash... they were all ok. We were't aware of the ones under the glove box... we'll check that in the morning! Makes sense.. last night we were using lights, stereo and heater. My gut keeps going back to the voltage regulator, but if that was failing wouldn't that cause the lights to run brighter? The alternator is new and keeps the battery very strong... the number of attempted starts I made last night was a LOT... a weak battery wouldn't have handled it... so I know the alternator is doing its job. Now whether it's distributing the power where it needs to is another issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahag1978 Posted January 1, 2005 Author Share Posted January 1, 2005 Mary, Kinda off topic a hair here..but I should be heading down to Pauls tonight or tomorrow to help pull the interior from the XT for NorthWet.Do you need anything from him I need to remind him about?? And you wil be getting that Brat worked out sooner than you think..then what are you going to do to occupy your time?? humm?? Just the radio console (he was going to ship it) and if you could weasel one of this "pristine" black 4 sp. shifter knobs out of him... mine's junk... if you whine a whole lot he may cave in to you... I tried, but I'm old... LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahag1978 Posted January 1, 2005 Author Share Posted January 1, 2005 Old cars are like old people; things start to go intermittently! But lots of TLC helps in both cases. LOL! You got that right! It gets all the TLC we can muster... Tim was ragging about it to his buddy, "I make it nice and pretty and it bites me by breaking down again!" His buddy said, "Leave a part off and it'll think it's broken." hmmm... I wonder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 remove a side step, both rear shocks, and 1/2 of each rear wheelwel, and it should run like a champ! , and it will be willing to run and start easily even when it's in the teens for temp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Tim was ragging about it to his buddy, "I make it nice and pretty and it bites me by breaking down again!" His buddy said, "Leave a part off and it'll think it's broken." hmmm... I wonder. I like that therory..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahag1978 Posted January 2, 2005 Author Share Posted January 2, 2005 remove a side step, both rear shocks, and 1/2 of each rear wheelwel, and it should run like a champ! , and it will be willing to run and start easily even when it's in the teens for temp Tim said you got the beer icon right... he said, "That ^&%$# junk will drive me to drinkin'!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahag1978 Posted January 2, 2005 Author Share Posted January 2, 2005 Today, checked and replaced all the vacuum lines. Replaced the voltage regulator. The accessories are all functioning better. Checked all the fuses. Checked all the plug wires, (the "mechanic" didn't have them in right, they were barely on there). Tested the fuel pump, it's shooting gas (about a mile). The fuel filter near the tank isn't there, someone must have removed it? He set the idle a bit higher than it should be. So, now it runs with all the accessories, heat, lights, radio, wipers on, but when I step on the brake I get a definite drop in idle, almost to stall, and a kind of hollow, dull metallic rattle under the hood, near the steering column, like something's loose. It idles great and then starts racing without touching anything. I tried to kick down the idle and it didn't help. Leave it be for a few minutes and it kicks down itself. A few minutes later it starts racing again. This is happening when it's warmed to temperature, it was warm here today... well above freezing. It seems the most reliable when the engine is still cold... once warmed it goes weird. Any clues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 ok the fuel filter you looked for won't be there cause only EA81s got that fuel filter.... The other thing sounds like it could be a choke problem. Check to see if the choke is sticking open or closed somehow. I was having the same problem on the Holley 5200 I put on my Brat and it turned out to be a sticking linkage. The brake problem, is it when you're slowing down and coming to a stop or does it also do it when you're stopped? It could be something is loose and is knocking against something like the clutch cable could possibly be hitting something when you hit the brakes..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 ehhh ok Morgan, the fuel pump on gen 1's is under the hood on the passenger side, not like an EA82. ehhh okay, didnt know it was a gen1 brat. lots of ea81's have the pump back there too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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