Car won't stay running!

[Tonefiend]

2 weeks ago the Challanger was runnng lie a top.  I had to use it as my main transpo as my other car was down.

It's been raining for the last 2 weeks, so today I took it for a ride.  Upon starting it had a loud tap from the valves. That went away after a minute or two.  10 miles into the drive it started to hesitate at low rpm prety badly.   It was low on gas and my guage does not work too well, so I put 8 gallons in it.  That seemed to help a little and I limped it home.  It ran rough at idle and laggy on initial acceleration, but was fine otherwise.

Got it home and pulled out he idle screws and shot some carb cleaner in there, put them back where they were.   Shot some carb cleaner in the gas tank, and added some water remover at the advice of a friend.

Now the car starts but will not stay running.  I can almost keep it going with the gas pedal, but it just stumbles and dies. 

Any ideas?   

[Chryco Psycho]

pull the dist cap & look for moisture in there , use silicone spray or WD 40 to dry it
did you reset the idle mixture screws properly ?

[Tonefiend]

pull the dist cap & look for moisture in there , use silicone spray or WD 40 to dry it
did you reset the idle mixture screws properly ?

Thanks Cryco, I will check the dist cap.  I set the screws back to where they were.  I do not know whether or not they are in the right spot. 

[Road_Runner]

Just curious, did you get it fixed?  If so, what was the problem?  This sounds like a fuel delivery problem to me.  I had a similar issue with a 383 several years back, turned out to be the stock fuel pump rubber diaphragm was torn.  Either way, good luck.

Jim

[Tonefiend]

Jim,

No I have not gotten it fixed yet.  I pulled the cap, checked it, cleaned the contacts and nothing changed.  It's an Edelbrock 4 bbl and tightening the idle screw on the right shuts the car down. the one on the left does nothing even after  cleaned it out.

I had the car running fine for a few minutes.  By stepping on the gas it powers through the hesitation.  However suddenly it just shuts down. The starts back up and runs crappy.

Now the previous owner replaced alot of things onthe car including the gas tank and fuel pump.  However he screwed everythign up he touched, and to my knowledge the fuel pump is the last thing he fixed I have not re-fixed.   

Original gas tank rusted out.   There is a new one installed, new sending unit. Original lines.  Fuel filter right after the pump and I see gas in it. 

Maybe I should look into the fuel pump.   Is there a way to test it?

[MEK-Dangerfield]

 

Maybe I should look into the fuel pump.   Is there a way to test it?

It's an easy check. Disconnect the hose running from the pump up to the carb. Connect another house on the pump output, and run it to a cup or small bucket on the floor. Just turn the key a couple of times, and you should see some gas in the cup or bucket.

[Bullitt-]

Pump out some fuel & see if you have lots of water... This happened to me back in the day, with some effort the motor would start but I had to stay in the throttle to keep it going, sputtering all the way with virtually no power.   The car had been sitting outside during a heavy rain & I guess  water found it's way around the filler cap.

[DAYLEY/CHALLENGER]

Wade has the right idea.......Bad gas...............trash or water in the lines.......I know from experience...........

[Tonefiend]

Interesting about the water.  The car was running like a top.  Then it sat for 2 weeks during one of the worst storms ever.  I dont have a gas cap. Cant find one.   I'm using an old rag...    I put a can of water repllant in the tank and 8 fresh gallons at the onset of the problem, but it only got worse.

How do I see the water? 

Also would the car run crappy without a gas cap or rag?

Also, when I first fired it up there was alot of tappet noise, which is unusual.  It went away after a few minutes.

[Bullitt-]

  Motor may have excessive tappet noise after sitting a long time especially if the oil filter does not have an anti-drainback valve.
  These old cars don't care if there is no fuel cap but models with vapor recovery systems can suffer from vapor lock if the cap is sealed & the system is blocked off.
   I see you live in CA so there is a good chance yours is one with the recovery system. Auto Zones stock this inexpensive locking cap that will work under a flip cover.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/parts/partsProduct.jsp?displayName=Fuel+Cap&itemId=145-0&navValue=14200145&parentId=42-0&productId=4384&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=4384_0_5269_&filterByKeyWord=fuelcap&categoryNValue=14299999&isSearchByPartNumber=false&categoryDisplayName=RoutineMaintenance&store=5665&skuDescription=CST/FuelCap&fromWhere=&searchText=fuelcap&_requestid=215583
   If I wanted to see what the fuel looked like I would disconnect the line between the pump & carb, put it in a clear glass container then short the starter solenoid to turn the motor over a couple of times.  In the container, if there is water, it will appear as a clear bubble on the bottom

[Supercuda]

Fuel is lighter than water-the water would be a puddle under the fuel. Another possibility, which is suggested by the right idle screw controlling idle, is trash in the carb, possibly from a disintegrating fuel hose. This would appear as little black flecks in the fuel bowl, and would definitely cause the kind of issues you're facing.

[dlrogers]

I have had this type of problem at least three time in the past - none of them with a chrysler motor but in all three cases it was a blocked fuel filter - I would check to see there are no in line filters just to make sure. With my Dodge I also had a recurring filter problem because there was crap in the tank and lines - I put a large in line filter in and that has sorted that particular problem. With the water issue, you can use methylated spirits to clean / flush because water mixes with meths. You can even use meths to carry water through and out of the lines if it is in there. An old uncle of mine was a chemistry teacher and a farmer and he would often put a pint of meths in the petrol tank of farm machinery to carry water out of the system while the motor was running. I don't think I would go that far myself but that's  true story.

[Tonefiend]

I have had this type of problem at least three time in the past - none of them with a chrysler motor but in all three cases it was a blocked fuel filter - I would check to see there are no in line filters just to make sure. With my Dodge I also had a recurring filter problem because there was crap in the tank and lines - I put a large in line filter in and that has sorted that particular problem. With the water issue, you can use methylated spirits to clean / flush because water mixes with meths. You can even use meths to carry water through and out of the lines if it is in there. An old uncle of mine was a chemistry teacher and a farmer and he would often put a pint of meths in the petrol tank of farm machinery to carry water out of the system while the motor was running. I don't think I would go that far myself but that's  true story.

Thanks!  Yesterday I replaced the inline filter.  It was plugged up with crap and sludge and partially rotted away.  That did not solve the problem.  One of my idle screws still does not do anything.  I am going to blow it out with some air and see if that solves the problem. 

I am watching this video.. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZcePXjZEbA

I also added another bottle of fuel drier. There is probably 10 gallons in the tank. 

If he problem persists, I have a rebuild kit I will use. 

 

[Road_Runner]

Thanks!  Yesterday I replaced the inline filter.  It was plugged up with crap and sludge and partially rotted away.  That did not solve the problem.  One of my idle screws still does not do anything.  I am going to blow it out with some air and see if that solves the problem. 

I am watching this video..  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZcePXjZEbA

I also added another bottle of fuel drier. There is probably 10 gallons in the tank. 

If he problem persists, I have a rebuild kit I will use.

Did you ever pull the fuel line off at the carb & turn the car over to see how much volume of gas is getting to the carb?  If the filter had a lot of crud in it, I'll bet your fuel line does to and if I read your comments correctly you said you did not replace it, yet.  Plus, if there's lots of garbage in the tank the filter on the fuel pickup can get blocked fairly quickly.  The other thing is that if the gas is bad, you may have fouled your plugs so even after you get the gas straightened out, it may run like crud until you pull & clean your plugs.  I've gone through stuff like this after I've left my Roadrunner sitting for too long with old gas.  Lastly, you said you have a rag for a gas cap, that could wick a lot of water into your tank.  You may consider draining your tank & starting over with fresh gas. 

Good luck, Jim

[Glennster]

Ian,
  PM or email me your address, I've got a gas cap I'll send to you. We can't have you running around California looking like one of us corn fed hay seeds from Indiana..... You have an image to up hold, you're in California for gosh sakes............... The cap is white, so you'll have to go Plum Crazy on that sucker ! ! !
  A RAG...... How uncivilized ! ! !