Been forever since my car ran...now won't run right

teahead

teahead

aka "Rob"
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Maybe a few years since I started and ran the poor thing.

Fresh gas. Starts and runs fine w/starting fluid.

No gas in the see-thru filter. Pump bad? Or severe blockage in the lines?

Carb car. No EFI.
 
You can pull the pump off and check for vac or pressure on the outlet when pushing the actuator by hand, kinda shade tree but it could provide clues.
If you find it's the pump, buy two of them.

May sound funny but swapping out the old style starter to a newer one from an 80s bimmer cranks the motor(and fuel pump) considerably faster.
 
About a year ago my car wouldn’t start. Turns out I had a split in the braided fuel line.

Run the output of the fuel pump to a container, you should spit out gas when you crank the motor:

No gas - split fuel line sucking air:

After this was confirmed I just blew on the fuel line (with my mouth yeah), and found the split.

Fuel line fixed:

If your line seems okay, you can run a boat gas tank to the pump. Prime the line with the hand pump. This is how I drive my car home when I bought it. I didn’t want to run the old gas through the motor.

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Sometimes the pump needs to be primed. My 2800cs hadn’t run since 2005. The pump wasn’t doing squat until I primed it. Worked for a few months then started leaking
 
Nobody should still be using braided fuel line. That was the cause of my friend's old VW van catching fire... two numb-nuts too cheap to replace a foot of hose between fuel pump and carb. Oh well, insurance paid about double what he had in it. Sure did burn well, melted the alternator stand quite nicely.
 
Well...after a lot of perseverance and starting fluid, got her running. Tons of junk got thrown into the fuel filter. Probably gotta change it again.

However, she kind of pops around 2000RPM+. Also has a bad diesling issue. Probably got the carbs way too lean.

 
Sounds like you should find the source of the "junk in the trunk" - gas tank rust?

Timing can affect hard starting, popping, and run-on. As can clogged carbs from junk.
 
OK, car starts fine now.

However, she pops and crackles anywhere >2000RPM.

Also, she diesels badly. I turn the mixture screws about 2 turns from stop (in). I keep turning it out 1/4 a time, and still pops and diesels.

I'd think getting the sucker super rich would stop that crap.

Running Pertronix and timing checks out. New-ish plugs/wires.

Dirty carbs?
 
Part of the reason I was able to buy my 2800cs was the fact that it would only barely start and would die at the touch of the accelerator. I replaced the points with a Pertronix and got it to run reasonably well but it still backfires through the carbs from time to time. I tried to set the timing and It's impossible. It's not possible to see the mark on the flywheel because the timing is so erratic. Clearly the distributor is to blame. I searched for the parts to rebuild it and found that some were NLA. Fortunately I was able to find a rebuilt one on ebay so I bought it. If I hadn't found a rebuilt one, I would have considered the 123 Distributor that some people like. I haven't installed my replacment because the the engine and trans need to come out for refurbishment of the engine and a 5 speed upgrade.

I'm not saying you might not have carb or mixture problems, but check the timing and make sure that's ok too.
 
teahead said:
Well...after a lot of perseverance and starting fluid, got her running. Tons of junk got thrown into the fuel filter. Probably gotta change it again.

However, she kind of pops around 2000RPM+. Also has a bad diesling issue. Probably got the carbs way too lean.

Click to expand...

Hi there
Is that a worn out water pump I hear in the background? That lil intermittent rubbing sound sounds like the bearings on a compromised water pump.

Regards,
Bill
 
I have a stripped bolt hole in the engine block for the power steering pump. Thus the noise is a very loosy goosy PS belt.

Thus why I'm converting to the E28-style bracketry.

B35 conversion: Which external parts can you keep?

I have a '91 complete motor with all ancillaries. Based on all the info on this forum, I will be changing the intake system to the log / L-jet style to clear the booster. I also will be using the b35 oil pump with the original pickup and my original oil pan. Apart from that, what can I keep...
e9coupe.com e9coupe.com
 
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