Semi-OT: starting a car for first time in 2 years

[SadbutTrue]

We're trying to start my friends 70 Buick skylard GS for the first time in about 2 years. We finally got the electrical all set yesterday (though we can't seem to find the correct, large guage 'fusible links'... feel free to let me know where to get them if you happen to know where to get them. the ones we got from summit don't seem to be right and were the only ones they had).

Anyway, right now we're trying to get it to kick. It has new oil/filter, and they rotated it manually a few weeks ago and it rotated pretty easily.

When we tried yesterday it seemed we weren't getting any fuel in the carburetor. He has a little see-through in-line filter (between the fuel pump and carb) and the gas looked kinda black. We were planning on dropping the tank and draining any old gas.

What else should we be sure to do?

 

[rbohm]

you may have to replace the fuel pump. try priming the carb with a little gas and see if the engine at least catches. if it does then try filling the float bowl with gas, and try starting it again. if it wont start then rebuild the carb. if you havent already i would replace the gas in the tank, and i would add a second fuel filter as well.

 

[SadbutTrue]

the carbs a newer edelbrock (probably only 2.5 years old, actually), so hopefully its okay. we were planning on new fuel, new fuel pump and new fuel filters. any other tips? when 'priming' it, how much gas should we be using?

 

[zookeeper]

If I'm starting either a fresh motor or one with a new carb, I use a squeeze bottle with a small tube to fill the float bowls. Just fill with a few ounces (think of a shot glass full) and you should see gas squirt from the accel pump when you work the throttle by hand. Then start as normally. If you're doing the old "dump gas into the carb opening" routine, again, a shot glass full is typically enough to get it to catch, but it'll need more until the carb fills up.

 

[Rusty67]

I would pull the dizzy and put a drill on the oil pump to prime the oil system.

 

[hardsy]

I'd dump the fuel!

2 year old fuel is NO good!

 

[SadbutTrue]

Yeah we dumped the fuel and once we re-filled the tank with fresh gas, we disconnected the fuel line and let it pump into a buck for a bit... that was some nasty freaking gas lol.

We did get it started, it was having some issues holding an idle. Anyone got a quick checklist of things we could try? We're going to hunt for vacuum leaks and time it tonight. We fudged with the carb a little already (it was was running really rich and slow).

 

[Platonic Solid]

Even though you got it running and the carb is young, I still think you'll need to rebuild it to get it running right.

Also, how did you drain the tank? If it wasn't through a drain plug located at the lowest point in the tank, then there's still nasty stuff in there. When gas goes bad it forms these clear globs that sink to the bottom and roll around like mercury. They're really good at temporarily clogging filters and the various small passageways in the carb. It can run fine in the driveway, then choke 2 miles down the road as fuel slosh and pressure sucks them up. Then the engine dies, globs flow out as pressure is relieved and the engine starts.

 

[SadbutTrue]

Even though you got it running and the carb is young, I still think you'll need to rebuild it to get it running right.

Also, how did you drain the tank? If it wasn't through a drain plug located at the lowest point in the tank, then there's still nasty stuff in there. When gas goes bad it forms these clear globs that sink to the bottom and roll around like mercury. They're really good at temporarily clogging filters and the various small passageways in the carb. It can run fine in the driveway, then choke 2 miles down the road as fuel slosh and pressure sucks them up. Then the engine dies, globs flow out as pressure is relieved and the engine starts.

We physically took the tank out, emptied it into a bucket (with the drain), then hosed it out and let it dry for an afternoon. It was pretty clean.

There was still some crap in the lines but we disconnected the fuel line (again pointing it at a bucket) and turned the engine over for a minute or two and got the vast majority of it out. We definitely saw 'globs' in what came out (though they were kinda brown iirc). All this before we started it.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Ah, OK. By your first post it sounded like you tried to start it prior to draining the tank. I guess the only remaining fuel related item would be any gas that sat in the carb for the past few years. It doesn't take much to clog those little passages. I would at least take a peak in the bowl and see if there's any visible bad gas globs hanging out in there.

Edit: FWIW, To temporarily avoid the whole tank draining issue: before starting any vehicle that's been sitting for years, I disconnect the hose to the gas tank and run a longer hose into a portable gas can. If I need to move the vehicle around, I just place the can (securely) in the trunk.

 

[2+2GT]

When my car sat for a long time, I got it running by removing the hose from the pump inlet, and connected an electric fuel pump and drew all the gas out of the tank and lines. Then I disconnected the inlet from the carb and pumped new fuel into the pump, reconnected the line and pumped new fuel into the carb. Then I filled the tank, and drew new fuel into the fuel system. Reconnected the lines, turned on the ignition, pumped the 4100 twice, and fired it up. It ran clean and smooth, despite not running at all for well over a year.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Actually, come to think of it, (this is going to sound like a bad info-mercial) since I started using Star-Tron fuel treatment 3 years ago, I haven't had any gas separation issues. They even claim it can repair old fuel.