fuel system upgrade.

[Anonymous]

Help!!! My 79 Fairmont is not running i believe its because it too cold. What it started doing in November was that it would start, i had to keep my foot on the gas to warm it up cause the choke was broken, but anyways when i let of the gas it would die and this is even after the engine is warmed up. so im not sure if its not getting enough fuel is my carb screwed do i need a new fuel pump or is there anywhere in ontario, canada that i can get a complete fuel system or even engine. I pondered putting a nissan SR20DET 2L Turbo in there but was told that i need a stand alone ECU for that engine swap. Hope some one can help me. i needto get this car on the road.

 

[CoupeBoy]

It sounds like you have a big vacuum leak somewhere. My pickup was recently acting very similarily. I had to pump the wiznotty out of it to get the thing to fire then keep the RPM up while it was running to keep it running (only when cold though). When I replaced the starter recently I found a bit vacuum leak right under the carb that was sucking air. Now it starts *almost* like a real truck should and stays running (idling) all by itself, even when -5F

You can check for a leak by listening for air being sucked in someplace that is not the main venturi of the carb. Or you can spray around some carb cleaner while it is running to determine if you have a leak. If you spray the area with a leak the engine will speed up and may smoke a little bit. If you car is really running as poorly as you describe it, you may need to find a friend to help maintain engine speed while you check.

-ron

 

[Anonymous]

I'd try Ron's advice first. Finding and fixing a vacuum leak is a whole lot cheaper and faster than an engine swap.

If you can keep the car running by increasing the revs, the problem is not the pump, because they usually work or don't work. You can check to be sure by pouring a bit of gas straight into the carb. If it runs fine then dies suddenly, it is probably the pump.

Scott