Classic Mustangs (Tech) Technical discussions about the Mustangs of yester-year.

Car starts great then dies 30 secs later - ????

Old 11-01-2016, 03:20 PM
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Seadog
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Default Car starts great then dies 30 secs later - ????

I have a 260 V8 with 2100 2 barrel. The carb has had a kit recently.

All adjustments are set and float is working properly and wet tested.

It starts great, choke works as it should and so does the fast idle. So why after 30 seconds does it start to miss and sputter and gradually die after another 10 seconds? I've stood over it for the 30 seconds and tried working the choke manually to make it more lean and that doesn't help.

Seems like a fuel related problem to me. One other thing, if I restart it again and again and finally get the engine warm then things improve a lot.

All help is much appreciated. Thanks!
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Old 11-01-2016, 03:56 PM
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Gun Jam
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when did it last work right?

When the engine is warm does it run as it should or its still crap but stays running?
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Old 11-01-2016, 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Gun Jam
when did it last work right?

When the engine is warm does it run as it should or its still crap but stays running?
I rebuilt it to fix some issues. It seems the rebuild fixed a lot of things but I acquired a new problem, as described. One original problem remains - The engine seems to run better with the idle screws turned out (rich) more than is necessary.

I wonder if it's going into fuel shortage after 30 seconds. But, I know the float is working because I can remove the top of the carb and I get a good measurement, wet. Also, there's pressure on the fuel line - if I push the float down fuel squirts out.

When finally warm the engine runs very smooth. The problem can start at a stoplight, but just sometimes.
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Old 11-01-2016, 07:00 PM
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checking for vac leaks might be a good next step...With the engine running spray some carb cleaner around the carb base and intake and intake and heads...also if you are running vac assisted brakes plug the line momentarily and see if it smooths out.

If the carb cleaner causes engine rpm to drop then that would be a source of the leak
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Old 11-02-2016, 08:50 AM
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Sounds like you still have crap in the idle jets. Take it apart and blow it out again.
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Old 11-03-2016, 10:38 AM
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Default Blow out all passages

Originally Posted by bop11
Sounds like you still have crap in the idle jets. Take it apart and blow it out again.
This morning I took the carb apart, blew out all passages, inspected everything, reassembled and re-stalled since all looked good. The engine started great, choke worked well and so did the fast idle. The engine was very smooth for about 30 to 50 seconds then died instantly! I got back in, restarted, and it coughed and sputtered and would die after a 10 or 15 seconds. I did this several times with no improvement.

It surprises me that it starts and runs so well, then instantly dies or starts the coughing and sputtering with no warning.

I will get some carb cleaner later today and try checking for vacuum leaks. Frustrating!
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Old 11-03-2016, 10:57 AM
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I ran into an issue after I put my new motor in my 65. It would run great for a few minutes and then cut off sometimes. Then other times it would run great for two weeks maybe then cut off again. A friend told me to take the fuel line off at the carb. and also at the fuel tank. Put your air hose on one end and see if it is stopped up or partially stopped up. I did that and all kinds of junk came out of the line. I had to end up replacing the fuel tank because of the rust in the bottom was getting in my fuel line and stopping it up.
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Old 11-03-2016, 12:56 PM
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Default Fuel line

Originally Posted by creel228
I ran into an issue after I put my new motor in my 65. It would run great for a few minutes and then cut off sometimes. Then other times it would run great for two weeks maybe then cut off again. A friend told me to take the fuel line off at the carb. and also at the fuel tank. Put your air hose on one end and see if it is stopped up or partially stopped up. I did that and all kinds of junk came out of the line. I had to end up replacing the fuel tank because of the rust in the bottom was getting in my fuel line and stopping it up.
I will be trying that soon. I have a new gas tank and the filter at the fuel pump and the carb are both new, but the fuel line has not been checked.

I notice that a fair amount of moisture is coming out of the exhaust pipes. It smells like water, no gasoline odor. I have the idle mixture screws set to 1 1/2 turns out from lightly seated. Could it be too rich? I recall trying to turn both screws in about 1/4 of a turn and I believe anything more and the idle gets rough.
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Old 11-03-2016, 01:12 PM
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if it runs great for 30 sec then dies its not a carb issue.

still check for vac leaks but that seems inconsistent with the runs great part now as well.

fuel delivery is most suspect at this point....Ignition is second. Start with fuel delivery.

So fire it up and run until it dies. once it dies do not attempt to restart it. Take off the air cleaner and look down the primary throttle barrels on the carb. Apply full throttle while looking down the carb. You should see a good solid stream of fuel from the accelerator pump as you apply full throttle. Try this 3x in a row. If you get one good stream of fuel on the first try and little to nothing on the next attempts or nothing on any attempts this indicates that carb has run out of fuel and there is no fuel available to run the accelerator pump let alone the engine.
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Old 11-04-2016, 07:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Gun Jam
if it runs great for 30 sec then dies its not a carb issue.

still check for vac leaks but that seems inconsistent with the runs great part now as well.

fuel delivery is most suspect at this point....Ignition is second. Start with fuel delivery.

So fire it up and run until it dies. once it dies do not attempt to restart it. Take off the air cleaner and look down the primary throttle barrels on the carb. Apply full throttle while looking down the carb. You should see a good solid stream of fuel from the accelerator pump as you apply full throttle. Try this 3x in a row. If you get one good stream of fuel on the first try and little to nothing on the next attempts or nothing on any attempts this indicates that carb has run out of fuel and there is no fuel available to run the accelerator pump let alone the engine.

Thanks, I will try that. I'm also going to take some steps to make sure I don't have water in the gas tank. Not sure how it would run just fine for awhile if there was water present, then not run, but will make sure anyway.
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