Fuel issue maybe?
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1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 1
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Fuel issue maybe?
I am not a mechanic what so ever, let me start by saying that. I have an 85 and every time my gas gauge gets around half a tank the car won’t stay running or start again once shut off. This happened a month ago and after a while I got it started and was thankfully near a gas station. Filled the tank with premium and made it home. Took it out last weekend with a full tank and it ran perfectly. Now this morning, with a half tank, it will turn over but not start unless I have the throttle engaged. Once I go to an idle it dies. Anyone experience this before by chance?
Last edited by TheHawk15; Jun 9, 2024 at 04:17 PM.
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 52
Likes: 12
From: Upstate NY
I would start by verifying that 1/2 tank does not mean empty. The fuel gauges in these cars are notoriously inaccurate as they age. Basically, the fuel level sensor is a fancy variable resistor, and as corrosion and varnish build up on it, the resistance grows higher and higher making the level read higher and higher than it actually is. It can be cleaned with varying levels of success by pulling the fuel sender unit (VERY easy to do on these cars) and carefully cleaning the resistor with wd-40 and a q-tip.
The dumb "is it even remotely working" idea would be to get it reading near a 1/2 tank and see how much fuel it takes. (these cars have a 19 gallon tank). If it takes anywhere near 19 gallons, assume the gauge isn't accurate and go from there.
The dumb "is it even remotely working" idea would be to get it reading near a 1/2 tank and see how much fuel it takes. (these cars have a 19 gallon tank). If it takes anywhere near 19 gallons, assume the gauge isn't accurate and go from there.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,269
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From: Ottawa Ontario
Possibly a bad/leaking pulsator or hole in the fuel line on the sending unit in the gas tank. This might cause air to be sucked into the fuel line when the tank is half empty but not when full.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 4,195
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From: LeClaire Iowa
If you gas gauge turns out to be accurate this is probably the correct answer. Dan
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2008
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From: NE Ohio
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