Some ideas please. 82 RX 5spd. Runs out of fuel in the carb after a few minutes. Filter is clean. There are not any screens in the fuel lines at the carb. Fuel pressure is good for a few minutes, the pump starts clattering like fuel starvation. By the parts manual there is not any type sock on the fuel pick up in the tank, but that is exactly what it acts like. I dont drive this car often. Maybe rust floating around and stopping up fuel inlet? I can turn off the key and let it sit a 10 min or so and turn the key back on and it picks up fuel and fills the bowls immediately. Amazing it does the same thing every time. Run for 5 or 6 minutes then die. Maybe fuel pump get hot? Would like some input before I pull the tank.

 

it could be the pump too. i'm lazy, i would put a voltmeter on the pump and just let it run (i might loop the fuel line, so it bypasses the carb), and see if there is constant power. you might do a fuel volume test too, the spec is in the FSM, but it should be about 1.5 liters a minute (or about 700cc/30 seconds)

on a 79-83 car there is no in tank filter.

dropping the tank is work, so i would do that last

 

My '79 did a similar thing, but only when driving. Everything would be fine and then bang fuel starvation. I finally dropped the tank and found my teenage sons had dropped their "credit card" (syphon hose) in the tank. It was just the wrong diameter and would roll around and block the pickup tube.

 

Agree. Could be classic case of fuel-tank munge that floats free when car is off, then get sucked to output by pump and clogs it. Esp notable on tanks when low on fuel, then magically goes away on full tank. 82 has a drain plug in the tank. You might get lucky by manually draining/rincing tank a clear it out.

I had to drop/clean/reseal my 80's tank.

Stu A
80GS

 

Had the car been sitting at all? You may be picking up sediment from the tank and it ma be clogging the pickup tube in the tank or the pump itself. As mentioned above, the pickup is not a separate piece as it is in the 84 and 85 model year 7.