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How to purge fuel line?

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vagt6

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Hello, all. Went for a nice drive on Saturday and almost had to call AAA. The Midget ('74 1275) kept dying, fuel starvation problem. Died about 3 times in 10 miles, then finally, I disconnected the fuel line on the carburetor side of the line and blew into it. That seemed to do the trick,the car ran great all the way home, about 15 miles.

So, I'm thinkin' about purging the lines, replacing a few fuel hoses, and putting on a new fuel filter. The gas tank is only about 3 years old, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Question: what's the best method for purging the lines (I don't have compressed air)? I don't want to take the chance on having debris floating around in the system.

What's the best way to purge/clean it out?

Thanks, gents.
 
I blow thru the lines same as you. You don't want to use compressed air for fumes are more dangerous than liquid. Check the rubber lines, they may be swelling. Fuel filter excellent idea and even though the fuel tank is new, there might be something in tank, that someone dropped in while not looking. I also use gum-out as a propellent to clear lines.
If you are vapor locking you might insulate lines near heat sources.
 
Remove all the filters (bypass with new pieces of fuel hose) and put the end of the fuel line (just before the carbs) in a gasoline can or other safe container. If you have a mechanical fuel pump, remove the spark plugs and crank the engine over on the starter for a minute or so. If you have an electric pump, power it up and allow it to run for a minute or so. The pump will move a large quantity of fuel through the pipes flushing out the debris. Now fit your new filters and hook things up and you're good to go. If you put a filter before the pump, make sure it is coarse, not fine. A second (finer) filter can be placed between the pump and carbs.
 
Many thanks, Larry and Doug. Exactly what I needed to know.

I'll replace most of the rubber hoses in the engine bay, new filter also.

I just love easy fixes . . . :thumbsup:
 
I'd pull the tank if you suspect you might have trash. The tank may only be three years old, but how old is the tank your GAS STATION uses? Pop the filler hose off and peek in. See if you need to pull it or not. What kind of debris is in the filter? If it's hose, you should be o.k after doing the above, if not, it something else that had to start out somewhere.....like in the tank.

Don't forget this new fuel is crap. It does go bad and leave weird deposits.

My uncle had this symtom on a Bug years ago. It drove him nuts. After several attempts to repair, he finally pulled the tank. One of the rubber nipples the tank door sits on fell of into the tank. it would bounce around the bottom till it found it's way over to the pickup and would lodge in the line. Once he blew through it all was well....for a while. Just cause the tank is new don't assume everthing is fine down there.


p.s Sugar does the same thing w/ tank socks and fuel filters.

(It does not disolve in gas, same effect as sand but you can't see it cause it turns clear when wet. That's why "they" use it.)

Anybody mad at ya?
 
Stabil makes a new stabilizer for Marine engines that conteracts the corrosion effects from methanol and ethanol it is blue in color and is a storm in the Marine industry. I have had real success with it in older cars too!
 
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