Okay, I have the car running and it is still idling way high but I am not worried about that. The problem I am having now is that I adjusted the floats and flipped on the power so the fuel pump could fill the resevoirs. After many hours of messing around, I finally managed to get the fuel level centered in the glass. The problem is that once I start the car, the fuel levels drop again. If I adjust the floats higher then the carb floods.

Anyone have any ideas why the fuel level would drop after starting the car?

Thanks

 

Because its using the fuel . Check that the pump is strong and the filter isnt clogged. I believe that the Haynes manual gives a spec for fuel pump output, but I might be wrong.

~T.J.

 

Are supposed to use fuel?

I have checked the fuel pump and it is fine and the filter is brand new. I think maybe the floats are still not quite right. What actually happened is that I turned on the car and watched the float level fill up. One side was perfect, dead middle, the other side was a little high but wasn't at a point where the carb actually had a problem with over flowing. In actuality there was still a problem with it starting but I gave it a little help and off it went. I left the car idling for about 2 minutes and turned it off. After that I checked the float levels again and they were both very low. when I turned the power back on to see the float level fill back up, they didn't fill up again. It's almost as if the something moved after I started the car. I am beginning to wonder about the needles under the floats. It's early and I have forgotten the actual names for the needles but they are the pins with the springs that control the fuel flow.

I think, just to be safe, I am going to change the fuel pump and see what happens. I have an extra so it won't hurt.

Still, all in all, it's pretty strange.

 

It could be that the needles and seats are leaking.

 

hmmm, could this be causing my starting problems? how do you check the floats? every time i turn my car off it takes forever to crank back up from flooding out. today it wouldn't crank at all. hmmm

 

What you need to do is check the windows on the sides of your carb. The rule of thumb is that the fuel level should be as close to dead center of the window as possible.


After looking at the pic of your car, it could be the fact that your car, with the exception of the tail, is exactly identical to mine. Maybe it's just white rex's with big air dams!

 

hahahaha, most likely. for these windows are they front and back? or driver side and passenger side? :P i'm still not good with carbs hahaha, GETTING BETTER THOUGH!

 

One in front, which is easy to see (may need to be cleaned off) and one in the rear that you are probably better off using a small mirror to view since it has a bunch of junk around it and faces the firewall.

Is the level suppose to be at half during warm up idle, regular idle, or just with the switch in the on position?

 

I think if you use a long mirror and view it from the rear passenger window you may get a better view of the back carb window!

I'm no expert but from what I have read and heard, it is supposed to maintain that level in all instances. Trust me though, getting it at that level is a real pain. If the car is running, I wouldn't advise playing with it much. It may be that your fuel pump is weak and it just takes a bit to fill up before you can start the car. I would check that out too.

Wankelguy, I just replaced the needles and seats so I wouldn't think it was those. Honestly, I am beginning to wonder about the pump. A bit more playing and I should have the answer!