down and dirty beater repair?

[andy74]

i am working on my buddies daily driver,he brought it to me last night saying it had a bad hesitation,1985 chevy pick up,after talking with him he told me it started when he ran out of gas last week.so i checked for the convertor,fuel delivery etc-no exhaust problems,but the fuel filter was full of crud,so i swapped that out,still has the hesitation.after a few hours poking around,i figure it must be the sock in the gas tank got partially plugged up.so my question,it has a full tank so dropping it right this minute isnt a good option,but i have an electric fuel pump,could i reverse the flow and pump gas from a can back through the fuel line to dislodge what ever crap is on the sock?seems to me that should work,and when he runs it down on fuel then i can drop the tank and fix it the right way?

[hutch]

I hooked up a compressor air hose to the line once and blasted it good. that worked.  But you will still have an issue with the crud getting back over the sending unit sock over time. 

I would use the fuel pump deal to suck/drain the tank back into some cans and then give the tank a good powerwash inside to clean out whats in it.

[andy74]

I hooked up a compressor air hose to the line once and blasted it good. that worked.  But you will still have an issue with the crud getting back over the sending unit sock over time. 

I would use the fuel pump deal to suck/drain the tank back into some cans and then give the tank a good powerwash inside to clean out whats in it.

i thought about draining the tank that way too,just seemed likeit would be easier to get him back on the road the way i was talking,and letting him drive the gas out of it,and then this weekend i could finish the job,he gets about 14 or 15 to the gallon,so going through 30 gallons of gas wont take long!

[hutch]

Hooking that pump back up to push gas back down the line might work as well.  Try it and see.  If it don't work, tell him your labor rate just went up.   

[RD]

why not do this:

hook up a long 3/8" or 5/16" fuel line from the tank to your electric fuel pump to the stock fuel line and use the gas in the tank (itself) to push through the stock lines in a reverse flow pattern.

[andy74]

why not do this:

hook up a long 3/8" or 5/16" fuel line from the tank to your electric fuel pump to the stock fuel line and use the gas in the tank (itself) to push through the stock lines in a reverse flow pattern.

thats a pretty good idea rd!

[firefighter3931]

I can only imagine the amount of crud & sediment that's in the bottom of a 23 year old gas tank !  I would blow the fuel lines out with compressed air and drop the tank and boil it out. Replace the sock while you're in there. 


Ron

[andy74]

well last night i used the electric pump to get 20 gallons out,and that was enough to lower the tank on a floor jack,pulled the lines,the sock was actually okay,but the rubber line that goes into the tank was so dry rotted it must have been sucking in air and dirt from the tank,so he and i swapped out the fuel lines for new ones(thank god pep boys is open late,metal lines are in a huge bucket by the front door)put the tank back in,and even fixed his faulty ground on the gas gauge so it works for him too.pulled the sock off the sending unit and made a new one out of a mesh nylon fishing bag that we had in the shop,and replace the fuel filter again-he hasnt called me today yet,but he drove home,about 35 miles and told me last night that it ran great on the way home.so problem solved!

[firefighter3931]

Good job 


Ron